Legal Intern

6 months (renewable once)

This internship is part of an academic training program, a professional training program or a socio-professional integration program, and must meet the conditions set by the Conseil de surveillance du marché de l'emploi (CSME).

Context

Médecins Sans Frontières is an independent, international medical and humanitarian organization that provides care to people in need, people affected by natural or man-made disasters, and victims of armed conflict, without discrimination and without regard to race, religion, creed or political affiliation (MSF Charter).

The Intersectional Legal Department (ILD) provides advice and general/private legal support to the operations and headquarters of Médecins Sans Frontières.

Mission

The Legal Intern will be assigned to the thematic “Legal and Administrative Framework of the missions” (Unit 4), which covers Operational Governance, Framework and Projects Memorandum of Understanding, Administrative constraints and regulations (incl. insurance, taxes and customs) in the missions, Supply, procurement, logistics and construction, etc.

Tasks and responsibilities

Legal Support (70% of the time)

• Legal support in the field and at headquarters:
  
  
  
  • Redaction of commercial contracts and agreements, and review before signature; which may include international contracts involving multiple MSF entities;
  
  
  • Reviewing MoU projects and assisting to the revision of MoU Framework;
  
  
  • Support missions in the management of legal files (prelitigation/litigation files in the field tax, customs, administrative, commercial);
  
  
  • Archiving files in the legal database.
  
  
  
  


• Research and drafting of notes:
  
  
  
  • Various legal research under different legislations and drafting of legal memos and guidelines;
  
  
  • Thematic research on the contexts of intervention;
  
  
  • Drafting of memos and matter files on a particular legal issue, with a view to tracing the history of the issue and presenting the major risks and possible recommendations to the operational team;
  
  
  • Definition of legal arrangements in different fields and under different legal systems (opening of missions / projects and closing, authorisations of medical practice by nationals and foreigners / taxation of foreign legal entities and individuals).
  
  
  
  

Administrative Support and Organization of the Department (20% of the time)

• Coordination with assistants in the operations department and other departments (briefing, follow-up of MOUs signed in the field, etc.)


• Organization of meetings (agenda, logistic, minutes and follow up on action points)


• Management of the Unit 4 tools and database:
  
  
  
  • Collecting, filing and updating documents and legal tools;
  
  
  • Dissemination of tools created by the Legal Department;
  
  
  • Update of monitoring tools (SHIELD, country table, matter files)
  
  
  
  

Legal Dossiers (10% of the time)

• Depending on academic requirements, the Intern, during the period of internship (from 6 months to 12 months) might be expected to work on a specific Legal Dossier.


• The dossier selected should combine (a) the legal needs of the Department, (b) academic requirements such as the need to complete a thesis and (c) if possible, a link to the future career of the Intern.


• The final deliverable will be presented to the Legal Department at the end of the period of employment.

• Have a tripartite internship agreement


• University degree in law – Master 2 (or equivalent) from Law School or Politics Sciences school


• Bar scholarship is an asset (e.g. PPI EFB internship in France)


• No specific requirements in terms of work experience but having had 6 months experience in a law firm or in a legal department, including drafting contracts and/or managing disputes, is an advantage


• Strong team spirit and ability to work in a multicultural environment


• Ability to synthesize and analyse, autonomy, writing skills, precision, time management, responsiveness


• Very good level of English and French, particularly written (50% of work in English).

Terms of employment

• A tripartite internship agreement is mandatory


• 6 months (renewable once), according to internship agreement


• Full time (40h/week)


• Based in Geneva


• Ideal start date: July 1st, 2024


• Gross monthly remuneration CHF 2'000.-

To apply

Please send a CV (2 pages maximum) and a cover letter (1 page maximum).

Closing date for applications May 12th, 2024.

We reserve the right to close the position early if we consider the number and quality of applications received to be sufficient.

The applications will be treated confidentially.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Only applications submitted on our recruitment platforms will be considered.

Please note that we do not wish to use the services of recruitment or placement agencies.

At MSF, we are committed to an inclusive culture that encourages and supports the diverse voices of our staff members. We strive to create workplaces where teams of people with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, perspectives, ideas and experiences work together for the social mission of MSF to create better outcomes for our patients and the communities we work with.

We welcome applications from individuals of all genders, ages, sexual orientations, ethnicities, background, religions, beliefs, ability status, and all other diversity characteristics.

MSF does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of discrimination or harassment, including sexual harassment. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo reference checks.