Senior Legal and Contract Administration Expert – Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS)

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The Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) wants to recruit employees in the following vacant positions the details of which are mentioned below.

About the Ethiopian Red Cross Society

The Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) was established in 1935 and is one of the oldest and largest humanitarian organizations in Ethiopia. ERCS provides services to communities affected by natural and manmade disasters through the provision of emergency responses, ambulance and first aid, family reunification, essential drugs, water and sanitation, and other humanitarian services. ERCS also runs disaster risk reduction programs with the aim of creating resilience households and communities. Currently the ERCS has a structure consisting of 12 Regional Offices, 34 Zonal Branches and 131 District/Woreda Branches, 599 Woreda Red Cross Committee  and 5871 Kebele Red Cross  committees.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities 

• Gathers facts and establishes evidences; and performs investigations, examinations and analysis of cases; arranges supporting human and material evidences for cases for which the Society has the burden of proof;
• Delivers summons and other court and police orders to the concerned persons;
• Drafts contractual documents, memorandums of understanding, and other legal documents;
• Initiates instituting legal actions against debtors of the Society in default of other methods of resolution and follows  up proceedings thereof;
• Takes legal cases to an appeal court whenever the interest of the Society is affected by the decision of the court; attends the ultimate outcome of the appeal and acts for the implementation of the resolution with the consent of senior management;
• Follows up or proceeds with the execution of court decisions/verdicts made in favour of the Society;
• Works out and proposes out-of-court settlement options to management for legal cases of the Society;
• Researches on international humanitarian law, conventions, government proclamations, procedures  and other related laws and does awareness raising and advocacy activities on same;
• Advises the management, personnel and branches of the Society on legal matters;
• Prepares pleading, statements of claims, defense, petitions, submissions and appeals of legal issues;
• Develops case strategies and methods of presentation in defense of the Society against suits or claims filed against it and in prosecution of the Society claims filed against others;
• Follows up legal issues of the Society under  police and other quasi-judicial organs as well as pending legal cases; represents the Society before courts or quasi-judicial organs for defense;
• Represents the Society before courts of law, administrative tribunals, trade disputes committees and other public authorities;
• Follows up and compiles reports on the status of legal issues handled by volunteer professionals or retained lawyers;
• Proposes expertise advice on ways of tackling and resolving issues that could cause repetitive legal disputes;
• Investigates and follows up settlement of labor disputes arising from the collective agreements or any other contracts;
• Investigates and takes the necessary legal action for thefts, forgeries, misappropriation of Society funds and breaches of discipline or offence, legal settlement of insurance claims on personnel injuries, liability or property damage or loss;
• Reports to superior on the status of court cases and other ongoing legal matters of the Society;
•  Performs other related duties and responsibilities of the job as may be assigned by the Head of the Society’s Legal Service.   

Work unit :- Legal Service

Reporting to:- Head, Legal and contract administration

Grade :- XIII

Job Specification

• Second Degree/First Degree in Law
• 5/7 years related work experience

Additional Skills: –

• Computer and knowledge of other local Languages.