Legal Advisor

USAID CCN/TCN PSC

The United States Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam is seeking an eligible and qualified applicant for the position of Legal Advisor in its U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

1. VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT NO.: USAID-2021-05

2. OPENING DATE: April 02, 2021

3. CLOSING DATE: May 01, 2021, 17:00 Hanoi time

4. AREA OF CONSIDERATION: All Interested candidates/All sources who are Cooperating Country National)

Cooperating country national (CCN) means an individual who is a cooperating country citizen, or a non-cooperating country citizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the cooperating country.

5. POINT OF CONTACT:

Quyen Hoang, Human Resources Specialist at qhoang@usaid.gov ; Tel: +84-24-3850-5000 ; ext. 2763 ; and Loan Nguyen, Human Resources and Travel Assistant at loannguyen@usaid.gov ; Tel: +84-24-3850-5000; at ext. 2673.

6. POSITION TITLE: Legal Advisor (Local Legal and Host Country Relations Advisor)

7. MARKET VALUE/BASE SALARY (per annum): US$ 43,520.00 – US$ 65,274.00 (FSN-12)

Added by attractive allowances, cash and non-cash benefits and incentives according to U.S. Embassy Vietnam’s Local Compensation Plan.

8. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE/Length of the contract/ WORK SCHEDULE: Definite term - five years / Monday through Friday (40 hours per week).

USAID expects the services under this contract to be continuing in nature for the contractor to perform under a series of sequential contracts, subject to the availability of fund.

9. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:

USAID/Vietnam, 15th floor, Tung Shing Building, No. 2 Ngo Quyen street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi, Vietnam

10. SECURITY LEVEL REQUIRED: Local Security Certification or Public Trust

11. BACKGROUND INFORMATION OF THE POSITION

The Legal Advisor (Local Legal and Host Country Relations Advisor) position is in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Mission Vietnam in Hanoi. S/he is to provide legal and ethics advice and counsel on matters of local law in Vietnam, as well as advising on relations and facilitation of USAID programs with Government of Vietnam (GVN) entities. A particular focus, and an intersection of legal and host country relations assistance, will be to support the Mission in complying with laws related to Project Approval of USAID projects in Vietnam (example – the GVN Decree No. 56/2020/ND-CP).

The job holder's duties/responsibilities involve the full range of consultative, advisory, monitoring, management, data collection and analysis, and evaluative aspects of providing, at the direction of the Supervisory Resident Legal Officer (RLO), legal advice and counsel to USAID/Vietnam on a variety of local legal issues, particularly related to GVN process, procedures relations; local law matters relating to Mission programs and operations (i.e., registration, project approval, labor law, contractual matters, etc.).

S/he counsels, collaborates, and coordinates with Mission and U.S. Embassy colleagues as well as the Supervisory RLO in Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA), regarding matters of local/Vietnamese law. S/he also collaborates with colleagues from the donor community, USAID partners, the national and local governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The job holder assists the Supervisory RLO in providing legal advice to the Mission and its staff and Embassy, as well as updating the Supervisory RLO in RDMA, on local/ Vietnamese legal matters relating to USAID, USAID/Vietnam programs; liaising with donors, government officials and partners; and identifying and resolving local legal issues affecting USAID programs in Vietnam.

S/he works collaboratively with USAID/Vietnam’s multiple implementing partners (IPs) to assist, where possible, their resolution of issues affecting their implementation of USAID programs in Vietnam. S/he is required to coordinate and attend meetings with the mission and GVN government officials, recommending solutions to legal, and programmatic issues identified. At the direction of the Supervisory RLO, S/he is also expected to draft legal opinions and briefs and articulate in written memoranda to document and implement actions to support the aforementioned capacities.

12. MINIMUM REQUIREMENT

Applicants must address each required qualification listed below with specific information supporting each item. Failure to do so may result in a determination that the applicant is not qualified.

Education: Possession of Bachelor’s degree in Law is required.

Prior Work Experience: A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience as a legal advisor, including aggregate experience as an advocate with an international organization; a law firm with an international practice; with an international corporation or local non-government organization; or a government institution, is required.

Language Proficiency: Must have:

• Level 4 (fluent) Speaking/Reading/Writing English (this will be tested).
• Level 4 (fluent) Speaking/Reading/Writing Vietnamese.

Job Knowledge: Must have:

• General knowledge of Vietnamese economic, political, legal social systems and characteristics that relates to the development assistance.
• A comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the concepts, principles, techniques, and practices in the Vietnam law.
• Past work experience with and knowledge of taxation, labor law, contracts, and business and non-profit organizations, structures, and registration requirements in Vietnam.
• Familiarity with the Project Approval process for donor assistance and knowledge of the applicable GVN regulations.
• Knowledge of appropriate government and non-government entities and established relationships with officials in such entities which is critical to the successful performance of the duties assigned to this position.
• Demonstrated potential to acquire knowledge of U.S. Government legislation relating to Development Assistance; USAID programming policies, regulations, procedures, and documentation, and a thorough understanding of the objectives, methodology, and status of the USAID/Vietnam's development objectives.

