CRIN Vacancy: Legal Researcher

CRIN Vacancy: Legal Researcher

DEADLINE for applications: 25 July 2013 (16:00 London time)

CRIN is looking for a Legal Researcher to support the development of our legal advocacy work. Having recently expanded our research and legal advocacy programme, we now need someone to coordinate the research undertaken by law firms, public interest lawyers and partners. We are looking for someone creative who can also contribute to the development of our long term strategy with a central focus on children’s access to justice and legal advocacy, including monitoring legal reform, strategic litigation and effective use of international and regional human rights systems.

CRIN is a small international children's rights advocacy network based in central London. Aside from sharing our values, we are looking for someone who takes initiative, is flexible, creative, and wants to work in a multicultural environment.

We will provide you with the opportunity to work as part of a small team of dedicated and passionate people and the chance to shape and contribute to a growing and exciting new area of children's rights advocacy.

About CRIN

Guided by our passion for social and legal change, CRIN is building a global network for children's rights. We press for rights, not charity, and advocate for a genuine systemic shift in how governments and societies view children.

Our inspiration is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which we use to bring children's rights to the top of the international agenda. We launch advocacy campaigns, work as part of international coalitions, and strive to make existing human rights enforcement mechanisms accessible for all.

Key tasks will include:

Legal Research

• Research and analyse case law related to children’s rights
• Monitor legal reform in general on specific areas as per our campaigns/policy areas
• Identify opportunities for legal advocacy globally, regionally and nationally
• Write and publicise reports, including submissions to UN and regional human rights bodies
• Commission legal briefs with pro bono lawyers and interns
• Edit and publicise reports by pro bono lawyers
• Manage the case law database, including summarising where relevant, writing regular case law updates, posting reports on the website
• Write the monthly newsletter ‘Children in Court CRINMAIL’
• Develop and coordinate a legal internship programme
• Support research for legal advocacy workshops

General tasks

• Contribute to ongoing research, policy development as and when required
• Develop CRIN’s directory of legal organisations
• Develop relationships with external partners, in particular national NGOs and human rights lawyers
• Contribute to developing and updating the law pages of the CRIN website
• Contribute to the overall strategic development of CRIN’s legal work
• Keep abreast of international developments in relation to human rights law in general
• Conduct other duties as relevant.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential

• Academic qualification in law - multi-jurisdictional law degree would be an advantage but knowledge of comparative law is essential 
• Experience of working in international human rights and familiarity with international human rights law
• Excellent research and analytical skills
• Excellent written and editing skills
• Ability to translate complex legal information into accessible information for non-legal professionals
• Experience of planning, organising and prioritising work under pressure and to deadlines
• Flexible. Can adapt to changing work priorities at short notice, take on the ideas of others, adapt own way of working
• Strong interpersonal skills in order to work collaboratively with colleagues in head office and overseas, as well as external partners
• Ability to think strategically

Desirable

• Experience of working in the voluntary sector and/or overseas
• Fluency in another of the main UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) 
• Has supervised and supported the work of others
• Willingness to learn new skills
• Computer literate with a willingness to learn new ones, including Open Source packages

How to apply

To apply, please send your CV and answer the following question in absolutely no more than one page: “I think CRIN’s legal programme should...”

By email: [email protected] or by post to: The Director, Child Rights International Network – CRIN, East Studio, 2 Pontypool Place, London SE1 8QF, United Kingdom.

Location: London. Home based a possibility
Salary: circa £30,000 per annum
Contract: 12 months initially

DEADLINE for applications: 25 July 2013 (16:00 London time)

Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered. Thank you.

Unfortunately, due to UK immigration rules, we are not able to hire applicants who do not have the right to work in the United Kingdom.

CRIN is a registered UK Charity no. 1125925

For more information about our work, visit our website: www.crin.org