Vacancies and Opportunities

Brief Description of the Role:

The Global Strategic Litigation Council (‘the Council’) was founded in September 2021 to empower civil society to advance the rights of refugees and migrants through coordinated strategic litigation and legal advocacy. The Council supports its members to share knowledge, collectively identify priorities, and execute litigation and legal advocacy strategies. In January 2023, the Council and Kituo Cha Sheria co-hosted a regional consultation at the University of Nairobi School of Law to bring together key NGOs, litigators, refugee leaders, advocates and academics in East Africa. This led to the development of the Council’s Africa regional network and to the Council supporting on key refugee and migrant rights litigation in the region.

We are now recruiting a Regional Litigator to strengthen and expand the Council’s regional network; develop and implement litigation strategies; and bring/provide support on cutting-edge refugee and migrants’ rights litigation and advocacy in the region. The Regional Litigator will work collaboratively with the Council’s global team to identify trends and opportunities for cross-regional collaboration. This is a very exciting opportunity to be part of a growing organization at the forefront of protecting and advancing refugee and migrant rights worldwide.

The Council’s Regional Litigator will be housed by Kituo Cha Sheria. This will ensure the staff member is closely connected to the issues on the ground and has the resources, capacities, network and support to carry out their work in the most efficient way. While hosted by Kituo Cha Sheria, they will work full-time on implementing the Council’s mission and priorities.

Duration:

12 months, with likelihood of extension

Job Type:

Full-time; will also consider 0.8 FTE (4 days per week)

Location:

Nairobi (with regional travel)

Duties

The Regional Litigator’s duties will include tasks such as:

• Supporting or bringing litigation and legal advocacy of Council members, including Kituo Cha Sheria, in East and the Horn of Africa
  • This includes but is not limited to supporting with: litigation strategy, legal research, evidence gathering, brief writing, drafting of pleadings, sourcing expert affidavits and amicus interventions.
• Working to maintain and build the Council’s regional network and membership, including through outreach, hosting regional events and maintaining regional listservs/Whatsapp groups and other communication platforms as required
• Organizing capacity-building trainings for members based on their needs
• Working together with other members of the Council’s Secretariat team to share insights from their work, identify opportunities for cross-regional collaboration and implement a global strategy to advance refugee and migrant rights in the Council’s priority areas of Detention & Due Process, Legal Status & Lawful Stay and Climate Displacement (including new priority areas)
• Fostering collaboration and establishing key partnerships with new stakeholders including lawyers, academics, organizations, refugee leaders and activists working to advance refugee and migrants’ rights within the region and across regions
• Mapping trends, precedents and lessons to amplify impact within the region and globally
• Leading, contributing and supporting precedent-setting cases in regional human rights courts and/or using UN mechanisms
• Contributing to and developing monitoring & evaluation systems for the Council’s work
• Reporting responsibilities including producing quarterly reports and an annual report
• Other duties as assigned

Person Specification:

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Law or equivalent qualification
• Advocate of the High Court of Kenya or another jurisdiction in East or the Horn of Africa
• In possession of a current valid practicing certificate
• At least seven years of legal experience with a reputable public interest organization/NGO or law firm
• Strong experience in litigation relating to refugee and/or migrant rights in the region (post-admission)
• Experience conducting public interest litigation in national courts (post-admission)
• Strong understanding of the issues facing refugees and migrants in the region
• Strong understanding of international human rights law and refugee law
• Commitment to the Council and Kituo’s mission
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Kiswahili
• Understanding of the importance of refugee and migrant-centered approaches
• Ability to take initiative, work effectively both independently and collaboratively as part of a team
• Proven ability to maintain and build partnerships with other lawyers, advocates and/or organizations

Applicants must also have the right to work in Kenya.

Desirable:

• Lived experience as a migrant/refugee
• Fluency/professional proficiency in other languages in the region and/or French
• LLM or advanced study in a relevant subject/field
• Experience of taking cases to regional human rights courts and/or using UN mechanisms
• In-depth understanding and/or experience conducting strategic legal work on the Council’s priorities, including legal status & lawful stay; detention and due process; and climate displacement
• Experience organizing and running events and/or managing a network
• Experience conducting capacity-building trainings for civil society
• Experience in successful public interest legal advocacy/campaign work

Application Process:

Please send your cover letter, CV and a recent writing sample to council@kituochasheria.or.ke. The first stage of the recruitment process will be a written test. We will then shortlist candidates for interviews with the Director of the Council and the Executive Director of Kituo Cha Sheria.

Application Deadline:

Thursday 28th September 2023 at 5pm EAT

About Kituo Cha Sheria

Kituo Cha Sheria (hereinafter referred to as “KITUO”) is the oldest human rights organisation in Kenya, East, Central and the Horn of Africa. It was established in 1973 to promote access to justice for the poor and marginalised communities. KITUO uses direct legal services, public interest litigation, advocacy and paralegalism as strategies for legal empowerment. The organization runs a specialized programme on forced migration that focuses on the protection of refugees and asylum seekers.

Kituo Cha Sheria is a Steering Committee member of the Global Strategic Litigation Council and will be hosting the Council’s Regional Litigator role at their offices. The Regional Litigator will be supervised by Kituo Cha Sheria on a day-to-day basis but will report regularly to the Council’s Director. The Regional Litigator will also meet and strategize with the Council’s global team and identify opportunities for cross-regional collaboration.

About the Global Strategic Litigation Council (‘the Council’) 

The Global Strategic Litigation Council (the Council) was founded in September 2021 to empower civil society to advance the rights of refugees and migrants through coordinated strategic litigation and legal advocacy. The Council has now connected over 300 litigators, refugee leaders, advocates, organizations and academics from every inhabited continent. The Council supports its members to share knowledge, collectively identify priorities, and execute litigation and legal advocacy strategies. In doing so, it aims to support the consistent and progressive development of international law relating to displacement worldwide.

Members pursuing two initial thematic priorities – legal status and lawful stay, and detention and due process – have identified eight specific global litigation priorities where legal work stands to advance refugee and migrants’ rights. A new thematic priority relating to climate displacement is also being developed. To further these priorities, the Council supports its members in a number of ways, including litigation strategy, research, brief writing, and drafting of pleadings. It also intervenes as amicus on international law matters in courts across the world. The Council has convened in-person regional consultations in East Africa, Central America, South America and the Caribbean and Europe to create key knowledge-sharing and collaboration spaces; and also provides regular capacity-building trainings to its members.

Over the next year, the Council is hiring a global team of regional litigators to further empower the Council’s regional networks, implement legal strategies and coordinate, bring and support strategic legal work across the world.