Legal and Compliance Assistant ( Virtual Assets & OSINT)

The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) was established by the General Assembly in June 2017. The Office has five main functions: (a) provide leadership on the General Assembly counter-terrorism mandates across the United Nations System; (b) enhance coordination and coherence across the 43 Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities to ensure the balanced implementation of the four pillars of the Strategy; (c) strengthen the delivery of United Nations counter-terrorism capacity-building assistance to Member States; (d) improve visibility, advocacy and resource mobilization for United Nations counter-terrorism efforts; and (e) ensure that due priority is given to counter-terrorism across the United Nations System and that the important work on preventing violent extremism is firmly rooted in the Strategy.

The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) provides leadership on the General Assembly’s counter-terrorism mandates and supports Member States through policy development, coordination and capacity-building assistance. Through relevant programming, including work on cybersecurity and new technologies, UNOCT supports efforts to prevent and counter the misuse of emerging technologies by terrorists and to strengthen national and regional counter-terrorism responses in line with applicable international norms and standards. This UNV Specialist (home-based/remote) assignment is part of a capacity-building initiative implemented by UNOCT to strengthen capacities in Southeast Asia to address risks related to the misuse of virtual assets (VA) and virtual asset service providers (VASPs), with reference to Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 15 (VA/VASP). The initiative supports relevant national stakeholders to enhance policy and operational readiness through practical guidance and actionable recommendations, and promotes effective coordination among competent authorities. The initiative’s core components include targeted national consultations to support preliminary mapping of legal and operational domestic needs, a series of capacity-building activities on relevant methodologies for investigations (including Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) -related approaches), and a regional scenario-based tabletop exercise aimed at strengthening inter-agency coordination and cooperation. The assignment will contribute to the delivery of the initiative’s outputs, including documentation of key takeaways and preparation of technical inputs and reporting elements. All activities will be implemented in full compliance with international human rights law, with particular attention to the protection of privacy, due process and data protection; OSINT-related support will emphasize lawful, proportionate and accountable practices.

Under the overall supervision of the Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Unit, and working in close coordination with the Cyber and New Technologies Unit, UNOCT project staff and relevant national counterparts, the UN Volunteer will contribute to the delivery of a capacity-building initiative related to VA/VASPs, FATF Recommendation 15 (New technologies) and OSINT-enabled approaches. The UN Volunteer will undertake the following duties: - Conduct desk reviews and support preliminary mapping of relevant legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks related to VA/VASPs, with reference to FATF Recommendation 15 (VA/VASP). - Conduct stakeholder mapping and support analysis of coordination arrangements among relevant authorities, identifying gaps, priorities and actionable recommendations. - Draft technical notes, analytical briefs and recommendations to support consultations and follow-up technical assistance, including options to bridge operational needs with national legal and regulatory frameworks. - Support the planning and preparation of capacity-building activities (e.g., workshops and scenario-based exercises), including development and/or review of agendas, learning objectives and selected training materials, in coordination with relevant technical leads. - Contribute, as appropriate, to OSINT-related methodological inputs relevant to virtual asset investigations; - Support monitoring, documentation of key takeaways (including lessons learned) and reporting inputs, including donor-facing summaries, as requested by the supervisor. Perform any other related duties as required by the supervisor(s) to ensure timely delivery of project outputs.