Legal Officer: Human Rights Sanctions

REDRESS is recruiting a Legal Officer to deliver our work on human rights sanctions. We are seeking applications from mid-level lawyers with previous experience in sanctions or human rights law to contribute to this work.

REDRESS has a diverse team from different backgrounds and with different experiences. Under our Equality Policy, we welcome applications from people of colour, LGBTQI+ people, and disabled people, who are currently under-represented. We will use positive action under the Equality Act 2010 to appoint from these groups if two candidates are equally qualified. We are also trying to recruit globally where UK immigration law permits it.

Who we are

REDRESS is an international human rights organisation based in London and The Hague that pursues legal claims on behalf of survivors of torture in the UK and around the world to obtain justice and reparation for violations against their human rights. We empower survivors to access justice through human rights cases against governments, civil cases against individuals, and cases where we advocate for law enforcement bodies to prosecute perpetrators under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

Our approach is strategic, so that as well as representing an individual we target the policy reasons that enabled the torture to take place, by building a campaign that uses advocacy, community engagement, and communications to influence change.

Our 2025 Strategy identifies torture related to dissent and discriminatory torture as our two thematic priorities. We also support the anti-torture movement through our solidarity programme.

REDRESS has undertaken a process of growth and modernization over the last few years. You can find information about the organization in the latest Trustees Annual Report. We currently have good reserves of nearly six months running costs, and a diverse funding base. We have grown to about 30 staff, and plan to remain at a similar size while we consolidate. We have upgraded our procedures and policies, and we are developing new commitments to improve staff development, further enhance our diversity, build our survivor-centred approach, and ensure people with lived experience are part of REDRESS.

The Programme

Through its Reparation programme, REDRESS works to secure the delivery of effective reparation for survivors of torture, including through compensation and the introduction of practical measures to implement international standards for satisfaction, rehabilitation, non-repetition, and restitution. Through litigation and policy advocacy we develop and implement national legal frameworks that deliver reparations for individuals and communities.

REDRESS has launched a new initiative to respond to the connection between grand corruption and human rights abuses by taking action to freeze and seize the assets of high-profile perpetrators (both corrupt and purportedly legitimate) and, where possible, have them assigned as reparations for the benefit of their victims.

As part of this work, REDRESS is building on the opportunity of the new UK human rights “Magnitsky” sanctions regime introduced in 2020, to seek sanctions designations for the perpetrators of international human rights violations, through submitting casefiles to the FCDO, and engaging in policy research and advocacy. REDRESS works with civil society partners across the globe to make effective use of the mechanism, through training, mentoring, and assisting with casefile development, and collaborating with partners in the USA and the EU to ensure effective co-ordination. REDRESS is also developing its ability to undertake command chain analysis, to identify the individual perpetrators that should be targeted through sanctions.

Position Profile

REDRESS is recruiting a Legal Officer within our Reparation programme to deliver our work on Human Rights Sanctions.

The Role

The main responsibilities of the role are:

Seek new designations under the UK human rights sanctions regime through drafting casefiles on key international human rights violations.

Support partner NGOs across the world to engage with the UK’s human rights sanctions regime, through producing guidance materials, running training sessions, advising on potential designations, and providing guidance on draft casefiles.
Develop REDRESS’s ability to undertake command chain analysis to identify key perpetrators for sanctions designations, through field review, consultations and engaging international experts.
Undertake analysis of, and draft reports on, the UK human rights regime as it progresses, and develop policy recommendations for its effective operation.
Work closely with the Advocacy Officer and the Corruption Sanctions Legal Officer to build support for the effective operation of the UK human rights sanctions regime and for individual designation recommendations through advocacy to UK parliament and decision makers in government.
Lead REDRESS’ work as Secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Magnitsky Sanctions, supported by the Advocacy Officer and Corruption Sanctions Legal Officer.

Work with REDRESS’s communications team to support advocacy through a public campaign, focusing on the personal stories of survivors of torture who are seeking the imposition of sanctions on perpetrators, and the lavish lifestyles of corrupt human rights abusers.
Coordinate an informal coalition of NGOs, victims’ groups, policy-makers, pro bono lawyers, and other stakeholders.
Ensure coordination with existing Global Magnitsky sanctions regimes in the US, Canada, the EU, and elsewhere.
Assist where necessary with litigation and policy work on REDRESS’s linked asset recovery project.

