Legal Officer

Legal Officer

CEPOL - European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training

Budapest, Hungary

€ 40,000 - € 49,999 per year

Job Summary

Under the supervision and the overall responsibility of the HoU Strategic and Planning Directorate Unit the Senior legal and human rights officer will provide legal assessments needed for the effective implementation of the Themis programme by the consortium. The role includes ensuring comprehensive due diligence on human rights compliance in line with the EU’s legal and policy framework, identifying potential legal and human rights risks, and proposing mitigation measures. The Officer will contribute to the mainstreaming of human rights considerations across all project activities, as well as monitor adherence to applicable international and regional standards. Additionally, the position entails advising consortium partners on legal obligations, supporting capacity-building efforts, and ensuring that all actions are aligned with principles of accountability, rule of law, and respect for fundamental rights.

Key accountabilities

• Conduct thorough legal and human rights due diligence to ensure compliance with the EU legal and policy framework across all project activities;
• Identify potential legal and human rights risks and develop practical mitigation strategies to address them;
• Effectively mainstream human rights considerations within the consortium’s work;
• Monitor and assess compliance with applicable international, regional, and EU human rights standards, ensuring consistent application across all actions;
• Provide legal advice and guidance to consortium partners on obligations related to regulatory compliance;
• Support and deliver capacity-building initiatives, including training sessions for staff and stakeholders on legal and human rights topics;
• Ensure alignment of all activities with core principles of accountability, rule of law, and respect for fundamental rights;
• Prepare and regularly update relevant risk assessments and privacy statements;
• Offer independent legal support to ICT and other services on contractual matters, including cloud services (e.g. SaaS), and the use of relevant compliance tools such as questionnaires;
• Manage requests for access to documents and support the Legal Officer/Data Protection Officer (DPO) in preparing and delivering training;
• Draft and prepare Management Board (MB) and Executive Director (ED) decisions, as well as related legal and administrative documents.

Eligibility criteria

In addition, in order to be eligible the candidate must:

• Be a national of a Member State of the Union;
• Be entitled to his or her full rights as a citizen;
• Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws on military service;
• Meet the character requirements for the duties involved;
• Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post; and
• Have a thorough knowledge (min. level C1) of one of the languages of the Union and a satisfactory knowledge (min. level B2) of another language of the Union. One of the languages has to be English, as this is the official language of CEPOL.

Education

• A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is four years or more in the field of law; Or
• A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma in the field of law plus a master’s degree of at least one year.

Professional Experience

In addition to the above at least 3 years of relevant and proven professional experience gained after obtaining the diploma.

Essential Criteria

• Min. 3 years of proven experience interpreting and applying EU law, such as EU institutional law, EU public access to documents and personal data. Please describe the duration and provide examples;
• Min. 3 years of experience in providing legal advice, drafting and reviewing legal documents such as internal decisions, agreements, and governance documents. Please describe the duration and provide examples;
• Proven work experience in application of EU fundamental rights and international human rights standards. Please describe the duration and provide examples;
• Proven experience in designing and delivery of effective training on legal, compliance, and human-rights matters. Please describe the duration and provide examples;
• Proven experience in coordinating legal matters with multiple stakeholders both internal and external. Please describe the duration and provide examples.

Advantageous Criteria

• Proven work experience with the EU legal and financial framework applicable to budget implementation under indirect management and the implementation of contribution agreements;
• Studies in the field of human rights, gender, international relations;
• Experience in interpreting and applying rules on access to documents, as well as data protection principles;
• Work experience in an EU body in a legal role.