Lawyer – Civil Documentation and Legal Assistance | Anbar & Salah Al-Din | Pending on Donor Approval

Important Notice

This position is pending donor approval. Recruitment and appointments will be subject to confirmation of project funding.

1. Position Information

Organization: Aid Gate Organization (AGO)
Project: Strengthening Child Protection and Well-being, Adolescent Participation, and Leadership Skills Development
Position title: Lawyer – Civil Documentation and Legal Assistance
Number of positions: Two (2)
Duty stations: Anbar and Salah Al-Din governorates
Contract duration: 12 months
Contract type: Full-time
Reports to: Project Manager, with technical coordination from the Protection Specialist

Coordinates with: Child Protection Case Workers, government authorities, courts, civil-status directorates, and specialized legal-service providers

2. Organizational Background

Aid Gate Organization (AGO) is an independent Iraqi non-governmental organization working with vulnerable and conflict-affected communities. AGO implements humanitarian and development programmes in child protection, MHPSS, rehabilitation and reintegration, youth empowerment, social cohesion, livelihoods, and community resilience.

AGO works closely with government institutions, civil society organizations, communities, and specialized service providers to strengthen sustainable, inclusive, and locally led services.

3. Project Background

AGO intends to implement an integrated child-protection and adolescent-development programme in Anbar and Salah Al-Din. The programme will provide specialized case management, MHPSS, legal and civil-documentation assistance, positive-parenting support, GBV prevention and risk mitigation, capacity development, and adolescent-participation activities.

The legal-assistance component will support vulnerable children and families to obtain birth certificates, national identity documents, and other required civil documentation. It will prioritize returnee, displaced, undocumented, and conflict-affected children, including unaccompanied and separated children and families facing administrative, financial, procedural, or protection-related barriers.

4. Position Purpose

The Lawyer will provide accurate, accessible, confidential, child-sensitive, and timely legal counselling and assistance to children and families requiring civil documentation or related legal support.

The Lawyer will assess legal needs, prepare and follow up documentation, coordinate with courts and civil directorates, provide appropriate representation where legally permitted, and maintain secure legal case records.

Legal services must be delivered in accordance with applicable Iraqi laws and procedures, AGO policies, approved programme procedures, legal ethics, child-safeguarding requirements, confidentiality, informed consent, non-discrimination, and do-no-harm principles.

5. Key Duties and Responsibilities

5.1 Legal needs assessment

• Receive legal cases and referrals through approved programme and service-provider channels.
• Review the legal and civil-documentation needs of children and families.
• Verify the nature of the documentation gap, available supporting evidence, relevant administrative procedures, and potential legal obstacles.
• Identify cases requiring urgent legal intervention or additional child-protection support.
• Explain available legal options, procedures, expected timelines, potential costs, limitations, and possible outcomes in clear and accessible language.
• Ensure that children and caregivers understand that legal assistance is voluntary and free of charge.
• Obtain informed consent and, where appropriate, the child’s assent before opening a legal case or sharing information.
• Avoid providing guarantees regarding court, administrative, or government decisions.

5.2 Legal counselling and case planning

• Provide individualized legal counselling to children, caregivers, and families on civil documentation and related legal matters.
• Prepare a clear legal action plan for each assigned case.
• Identify required applications, supporting documents, witnesses, administrative steps, court procedures, and responsible authorities.
• Inform clients of their rights, responsibilities, appointments, and required actions.
• Ensure that legal advice is accurate, current, impartial, and within the Lawyer’s professional authorization.
• Refer matters outside the Lawyer’s expertise or legal mandate to appropriate qualified providers.
• Regularly review and update legal action plans according to case developments.

5.3 Civil-documentation assistance

• Assist eligible children and families to obtain birth certificates, national identification documents, civil-status records, and other required documentation.
• Prepare, review, organize, and submit applications and supporting documents to the relevant authorities.
• Follow up cases with civil directorates, courts, government offices, and other competent institutions.
• Support correction, confirmation, replacement, or registration procedures where appropriate and legally permitted.
• Maintain accurate records of applications submitted, appointments attended, decisions issued, documents obtained, and outstanding requirements.
• Ensure that original documents are returned promptly to their owners and are not retained unnecessarily.
• Provide clients with copies or confirmation of documents submitted and received when appropriate.
• Ensure that administrative fees or other programme-supported costs are properly authorized, documented, and supported by official receipts.

5.4 Court and administrative follow-up

• Attend courts, civil directorates, and government offices as required for assigned cases.
• Represent or accompany clients where legally permitted, professionally appropriate, and formally authorized.
• Prepare legal submissions, requests, petitions, statements, and supporting documentation.
• Coordinate appointments and follow-up visits efficiently and respectfully.
• Maintain professional, impartial, and transparent communication with judicial and administrative authorities.
• Never offer, request, facilitate, or tolerate unofficial payments, gifts, favours, or improper influence.
• Immediately report requests for unofficial payments, corruption concerns, conflicts of interest, or procedural irregularities.
• Keep clients informed of meaningful developments, delays, decisions, and next steps.