Responsibilities

The Legal Officer will contribute to the work of REDRESS as follows:

Litigation. Assist in the preparation and delivery of strategic litigation on behalf of clients of REDRESS and partners, through (where necessary) client care, legal and factual research, questioning witnesses, evidential analysis, and drafting of submissions. 
Legal Advocacy. Assist in the policy analysis and advocacy in support of the strategic objectives of REDRESS. Work with partners to advocate for legal and institutional reforms or to address systemic challenges. Draft reports, prepare submissions, and advocate to relevant stakeholders in national, regional, and international fora. 
Project Management. Deliver innovative and effective projects that further the strategic objectives of the organization. Contribute to the drafting of funding proposals, financial reports, and donor reports.  
Case Management. Assist with the management of our casework by keeping electronic and paper filing and carry forward systems up to date and maintaining casework statistics.

Professional Responsibility. Maintain the highest ethical standards, including for direct representation of clients, and case management. 
Collaboration. Work collaboratively with other legal and programme staff. Supervise legal assistants and interns.  
Training. Assist in the delivery of training programs for specific projects where needed. 
Partnerships. Foster relations with existing and potential new partners and counterparts around the world on ongoing litigation, advocacy, training, and policy initiatives. 
Representing REDRESS. Contribute to the wider needs of the organisation, including communicating REDRESS’ work to a wide array of audiences.

The position is also expected to carry out such further duties as may reasonably be required from time to time by REDRESS.

Person Specification

Essential Competencies

The successful candidate will need to have the following competencies:

At least three years relevant experience.

Degree in law. 
Proficiency in international law, human rights law, international criminal law or sanctions law. 
Demonstrated proficiency in legal and non-legal drafting and editing.
Interest in international relations and foreign policy.
Experience in public speaking to a variety of audiences.

Fluency in written and oral English.

Desirable Competencies

A strong candidate will also have other desirable competencies:

Licensed to practice law through bar membership or equivalent. 
Advanced degree specialised in international law, human rights law or international relations, or equivalent experience.

Interest in and knowledge of policy making.
A strong understanding of UK politics and foreign policy.
Experience at delivering projects and managing project budgets. 
Experience working with NGOs and other stakeholders in developing countries, including working overseas. 
Experience managing interns or trainees.

Personal Attributes

To work for Redress, the candidate should have the following personal attributes: 

Empathy with victims of human rights abuse with a range of special needs. 
Comfortable to work with a wide range of personalities.

Energetic, resourceful, good strategic thinker but also willing and ready to take a hands-on role. 
Highly efficient and organised, with an ability to multi-task. 
Able to understand and support the aims, objectives and values of REDRESS and reflect them in all aspects of work. 
Able to think and work strategically, creatively, and under pressure.

Terms

Reporting. The position is part of the Reparation team, and will report to the Legal Advisor for Reparation.

Hours. This is a full-time position at 35 hours a week. Evening and weekend work may be required from time to time.

Location. The position is based at the REDRESS office in London.

Flexible Working. REDRESS is an “in-person” organisation and we value team work, but we have a flexible working policy which allows for working from home. Staff are asked to be in the office at least two days a week.

Salary. REDRESS has fixed salary scales, with annual cost of living increases, and the possibility of step increases with strong performance. This is a mid-level ‘officer’ position, and the salary is either B1 (£31,712) for those who meet the experience requirement, or potentially B2 (£34,091) for those who have more experience.

Duration. The contract is for a fixed-term of 12 months, but is expected to be extended, subject to funding.

Start date. The position would start preferably in November 2022.

Probation. There is a six-month probationary period. 

Pension. REDRESS offers a pension contribution of 10% of salary.

Holiday.  There are 25 days of holiday per year, in addition to UK public holidays. The office is also closed between Christmas and New Year.  

Status. Where necessary, REDRESS will apply for a work visa for the United Kingdom for the successful candidate. REDRESS is not able to fund a full relocation package, but may be able to assist with some limited expenses.

Interview process. We expect to do two rounds of interviews. We may ask candidates to make a short presentation as part of the process, but will provide information on that nearer the time.

First round Interviews will take place on Wednesday 28 September 2022 and will be on-line.
Final round interview will take place on Wednesday 5 October 2022 and may be in-person at our office in London.

How to Apply

Please upload to our recruitment portal a single PDF file with:

A cover letter of no more than one page explaining (a) why you would like to work for REDRESS, (b) how you fulfil the personal specification for the role, and (c) how you will contribute to the diversity of REDRESS.
Your CV or resume.

Please also complete the anonymous Diversity Monitoring Form. We use the information from the form to tell us about the diversity of the applicant pool for each of the positions that we advertise. We keep the conclusions of the analysis for our records, and the underlying data is destroyed three months after the recruitment closes.

Deadline: Wednesday 21 September 2022