Employment Opportunities

1. Legal Officer/Legal Director (MATERNITY COVER -12 month contract beginning 15 October)

and

2. Legal Associate (1 year contract, with possibility of renewal)

Each of these roles offers a fantastic opportunity to contribute to the work of the Kurdish Human Rights Project in making full use of international mechanisms to protect the human rights of people living in the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and elsewhere. KHRP is a registered charity founded in London in 1992, which works with a number of partner organisations in the regions. KHRP pioneered the practice of bringing individual petitions before the European Court of Human Rights and functions as a catalyst for justice through its analysis, advocacy and action.

The responsibilities of the successful candidate for the Legal Officer/Legal Director position will include conducting European Convention cases, coordinating the work of the KHRP legal team and partners in the region, attending European Court hearings in Strasbourg and making recommendations on KHRP legal strategy. The role will also involve making full use of other international human rights mechanisms, including the ILO, OSCE, UN, European Social Charter and ECJ. Other responsibilities will include participating in the planning of trial observations and fact-finding missions, as well as taking the lead in preparing training programmes in the region.

The successful candidate for the Legal Associate position will work under the Legal Officer/Legal Director in the running of KHRP's litigation and advocacy programme.

For full job descriptions, person specifications and information about the application procedure, please follow the links below:

1. Legal Officer/Legal Director

2. Legal Associate

1. Legal Officer/ Legal Director 

Job Title                    Legal Officer/ Legal Director ( MATERNITY COVER -12 month contract beginning 15 October)

Reporting to             Deputy Director

Salary                         £28,000 to 33,000 depending on experience/ funds available

Closing Date            Close of business 4 August 2008

JOB DESCRIPTION

The work of the Legal Officer involves making full use of the international human rights available to people living in the Kurdish regions and the Diaspora. This includes:

1. European Convention litigation

Day-to-day management of caseload of applications under the European Convention on Human Rights, including:

• Conducting European Convention cases, including drafting and settling applications and submissions to the European Court, providing advice on evidence, drafting pleadings, carrying out legal research, instructing experts, drafting briefs to counsel, preparing for hearings;

• Communicating with and co-ordinating the work of the KHRP legal teams & partner organisations working on the cases in the region and Europe;

• Giving direction to the work of the legal consultants in the region;

• Attending European Court hearings in Strasbourg;

• Maintaining a database of cases and monitoring progress at all stages;

• Making recommendations on legal strategy for the organisation as a whole;

• Implementing strategies decided by board, and developed in consultation with legal team and advisory board.

2. Use of other international human rights mechanisms

• Making full use of international human rights legal mechanisms other than the European Convention including but not limited to the ILO, OSCE, UN, European Social Charter, ECJ;

• Preparing communications to United Nations bodies, to supplement the casework;

• Preparing papers for submission to the Human Dimension of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe;

• Identifying legal mechanisms to call states to account in instances where they are failing to comply with their international human rights obligations.

3. Other legal & institutional work

Any other legal work as may be required by KHRP including, but not limited to:

• Providing information for and in some instances preparing reports on the progress of KHRP assisted cases and other legal work, for the purpose of general public awareness-raising, including the dissemination of information in the KHRP regular news bulletin, the website and the annual report, and for reporting back to funders;
• Identifying potential funders for KHRP's legal work, assisting in the preparation of funding proposals;
• Co-editing the bi-annual KHRP publication Legal Review;
• Monitoring developments in international human rights law: assisting with devising information materials, including free updates, for distribution to the KHRP legal teams in the region and Europe;
• Participation in the planning and conduct of trial observations and fact-finding missions where necessary;
• Taking the lead in preparation of training programmes and seminars on international human rights law in the region,

• Supervising legal volunteers, interns and fellows and assisting with selecting candidates for KHRP's fellowship programme;

• Expanding KHRP's legal expertise through the development of the legal team and establishing subcommittees within the team;

• Ensuring KHRP's cross-cutting thematic areas of work are included in the implementation of legal strategy, including women's rights, minority rights and environmental rights

All members of KHRP staff are encouraged to attend, participate in and act as ambassadors for the KHRP at public engagements.  This means that from time to time, you will be asked to attend &/ or speak at relevant events or assist others in speech-writing and publication sales.  In addition, as a small charity, all staff members are asked to contribute to interdepartmental projects and institution building tasks. Although mostly a London-based position, some travel within Europe and to the Regions is also required. 

