Sustainable Land Governance Specialist

The project "Land for Women" aims to promote land and environmental regularization in settlement areas and rural communities in Maranhão, with a priority focus on women heads of household. The intervention will combine land titling actions, training in sustainable practices and entrepreneurship, access to credit and environmental monitoring, with a view to ensuring land tenure security, promoting access to public policies and strengthening economic autonomy.

The Legal Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the Assistant Representative for the FAO Programme Unit in Brazil and under the technical guidance of the MPTF Project Coordinator. This role will be legally overseen by LEGN and specific outputs will be submitted for the unit's validation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the coordination of the project and counterparties in the legal analysis of proposals for acts, contracts, terms of cooperation, drafts and instruments that may arise from the project's actions, with a view to regulatory compliance, legal certainty and adherence to the principles of public administration.
• Provide legal support for land and environmental regularization processes, with a focus on titling for women heads of household in rural areas, considering ethnic, gender, and race approaches.
• Participate in the formulation of proposals for legal and institutional guidelines for land governance in Maranhão, promoting alignment with federal legal frameworks and international best practices.
• Support the development of internal regulations, technical opinions and legal notes that ensure the correct legal framework of the project's actions.
• Work with state and federal agencies (such as ITERMA, PGE, SEMA, INCRA, MJSP) and civil society organizations to ensure legal certainty in strategic processes and decisions.
• Contribute to the preparation and review of terms of reference, notices, contractual instruments and administrative arrangements of the project.
• Support the overall coordination of the project in complying with legal guidelines, socio-environmental and gender safeguards, and in the formalization of execution acts.
• Prepare legal reports and inputs for accountability and audits, as well as monitor diligence and statements of control bodies.
• Participate in technical meetings and cross-sectoral workshops with key project actors.
• Systematize regulations, guidelines and good practices for replication and sustainability of actions.
• Accompany field visits to provide legal technical advice, when and if necessary.
• Travel, when required.

Requirements:

The ideal candidate should hold a graduation in Law and have at least 5 years of professional experience in Public Management, working in the formulation, analysis or legal advice of public policies, government programs or land and environmental regularization projects.

Desirable qualifications:

The following qualifications are considered desirable:

• Active registration with the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB).
• Lato or stricto sensu postgraduate degree in Public Law, Public Management, Public Policy, Public Administration or related areas.
• Mastery of Brazilian administrative, land and environmental legislation.
• Ability to write opinions, normative drafts (decrees, ordinances, contracts, terms of reference) and legal documents applied to public management.
• Previous work with land regularization of social interest or policies aimed at traditional communities and rural women.
• Experience with institutional articulation at the state or municipal level, especially in regions of the Legal Amazon.
• Working knowledge of the stages of implementation of public policies and legal frameworks on gender, environment and territorial planning.
• Familiarity with social and environmental safeguards, legal risk assessment and regulatory compliance in government projects.

Benefits:

The selected candidate will undergo rigorous reference and background checks. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates should apply through the FAO recruitment portal, attaching a letter of motivation. Only applications received through the portal will be considered.