Skills and Abilities: Must have:

• Ability to obtain, analyze, and evaluate a variety of legal data; organize and present legal and technical information in concise written and oral form; furnish information and advice/counsel in assigned areas objectively
• Ability to identify, explain and resolve important and complex legal issues independently;
• Ability to communicate effectively and accurately in both oral and written forms with all levels of Mission personnel (Front Office, Bangkok-based RLO; all categories of the Missions’ employees); GVN officials at the Senior Minister level and lower (as applicable); international and local USAID IPs, NGOs, private sector organizations, international donors, and other embassies; the USAID/Washington Office of General Counsel and the Asia Bureau; and the public. The job holder is required to be able to draft for RLO review briefing documents (as/when required), including legal memoranda, legal opinions, and Memoranda of Understanding. The job holder must also be able to prepare reports, correspondence, and documents in a professional and competent manner requiring little or no editorial changes (in both English and Vietnamese).
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively work with diverse teams and stakeholders including wide range of development partners, GVN counterpart, multilateral and bilateral donors as well as the private sector in a professional setting.
• Ability to follow oral instructions, and organize, prioritize, and follow through on all assignments with minimal oversight
• Ability to learn and use efficiently office software such as Microsoft Office, Google Applications and Agency specific software if related to the work.
• Self-motivation and strong work ethics.
• Ability to travel locally and internationally.

13. EVALUATION AND SELECTION CRITERIA:

A Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) will be set up to manage the whole evaluation and selection processes. Applications will be initially screened for eligibility in accordance with the required qualifications mentioned above including education, prior work experiences and language. Eligible candidates will be given an English test. Those candidates who meet the English requirement (Level IV) will be invited for the subject matter expertise test (SME test) and the top performers from the SME test will be called for an interview. The SME test and the interview will be structured around the selection criteria above. Professional reference checks will be conducted once the pool is narrowed down to the top candidate(s).

In summary, the steps in the Candidates rating system are as follows:

• Meet education/experience requirements: Pass/fail
• Language requirements: Pass/ Fail
• Subject Matter Expertise (SME) test: Top scoring candidates from SME test will be invited for interview
• Professional Reference Checks: Pass/Fail

At the final selection round, the TEC may consider the performance from all selection round as a whole package to ensure the best matching profile (relevant experience working in/ liaising with donor or international development organizations, Government of Vietnam official and development partners, advising on relations and facilitation of development programs with GVN entities, knowledgeable of ODA in the country,…).

Only final-round candidates will be notified of the selection result.

14. HOW TO APPLY:

All candidates must be able to obtain and hold a Local security or Public trust clearance.

1. Offerors/ Candidates are required to complete and submit a Universal Application for Employment (DS-174) which is available on the Website of the U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam below, Curriculum Vitae and scanned copies of degrees to support the position’s educational requirement. https://vn.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2019-07-Updated-DS1...
2. Offers must be received by the closing date and time specified in Section 3 and submitted to the Point of Contact in Section 5.
3. To ensure consideration of offers for the intended position, Applicants must prominently reference the Job Announcement number in the submission.

NOTE: Due to the high volume of applications received, we will only contact applicants who are qualified and will be invited for further testing and/or interview. Thank you for your understanding.

15. BENEFITS AND ALLOWANCES

As a matter of policy, and as appropriate, a CCNPSC is normally authorized the following benefits and allowances in accordance with United States Mission Vietnam ‘s Local Compensation Plan and regulations:

16. BENEFITS:

• One-month basic salary Tet Bonus
• Contribution to mandatory insurances pursuant to GVN’s law/ regulations including social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance.
• Coverage of additional health insurance 90% for incumbent and each eligible family member
• Annual and sick leave according to local labor law
• Mission cash award (semi-annual/ annual) and On-the-Spot award for high performers
• Training opportunities abroad, in-country, on-the-job and online sources (USAID University and Foreign Services Institute).

17. ALLOWANCES (as applicable):

• Unique Condition Work allowance: 7% of Annual basic salary (upon annual review).
• Miscellaneous Benefits Allowance: US$1,000 per annum for FSN-09 and below and US$3,000 per annum for FSN-10 and above.

18. ADDITIONAL SELECTION AND APPLICATION CRITERIA:

• The Contracting Officer will consider nepotism/conflict of interest, funds availability and residency status in determining successful candidacy.
• Current employees serving a probationary period are not eligible to apply.
• Current employees identified as an Overall Summary Rating of Needs Improvement or Unsatisfactory on their most recent Performance Evaluation Report are not eligible to apply.
• All candidates for employment with the US Mission must pass a background/security investigation and a medical certification. Any employment offer with the US Mission is contingent upon a candidate’s ability to secure the necessary certifications.
• All applicants must be a naturalized citizen of the host country or must have the required work permit or documentation that permits the applicant to work legally in the country in order to be eligible for consideration.
• Please clearly indicate in your application, the title of the position you are applying for. Any application that does not specify the position applied for will NOT be considered.
• Applications received after the closing date and time of the announcement will NOT be considered.
• The application must contain all information necessary to demonstrate that the candidate possesses the education, experience, skills and language abilities required for this position.
• Applicants who fail to meet requirements for the position will be disqualified.

The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam provides equal opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in employment to all people regardless of to race, color, religion, ethnicity, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or transgender status), national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital or parental status, veteran status, membership in an employee organization, political affiliation, involvement in protected EEO activity, or other non-merit factor. The Mission also strives to achieve equal employment opportunity in all personnel operations through continuing diversity enhancement programs.

The EEO complaint procedure is not available to individuals who believe they have been denied equal opportunity based upon marital status or political affiliation. Individuals with such complaints should avail themselves of the appropriate grievance procedures, remedies for prohibited personnel practices, and/or courts for relief.

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