PERSON SPECIFICATION

The post-holder will have an understanding of the important role strategic litigation can play in effecting practical change in the day-to-day life of the ordinary citizen.  S/he will be interested in making both a technical and theoretical contribution to the international discourse on human rights principles.  S/he will have a comprehensive grasp of the role legal thought and principles can play in work areas outside of litigation and will be interested in and seek out ways to contribute to the growth of our small charity.

Essential

• Legal qualification granting authority to practise in one of the member states of the Council of Europe

• Minimum of 3 years experience working with the European Convention and United Nations' mechanisms

• Practical experience of managing a heavy caseload

• Highly developed organisational, liaison and communication skills

• Ability to work under own initiative but as part of a small team

• Ability to work under pressure

• Ability to be administratively and secretarially self-sufficient

• Fluency in English, working knowledge of French

• Commitment to the promotion of human rights

• Proficiency in standard computer software (word-processing, excel, databases, power point and internet)

• Interest in developing holistic legal approaches to tackling questions of human rights violations

Highly Desirable

• Interest in women's rights

• Practical litigation experience

• Public speaking experience

• An understanding of the issues facing people living in the Kurdish regions

• Experience of working in the non-government sector

• Understanding of language relevant to the Kurdish regions (e.g. Arabic, Farsi, Armenian, Azeri, Russian)

Conditions of service

• The Legal Officer will be based in the KHRP office in London
• Office hours: 9am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday
• Annual leave: 21 working days plus bank holidays
• Salary: £28,000 - 33,000 depending on experience
• There will be a six month probationary period and a confidentiality clause in the contract of employment

Disability

Applications are welcomed from disabled applicants. If you have a disability, you are advised to contact us if you need help completing the application form and/ or if any adjustments need to be made in advance to facilitate your full participation a the selection stage and/ or thereafter.

Equal Opportunities Policy

KHRP aims to develop and maintain employment policies which ensure that no one is unfairly discriminated against, whether directly or indirectly, on any grounds including race, ethnic origin, culture, gender, sexuality, disability, age or religion. These policies will apply in relation to all those involved in the work of the organisation including paid staff, trainees, consultants, interns, volunteers, those offering services on a pro bono basis and trustees.

Obtaining a Work Permit

KHRP is committed to equal opportunities and cultural diversity. Unfortunately, we believe that we will be unsuccessful in obtaining a work permit for this post. For this reason you should only apply if you already have the right to work within the United Kingdom. This includes citizens of the European Union. Please refer to http://www.workpermits.gov.uk/ for more information about work permit eligibility.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

An application form is available here. (Please register to download). Please contact us if you would like to receive it by post.

Please submit a completed application form together with your CV.

Kurdish Human Rights Project
11 Guilford Street

London WC1N 1DH

Tel: +44 20 7405 3835

Fax: +44 20 7404 9088

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   www.khrp.org

2. Legal Associate

Job Title                    Legal Associate (1 Year contract, with possibility of renewal)

Reporting to             Legal Director/Legal Officer

Salary                         £19 to 23K depending on experience/ funds available

Closing Date            Close of business 28 July 2008

JOB DESCRIPTION

The work of the Legal Associate involves making full use of the international human rights available to people living in the Kurdish regions and the Diaspora. This includes:

1. European Convention litigation

Assisting the Legal Director in the day-to-day management of caseload of applications under the European Convention on Human Rights, including:

• Drafting and settling applications and submissions to the European Court, drafting pleadings, carrying out legal research, drafting briefs to counsel, preparing for hearings;

• Communicating with and co-ordinating the work of the KHRP legal teams & partner organisations working on the cases in the region and Europe;

• Following up on potential cases with local partners

• Giving direction to the work of the legal consultants in the region;

• Attending European Court hearings in Strasbourg;

• Maintaining a database of cases and monitoring progress at all stages;

• Liaise with partners and KHRP's Desk Officers in identifying, receiving and coordinating the translation of relevant materials for casework

2. Use of other international human rights mechanisms

• Making full use of international human rights legal mechanisms other than the European Convention including but not limited to the ILO, OSCE, UN, European Social Charter, ECJ;

• Preparing communications to United Nations bodies, to supplement the casework;

• Preparing papers for submission to the Human Dimension of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe;

