National Legal Specialist

The National Legal Specialist will support the introduction of a land consolidation instrument in Georgia integrated with irrigation rehabilitation under the World Bank GRAIL Project. The role involves legal and institutional assessments, drafting legislative recommendations, advising on land disputes, and supporting beneficiary farmers on property and inheritance issues.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal support for the implementation of land consolidation activities under the GRAIL Project, in close collaboration with and under the technical and operational supervision of FAO and collaboration with the relevant legal units within MEPA and the LMA.
• Contribute to the drafting of the National Land Consolidation Strategy ensuring coherence with the existing strategic and legal documents.
• Under the guidance of the FAO Legal Officer and the International Legal Specialist lead conducting a comprehensive legal and institutional assessment of the existing regulatory framework related to agricultural land management and land consolidation.
• Contribute to the drafting the recommendations of new legislation and/or the revision of existing legal instruments and operational procedures to enable the effective implementation of land consolidation pilots.
• Liaise with public authorities at various levels on matters concerning legislation, regulations, and operational procedures related to land consolidation.
• Supervise and coordinate the work of the Land Data/Information Specialist and Junior Land Consolidation Specialist, ensuring quality and timely delivery of outputs, assessing their performance and providing feedback when necessary.
• Provide guidance to the Land Data/Information Specialist and Junior Land Consolidation Specialist, as well as any other national or locally based team members in legal issues related to land consolidation.
• Engage in supporting the beneficiary farmers to understand their land rights, property registration issues, inheritance procedures; provide consultations to understand the land consolidation process and the legal implications thereof.
• Under the overall guidance of the FAO team, contribute to the quality assurance from a legal perspective for all deliverables related to the land consolidation component of the GRAIL Project, including land consolidation plans and supporting documentation.
• Provide legal advice in cases of land disputes.
• Under the leadership of LTO, LEGN Legal Officer, International Legal Specialist and National Project Coordinator, contribute, from a legal perspective, to the design, coordination, and monitoring of the delivery of capacity-building and training programmes for LMA staff and other stakeholders.
• Contribute to the development of the National Land Consolidation Programme under the GRAIL Project, based on pilot experiences and technical oversight and guidance from FAO.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree in Law.
• Minimum of 7 years of professional experience in the development, review, and implementation of legal and regulatory frameworks, particularly in property rights, real estate, or land governance.
• Working knowledge of English is required (C - level for both speaking and writing).
• National of Georgia.
• Strong knowledge of legal frameworks related to land governance, property rights, and land tenure systems.
• Experience in legal analysis, drafting, and review of legislation, regulations, and operational procedures.
• Ability to conduct legal and institutional assessments and provide practical recommendations.
• Experience in developing and aligning legal inputs to national strategies and policy documents.
• Ability to provide legal advice on land-related disputes and regulatory issues.
• Strong understanding of public administration and institutional coordination mechanisms.
• Ability to liaise and coordinate with government authorities and multiple stakeholders.
• Experience in designing and delivering legal aspects of capacity-building and training programmes.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and drafting skills.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Proven professional experience in the assessment, development, review, and implementation of legal and regulatory frameworks, particularly in property rights, real estate, or land governance.
• Proven experience in working on land law.
• Demonstrated team supervision experience.
• Good understanding of Georgia’s National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), data protection requirements, and relevant government policies.
• Experience in working with international organizations, government agencies and development partners is an asset; working experience at a UN organization is an asset.
• Experience working with rural communities and farmers is an asset.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and leadership skills.
• Experience in managing and supervising project teams.
• Experience working in multi-disciplinary teams and large-scale projects will be an asset.
• Strong understanding of land governance, tenure systems, and legal frameworks.

Skills

• Legal Framework
• Property Rights Law
• Land Governance
• Legal Analysis
• Legislative Drafting
• Regulatory Reviews
• Institutional Assessments
• Legal Advice on Land Disputes
• Policy Alignment
• Public Administration Knowledge
• Stakeholder Coordination
• Capacity Building Design and Implementation
• Training Delivery
• Team Supervision
• National Spatial Data Infrastructure
• Data Protection Compliance
• Project Team Management
• Negotiation
• Legal Drafting
• Land Tenure Systems

Languages

English