Senior Legal Officer – Regulatory Affairs

About the role

The International Seabed Authority seeks a Senior Legal Officer to lead regulatory development for the Mining Code and related standards. Based in Kingston, Jamaica, you will provide expert legal advice on complex international law matters and support senior decision‑makers.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the drafting and coordination of the Mining Code, standards and guidelines, ensuring legal coherence with UNCLOS and the 1994 Agreement.
• Supervise legal officers and other staff engaged in regulatory development, set priorities and review outputs for quality and timeliness.
• Provide authoritative legal advice to the Secretary‑General, Director of OLA, Council and Technical Commission on substantive and procedural issues.
• Conduct and oversee extensive legal research on international law, the law of the sea and related topics, producing opinions, briefs and reports.
• Manage the legal work programme, including planning, allocation of assignments and monitoring progress against deadlines.
• Negotiate and draft complex contracts and legal instruments with consultants, experts and research partners.
• Support intergovernmental bodies by preparing background materials, analytical summaries and drafting meeting documents.
• Represent the Office of Legal Affairs at conferences, seminars and other fora, presenting the Authority’s regulatory work.

Required profile

• Strong programme‑management capability and experience advising senior officials on highly complex legal and policy issues.
• Demonstrated ability to work at the intersection of scientific, technical and legal disciplines and to synthesize diverse inputs.
• Professional competence in international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and related agreements.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with a focus on clear, concise legal drafting.
• Commitment to gender equality and inclusive participation in all work activities.