5.5 Legal referrals and coordination

• Coordinate closely with Child Protection Case Workers to ensure that legal support is consistent with the child’s case plan.
• Refer children and families to appropriate protection, MHPSS, health, education, disability, shelter, or other specialized services when additional needs are identified.
• Use approved service mappings and referral pathways.
• Obtain informed consent before sharing information or initiating referrals.
• Share only the minimum information necessary for the receiving service to provide support.
• Participate in case conferences when legal input is required and authorized.
• Coordinate with qualified legal-aid organizations and specialized practitioners for matters outside the programme’s scope.
• Contribute to identifying legal-service gaps and improving referral coordination.

5.6 Community legal awareness

• Support community outreach and awareness activities on civil documentation and related legal procedures.
• Explain the importance of birth registration and other civil documents in clear, accurate, and accessible language.
• Use only approved legal information, leaflets, messages, and awareness materials.
• Adapt communication for persons with disabilities, people with limited literacy, and communities facing language or accessibility barriers.
• Avoid discussing individual legal cases or personally identifiable information during community sessions.
• Correct misinformation and explain changes in procedures when verified.
• Ensure awareness sessions remain impartial, non-political, and free from discrimination.
• Refer participants requiring individualized legal assistance through appropriate intake procedures.

5.7 Legal case documentation

• Create and maintain complete, accurate, secure, and confidential legal case files.
• Document client consent, legal assessments, advice provided, action plans, applications, referrals, appointments, costs, official receipts, decisions, and case outcomes.
• Update legal case trackers promptly and accurately.
• Maintain clear separation between general programme records and confidential legal files.
• Store physical and electronic documents securely according to AGO procedures.
• Never store confidential information on personal devices, private email accounts, or unauthorized applications.
• Apply data-minimization and need-to-know principles.
• Immediately report lost documents, unauthorized disclosure, suspected data breaches, or inappropriate access.
• Return original documents safely to clients and document their receipt.

5.8 Monitoring and reporting

• Submit accurate weekly and monthly updates on legal caseloads, case status, documents obtained, referrals, delays, and challenges.
• Report programme results using anonymized and disaggregated data.
• Contribute to narrative reports, case studies, lessons learned, and analysis of recurring legal barriers.
• Participate in file reviews, data-quality checks, monitoring visits, audits, and corrective-action processes.
• Ensure reported figures are supported by appropriate and verifiable documentation.
• Do not include personally identifiable or sensitive information in general reports.
• Identify changes in legal procedures, documentation requirements, or administrative practices and inform the supervisor promptly.
• Recommend practical programme adaptations based on documented legal barriers and community feedback.

5.9 Accountability to affected populations

• Provide clients with clear information on eligibility criteria, available legal services, expected timelines, limitations, and case status.
• Explain that all programme services are free and not conditional upon payment, gifts, favours, political affiliation, or personal relationships.
• Inform clients about AGO’s confidential feedback and complaints mechanisms.
• Treat complaints respectfully and protect complainants from retaliation.
• Respond to reasonable client inquiries and communicate delays honestly.
• Ensure that children and caregivers participate meaningfully in decisions concerning their legal cases.
• Provide accessible communication and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities.
• Use client feedback to improve the quality, accessibility, and responsiveness of legal services.

5.10 Safeguarding, PSEA, and professional ethics

• Comply with AGO’s Child Safeguarding Policy, PSEA Policy, Code of Conduct, confidentiality requirements, data-protection procedures, and anti-fraud measures.
• Maintain legal professional ethics, independence, impartiality, confidentiality, and professional boundaries.
• Immediately report child-safeguarding concerns, suspected sexual exploitation and abuse, misconduct, corruption, or imminent risks through designated channels.
• Receive sensitive disclosures calmly and respectfully without probing or independently investigating.
• Never disclose information without authorization except where lawful safeguarding obligations apply.
• Never exploit a client’s vulnerability or request payment, gifts, services, or favours.
• Declare actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest immediately.
• Withdraw from or transfer cases where independence, confidentiality, or professional integrity could be compromised.
• Protect children, caregivers, complainants, and witnesses from retaliation and further harm.

