Legal Specialist

Introduction

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.

Background

A country of around 230M inhabitants, with over 129 million currently living in poverty, Nigeria faces one of the world's most complex humanitarian crises in the world. The fifteen-year conflict in the Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) states, driven primarily by the Boko Haram insurgency and its splinter groups (ISWAP and JAS), has resulted in widespread displacement, violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws, and acute protection needs. More than 2.3 million people remain internally displaced in the northeast, while in the Northwest region an additional 1.3M people have been forcibly displaced due to banditry, kidnapping, and herders -farmers conflict. Northern Nigeria is heavily impacted by climate change, including lengthening lean seasons and erratic rainy seasons and droughts, resulting in food production shortfalls and more population displacements. Severe acute malnutrition is affecting a world-high total of 1.8 million children across BAY and northwestern states.

In 2026 Nigeria’s humanitarian system will be transitioning from UN-led toward nationally owned coordination, with some lack of clarity regarding concrete mechanisms to be it in place and amid a funding crisis.

DRC has been operating in Nigeria since 2016. The Country Office is in Abuja and has 2 area offices in Maiduguri and Sokoto with sub offices in Gusau, Bama and Banki and a mobile team in Katsina. DRC Nigeria's multi-sectoral response addresses core Strategic Priority Interventions: Hard-to-Reach populations, Economic Recovery, Protection, and increasingly climate resilience. The operation focuses on both emergency response and solutions programming with expanding partnerships with local actors.

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). S/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.

Experience and technical competencies:

• 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.

Education:

• Degree in Law; Masters would be an advantage. 
• Bar-registered Lawyer (Nigeria Bar Association) 

We offer.

Contract length: 7 Months. 

Workplace: Sokoto, Nigeria

Start date: ASAP. 

Salary and conditions will be in accordance with the DRC National salary structure.  This is contractually a national position for which local Nigerian terms and conditions apply. 

General Regulations:

Application Process

Are you interested? Then apply for this position online: www.drc.dk/about-drc/vacancies/current-vacancies. All applicants must send a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages). Both must be in English.

DRC provides equal opportunity in employment and prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.

DRC encourages all applicants to apply and does not practice any discrimination in any recruitment process.

However, all applicants shall take into consideration that DRC cannot offer an international work contract to a citizen of the country of assignment (in this specific case, Nigeria).

Deadline: Applications close on the 06th of January 2026 at midnight (GMT time).