ABOUT LINK COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Link Community Development Ethiopia (LCDE) is part of Link Education International (LEI), a family of not for profit organisations working together to transform education for children and communities across impoverished areas of Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda and Uganda. Since our foundation in 1995 we have worked in 3,000 schools and improved the lives of over two million children through unique and effective school improvement models. We guide governments and educators to adopt low-cost solutions to improve learning and support for children, with a focus on literacy, numeracy and inclusion for the most marginalised children. Through a partnership delivery model which embeds piloting and learning within local systems, we influence changes to policy, practice and accountability on a national scale, and our interventions are regularly adapted and replicated by governments and NGOs in new countries and contexts. LEI, based in Edinburgh, Scotland supports all project, M&E, fundraising, finance and governance activities in our four sub-Saharan partner countries. 

SCOPE OF WORK

LCDE is looking for a Legal Adviser/Legal Firm to be contracted on a retainer’s agreement basis, who is licensed to practice law in all jurisdictions relevant to his/her scope of work as well as LCDE’s. The attorney will be responsible for managing the legal representation of LCDE when required, assuring compliance of LCDE to the legal requirements of the country, as well as advising LCDE on issues related to—but not limited at—corporate law, tax law, employment and labour law.

 SCOPE OF WORK

LCDE is looking for a Legal Adviser/Legal Firm to be contracted on a retainer’s agreement basis, who is licensed to practice law in all jurisdictions relevant to his/her scope of work as well as LCDE’s. The attorney will be responsible for managing the legal representation of LCDE when required, assuring compliance of LCDE to the legal requirements of the country, as well as advising LCDE on issues related to—but not limited at—corporate law, tax law, employment and labour law.  

INDICATIVE AREAS OF KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Making pleadings on behalf of LCDE in any lawsuit that LCDE is a party; 
• Providing detailed and comprehensive legal advice in matters related to any lawsuit or potential lawsuit. This includes meeting LCDE and providing any legal consultation in writing; 
• Handling the organization’s labor issues by continuously advising the organization on new developments and representing it before the labor office and before the Courts of Judicature; 
• Representing LCDE in front of any court or other judicial body in matters related to any legal matter or lawsuit involving the organization;
• Reviewing the client’s policies and procedures (e.g. HR manual; Staff Handbook) to be in line with the Ethiopian Employment & Labor Law;
• Reviewing/drafting rental leases and/or tenancy agreements for offices and accommodation; handling problems with Landlords and/or tenants; 
• Reviewing/drafting contracts with suppliers and services providers and handling disputes with the same; 
• Preparing settlement agreements, attending settlement meetings as LCDE’s legal adviser, upon request by LCDE and ensuring that all settlement agreements are legally enforceable; 
• Helping LCDE in securing exemptions whenever needed, as well as processing of work permits for international staff and renewals of the same;
• Liaising with Agency for Civil Society Organizations (ACSO) on needs-basis;
• Other ad hoc legal tasks as required.

Contract Type: Retainer Agreement for a term of 1 year with an option to renew at LCDE’s discretion

Job Requirements

LEGAL ADVISER SPECIFICATION EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

• An undergraduate degree in law and/or a legal firm whose partners and associates have undergraduate degree in law with particular specification on corporate law, tax law, employment & labor law; 
• At least 7 years’ hands-on experience working as a Legal Firm with focus on corporate law, tax law, employment & labor law;
• Proven experience in working as Legal Adviser for international NGOs;
• Excellent analytical skills, negotiation skills and interpersonal skills;  Excellent written and spoken English; 

How to Apply

Please send a 1. Cover Letter detailing how you meet the required criteria together with the 2. Law Firm Profile and the 3. qualifications and areas of expertise of its lawyers as well as a 4.

Financial proposal for the retainer agreement to Link at: lcd@lcdethiopia.org ccing: nicolo@linkeducation.org.uk with the subject line “Legal Adviser – Retainer Agreement”

The closing date for applications is 15^th October 2020