3. Other legal & institutional work

Any other legal work as may be required by KHRP including, but not limited to:

• Providing information for and in some instances preparing reports on the progress of KHRP assisted cases and other legal work, for the purpose of general public awareness-raising, including the dissemination of information in the KHRP regular news bulletin, the website and the annual report, and for reporting back to funders;
• Identifying potential funders for KHRP's legal work, assisting in the preparation of funding proposals;
• Assisting with preparation of the bi-annual KHRP publication Legal Review and liaising with regional partners on articles for it;
• Participation in the planning and conduct of trial observations and fact-finding missions where necessary;
• Preparation of training programmes and seminars on international human rights law in the region,

• Assisting Legal Director/ Officer in the supervising legal volunteers, interns

• Assisting fellows from the Kurdish regions and assisting with selecting candidates for KHRP's fellowship programme;

• Expanding KHRP's legal expertise through the development of the legal team in the Kurdish regions

• Ensuring KHRP's cross-cutting thematic areas of work are included in the implementation of legal strategy, including women's rights, minority rights and environmental rights

All members of KHRP staff are encouraged to attend, participate in and act as ambassadors for the KHRP at public engagements.  This means that from time to time, you will be asked to attend &/ or speak at relevant events or assist others in speech-writing and publication sales.  In addition, as a small charity, all staff members are asked to contribute to interdepartmental projects and institution building tasks. Although mostly a London-based position, some travel within Europe and to the Regions is also required. 

PERSON SPECIFICATION

The post-holder will have an understanding of the important role strategic litigation can play in effecting practical change in the day-to-day life of the ordinary citizen.  S/he will be interested in making both a technical and theoretical contribution to the international discourse on human rights principles.  S/he will have a comprehensive grasp of the role legal thought and principles can play in work areas outside of litigation and will be interested in and seek out ways to contribute to the growth of our small charity.

Essential

• Legal qualification granting authority to practise in one of the member states of the Council of Europe

• Practical experience of managing a heavy caseload

• Highly developed organisational, liaison and communication skills

• Ability to work under own initiative but as part of a small team

• Ability to work under pressure

• Ability to be administratively and secretarially self-sufficient

• Fluency in English

• High level of competency in Turkish or Kurdish

• Commitment to the promotion of human rights

• Proficiency in standard computer software (word-processing, excel, databases, power point and internet)

• Interest in developing holistic legal approaches to tackling questions of human rights violations

Highly Desirable

• Practical litigation experience in the regions where the KHRP works

• Public speaking experience

• An understanding of the issues facing people living in the Kurdish regions

• Experience of working in the non-government sector

• Working knowledge of French and/or other languages relevant to the Kurdish Regions (e.g. Arabic, Russian, Armenian, Farsi)

Conditions of service

• The Legal Associate will be based in the KHRP office in London
• Office hours: 9am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday
• Annual leave: 21 working days plus bank holidays
• Salary: £19,000 - 24,000 depending on experience
• There will be a six month probationary period and a confidentiality clause in the contract of employment

Disability

Applications are welcomed from disabled applicants. If you have a disability, you are advised to contact us if you need help completing the application form and/ or if any adjustments need to be made in advance to facilitate your full participation a the selection stage and/ or thereafter.

Equal Opportunities Policy

KHRP aims to develop and maintain employment policies which ensure that no one is unfairly discriminated against, whether directly or indirectly, on any grounds including race, ethnic origin, culture, gender, sexuality, disability, age or religion. These policies will apply in relation to all those involved in the work of the organisation including paid staff, trainees, consultants, interns, volunteers, those offering services on a pro bono basis and trustees.

Obtaining a Work Permit

KHRP is committed to equal opportunities and cultural diversity. Unfortunately, we believe that we will be unsuccessful in obtaining a work permit for this post. For this reason you should only apply if you already have the right to work within the United Kingdom. This includes citizens of the European Union. Please refer to http://www.workpermits.gov.uk/ for more information about work permit eligibility.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

An application form is available here. (Please register to download). Please contact us if you would like to receive it by post.

Please submit a completed application form together with your CV.

Kurdish Human Rights Project
11 Guilford Street

London WC1N 1DH

Tel: +44 20 7405 3835

Fax: +44 20 7404 9088

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   www.khrp.org

---

Recommend this Kurdish Human Rights Project article to your favourite social bookmark networks: