🇺🇸 Senior Legal Officer, Counter-Terrorism Financing (P-5) ⚖️ UN CTED Job in New York, United States 🕊️

Cutting off the money is one of the hardest and most decisive fronts in the global fight against terrorism — and the UN body that assesses how well countries do it is hiring the senior lawyer to lead that work. The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) is recruiting a Senior Legal Officer at the P-5 level in New York, coordinating its work on countering the financing of terrorism. At Youth Works Hub we gather high-level international careers alongside youth opportunities, and this is a senior legal-leadership role at the heart of the UN Security Council's counter-terrorism machinery.

Organisational Context

The Security Council established a dedicated Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), assisted by an Executive Directorate (CTED), which carries out its policy decisions and conducts expert assessments of UN Member States. The Assessment and Technical Assistance Office (ATAO) is a core division of CTED — it evaluates how well countries enforce UN security rules against terrorism, reviews legal and operational gaps, and connects states with targeted capacity-building support. This position sits in the Specialized Technical Expertise and Research Branch of ATAO/CTED and reports directly to the Chief of Branch.

Responsibilities

⚖️ Provide authoritative legal advice on highly complex questions and analyse the status of implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions — including 1373 (2001), 2178 (2014), 2331 (2016), 2396 (2017), 2462 (2019), 2482 (2019) and 2617 (2021) — on the global fight against terrorism and its financing, including the linkages between organised crime, terrorism and its financing;

📄 Prepare and review draft reports and stocktaking updates to ensure consistency, and propose technical solutions to resolve States' compliance issues;

👥 Coordinate and lead a team of officers, guiding and supervising junior officers on legal and countering-the-financing-of-terrorism (CFT) work;

🧭 Make recommendations to CTED senior officials; prepare and update the technical guide assisting States' implementation of relevant resolutions; and ensure evaluation and assessment consistency;

🌍 Engage with international, regional and sub-regional organisations to coordinate follow-up activities enhancing Member States' capacity, identify technical-assistance providers and implementing agencies, and facilitate assistance bilaterally and through the UN Counter-Terrorism Global Compact;

🔎 Identify recipient States needing capacity-building; prepare and participate in assessment visits on behalf of the CTC (including CFT-targeted visits under resolution 2462) to monitor compliance, develop recommendations and identify technical-assistance needs;

📊 Prepare briefings and special events for the Committee; develop analytical products on CFT trends and challenges; propose benchmarks, standards and good practices; and lead the review and design of new policy and assessment-methodology guidelines;

🤝 Represent CTED in international and regional events; serve as Coordinator on CFT matters within the Cluster of Specialized Technical Expertise; and liaise with UN entities and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), including as co-Vice-Chair of the Global Compact's relevant Working Group.

Who Can Apply

🎓 Education: An advanced university degree (master's or equivalent) in law or a related field; a first-level degree with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu.

💼 Experience: A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in international law, criminal justice, law enforcement, prosecutorial or international legal cooperation or related areas is required. Also required: experience supervising or leading a team of legal or technical specialists, and experience with counter-terrorism issues — including countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) and familiarity with the FATF Recommendations. Experience in multi-stakeholder coordination in an international environment, and in research, emerging technologies and data analysis, is desirable.

🗣️ Languages: English is required; Arabic, Russian, French, Chinese (Mandarin) or Spanish is desirable.

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Good to Know

📄 Appointment against this position is for an initial period of one year, with extension subject to the mandate and availability of funds. The UN Secretariat is committed to 50/50 gender balance and geographical diversity, and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. For this position, applicants from unrepresented and under-represented Member States are encouraged to apply — a list that includes, among others, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United States. The United Nations does not charge a fee at any stage of recruitment.

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Frequently Asked Questions

❓ What level is this role? A senior P-5 legal-leadership position at UN CTED in New York.

❓ How much experience do I need? At least 10 years in international law, criminal justice or related areas, plus team leadership and counter-terrorism-financing experience.

❓ What is the focus? Coordinating CTED's legal work on countering the financing of terrorism, assessing Member States and engaging with partners including FATF.

❓ Which languages? English is required; an additional official UN language is desirable.

Deadline

⏳ 22 September 2026 (postings close at 11:59 p.m. New York time). Youth Works Hub flags time-sensitive international roles like this so you don't miss them.