Head of the Legal Division

What we do

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) operates globally to protect and assist people affected by armed conflict and violence. We respond swiftly to emergencies while also promoting respect for international humanitarian law.

As an independent and neutral organization, our mandate is rooted in the Geneva Conventions of 1949. We work in close collaboration with National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, as well as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, to ensure a coordinated, effective, and timely humanitarian response.

In situations of conflict or internal violence, the ICRC directs and coordinates international humanitarian efforts to meet the needs of those affected.

Purpose of the position

The Head of the Legal Division reports directly to the Director of International Law, Movement and Partnerships and is part of the senior departmental management team.
The Head of the Legal Division assumes a leading responsibility on ICRC legal matters both externally and internally, ensures excellency and consistency of the ICRC, supervises the management of all the Division’s units, and ensures the liaison with the pool of legal advisers in the field.

Main duties and responsibilities

Leadership on people management

• Plays a leadership role in defining and developing the Legal Division’s priorities and strategic orientations, in line with the Department’s wider ambitions
• Demonstrates a vision of the necessary connections between the various Units within the Legal Division, promoting adhesion amongst their managers, and encourages them to contribute to the work on transversal issues within the Division, Department, the ICRC and externally
• Manages in a participative manner their subordinate, in particular the heads of unit, in accordance with HR rules and procedures as well as ICRC’s People Leadership and Management principles
• En