6. Expected Deliverables

• Eligible children and families receive accurate and timely legal counselling.
• Individual legal assessments and action plans are completed and properly documented.
• Applications and supporting documents are correctly prepared and submitted.
• Cases are followed up consistently with courts, civil directorates, and relevant authorities.
• Supported children and families obtain civil documentation whenever legally and administratively possible.
• Administrative fees and programme-supported costs are properly authorized and documented.
• Legal case files are complete, accurate, secure, and updated on time.
• Weekly and monthly legal caseload reports are submitted within agreed deadlines.
• Legal barriers, procedural changes, service gaps, and protection concerns are promptly reported.
• Safeguarding, confidentiality, legal ethics, PSEA, and anti-fraud requirements are consistently followed.

7. Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in law from a recognized university.
• Valid authorization, registration, or licence required to provide the relevant legal services in Iraq.
• Membership in the relevant professional association, where legally required.
• Additional training in legal aid, civil documentation, child protection, safeguarding, PSEA, or humanitarian protection is an advantage.

8. Required Experience

• At least three years of relevant legal experience.
• Demonstrated experience in civil documentation, civil registration, family-related legal matters, administrative procedures, or legal aid.
• Experience supporting displaced, returnee, undocumented, conflict-affected, or otherwise vulnerable children and families is strongly preferred.
• Sound knowledge of applicable Iraqi civil-status, birth-registration, identification, and documentation procedures.
• Experience working with courts, civil directorates, government offices, and legal-service providers.
• Experience maintaining confidential legal case files and preparing accurate legal documents and reports.
• Familiarity with child-protection principles, informed consent, safeguarding, safe referrals, and do-no-harm approaches is highly desirable.
• Experience delivering community legal-awareness sessions is an advantage.

9. Language and Computer Skills

• Fluency in Arabic is required.
• Strong legal drafting skills in Arabic are required.
• Working knowledge of English is an advantage.
• Knowledge of relevant local languages is desirable.
• Good computer skills, including email, word processing, spreadsheets, legal case tracking, and secure digital documentation.
• Ability to use official electronic systems relevant to civil documentation is an advantage.

10. Core Competencies

• Legal analysis and problem-solving
• Integrity and professional independence
• Confidentiality and discretion
• Accurate legal drafting and documentation
• Client-centred communication
• Child-sensitive and survivor-centred practice
• Negotiation and coordination
• Planning and case follow-up
• Impartiality and non-discrimination
• Attention to detail
• Accountability and transparency
• Commitment to safeguarding, PSEA, anti-fraud, and do-no-harm principles

11. Working Conditions

• The position is based in Anbar or Salah Al-Din, according to programme needs.
• Regular travel to courts, civil directorates, government offices, targeted communities, and service-provider locations will be required.
• The Lawyer may be required to attend appointments or proceedings according to official schedules.
• The postholder must comply with AGO’s safety and security procedures during all travel and field activities.
• The position may require handling highly sensitive legal and protection-related information.

12. Performance Evaluation

Performance will be assessed based on:

• Accuracy and quality of legal advice
• Timeliness of legal case follow-up
• Number and quality of completed documentation procedures
• Accuracy and completeness of legal case files
• Appropriate handling of administrative fees and official receipts
• Compliance with legal ethics, confidentiality, safeguarding, and anti-fraud requirements
• Timeliness and accuracy of reporting
• Effective coordination with programme personnel, government authorities, and service providers
• Responsiveness to client feedback, supervision, and monitoring findings
• Professional conduct and adherence to AGO policies

13. Recruitment Conditions

This position involves direct contact with children and access to sensitive legal and personal information. Appointment will be subject to satisfactory identity, qualification, professional-registration, employment-history, and reference checks, as well as other safeguarding checks permitted by applicable law.

The selected candidate must sign and comply with AGO’s Code of Conduct, Child Safeguarding Policy, PSEA Policy, confidentiality and data-protection commitments, anti-fraud requirements, and conflict-of-interest declaration.

Any employment offer will remain conditional upon donor approval, confirmation of project funding, and successful completion of AGO’s recruitment and safeguarding procedures.

14. Equal Opportunity

AGO is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining a respectful and inclusive workplace. Qualified women, persons with disabilities, and candidates from programme locations are strongly encouraged to apply.

Recruitment decisions will be based on merit, professional eligibility, suitability, safeguarding considerations, and programme requirements without discrimination. Reasonable accommodation will be considered throughout the recruitment process and employment.

AS WELL AS THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC “PROFESSIONAL”

COMPETENCIES

• Strong interpersonal and influencing skills
• Good leadership skill
• Good communication skills
• Computer knowledge of MS Office Word and Excel.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to details.
• Strong team-working skills

Interested applicants must apply via the link below

lawyer-civil-documentation-and-legal-assistance

Note:

• Applications not meeting the specified minimum requirements may not be considered.
• The CVs received after the closing date may not be considered.
• Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview that may include a written test of communication and writing skills.
• Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Candidates are encouraged to apply early, as applications may be screened prior to the vacancy deadline.