Legal Specialist at Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a Danish international non-governmental organisation, which promotes and supports durable solutions to the problems faced by refugees and internally displaced people all over the world. DRC is present in more than 30 conflict territories around the world assisting displaced people with shelter, food, income-generating activities, and a wide range of other assistance. It is of utmost importance for DRC to work in compliance with the DRC Accountability and Quality Management system and national legislations. Smooth, reliable and effective operational systems are preconditions for DRC to maintain its position as a trustworthy and reliable partner for our donors and an accountable organisation towards our beneficiaries.

We are recruiting to fill position below:

Job Title: Legal Specialist

Location: Nigeria
Job Type: Full - time
Supervised by: Protection Coordinator
Reporting to: Protection Manager
Employment Period: 7 Months (with the possibility of extension)
Type of Contract (Expat/National/Trainee): National

Purpose

• The Legal Specialist is responsible for the technical oversight of all DRC and partners’launch of legal activities and collaboration on the legal component especially in the Northwest, including legal awareness, legal counseling and alternative dispute resolution (ADR).
• She / he guides the strategic development of DRC’s legal aid programme in Nigeria through local partnerships.
• The role also provides support and/or technical guidance to all field staff and partners working on projects with one or more legal components for a few months of the project and any other task assigned by the Supervisors.

Duties and Responsibilities
The Legal specialist will: 

• Provide technical oversight of all legal activities within the DRC Nigeria Protection and Livelihoods programmes especially related to links to social registers. 
• Mapping all the legal services in the North West (private/traditional/others…) and suggest best ways of collaborating with them and potentially in the North East
• Takes the lead on strategic decisions regarding the Legal Aid Programme, in collaboration with the Country Level Protection Coordinator and PIPM and Area Level Programme Manager and the partners
• Provides regular technical supervision of all partners legal staff including oversight of case documentation and give them feedbacks and trainings.   
• Provides capacity building for DRC staff and partners working on projects with a legal component, including the development of capacity building plans and training materials and how to better use referrals.   
• Develops SOPs and tools for all new legal activities carried out with local partners.  
• Develops outreach material with a legal focus, and supports on coaching and supervision delivering awareness session, as required during the consultancy  
• Ensures inputs on relevant legal matters through legal research insights in Nigeria and close collaboration with PIM Specialist and PC, and PIPM on legal analysis to complement the PAF especially for North West Nigeria although some insights for the North East might be required too. 
• Ensures all legal activities have relevant MEAL tools for assessing impact and quality, in collaboration with the Protection and MEAL Managers and a toolbox of legal indicators is developed to support DRC/Local Partners in the legal interventions. 
• Conducts regular field visits to ensure that all legal activities are of a high quality including HLP/Access to Justice and other forms of legal support. 
• Develops technical oversight for all partners with a legal component, including supporting on capacity assessments, trainings of trainers  
• Develops legal needs assessment tools to inform program design and strategic direction, in collaboration with the Protection and MEAL Managers. 
• Participates in relevant coordination legal meetings, as agreed with the PIPM and the PC
• Coordinates with the Global HLP Advisor and Legal Advisor from DRC and provide comments and feedbacks
• Ensured to develop legal questionnaires
• Coordinate with all departments and subsectors of DRC Nigeria for integrating legal aspects into their work
• Supervision and coaching of local NGOs on legal aid

The responsibilities listed above are not exhaustive and may be readjusted according to operational needs but will remain in line with the overall purpose of the role.

Requirements

• Degree in Law; Masters would be an advantage
• Bar-registered Lawyer (Nigeria Bar Association)
• Minimum 5 years of experience working for an INGO in the protection sector, with a focus on legal programming. Experience of implementing alternative dispute resolution would be an advantage and HLP expertise.  
• Experience working in an advisory role would be an advantage.   
• Experience providing training on legal topics 
• Experience working with national partners, local/government authorities, and UN organizations 
• Excellent skill in MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 
• Proven ability to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines and work with minimal supervision in high pressure environment with multiple tasks, changing priorities, and changing resources.
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills and a demonstrated ability to promote harmonious/cohesive teamwork, in a cross-cultural context.
• Leadership, organization and flexibility.
• Ability to adapt to change and an intensive work schedule.

Application Closing Date
2nd February, 2026.