Legal Advisor

Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Propose strategies for the development of digital tools to expand access to justice, including for women and journalists, including identifying priority areas, proposing scaling strategies and new initiatives and developing, testing, and scaling digital legal tools.

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

• Translate needs from local partners, human rights priorities, and user insights into actionable strategies, ensuring all interventions align with responsible legal and ethical requirements and the Institute’s mission.

Programme & Product Oversight

• Oversee the full lifecycle of access-to-justice technology projects.
• Oversee co-creation processes with user groups and partners in the field, ensuring tools are safe, inclusive, relevant, and grounded in real-world obstacles to justice and delivering practical and scalable assistance to affected communities including women and journalists.
• Establish and oversee systems for monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) to assess impact, strengthen accountability, and inform scaling decisions.
• Oversee and review processes related to responsible testing, safeguarding practices, and culturally appropriate localisation of tools.

Risk & Compliance

• Manage regulatory, privacy, data governance, and security considerations across multiple jurisdictions, with support from pro bono law firms and technology partners.
• Review and oversee risk assessments for the deployment of AI-enabled tools in sensitive contexts, and implement mitigation strategies that prioritise user safety, trust and rights protection.

Partnerships & External Engagement

• Manage and support partnerships with technology companies, civil society organisations, local NGOs, academic institutions, law firms, donors, and multilateral institutions.
• Represent the Institute in national and international forums, seminars, hackathons and conferences, acting as a senior spokesperson on technology and access to justice issues.

Team & Operational Leadership

• Line manage the Access to Justice Tech Lead, consultants and researchers.
• Develop and manage budgets for the Access to Justice pillar.
• Establish internal project governance processes, risk registers and delivery plans.

Research, Knowledge & Policy Influence

• Lead or contribute to research, reports and publications at the intersection of law, human rights and emerging technologies.

Development & Fundraising

• Support the Co-Founders in donor engagement, including drafting proposals, preparing pitches, identifying new funding opportunities, demonstrating the impact of the Institute’s work and cultivating strategic relationships with funders.

Selection Criteria

Essential qualifications:

·    Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in law, public policy and/or Computer Sciences, or a related field.

·    10-15 years’ experience leading access to justice tech projects in the human rights context (including ideally women’s rights/free speech context).

·    Understanding of data and machine learning and ethical AI and associated legal and ethical regulations

·    Understanding of safeguarding, do-no-harm, and trauma-informed approaches.

·    Experience building trust and co-designing with vulnerable groups.

·    Experience developing multi-sector partnerships.

·    Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write for publication, present research proposals and results, and represent the Institute at meetings.

·    Excellent legal research and writing skills.

·    Ability to contribute ideas for new research projects and research income generation.

·    Ability to work independently, manage multiple projects and deadlines.

·    A strong track record of successful leadership in roles requiring innovation, entrepreneurialism, problem-solving, and creativity.

·    Commitment to the Institute’s mission and goals.

·    Ability to travel.

Desirable qualifications:

·       Experience working in more than one jurisdiction on law and/or technology policy issues.

·       Experience of actively collaborating in the development of specialist research articles for publication at the intersection of law and technology, directed at policy makers and/or in roles involving press freedom and/or women’s rights

·       Proven track record securing grants or philanthropic funding.

·       Experience working with engineers/AI teams in agile or iterative environments.

·       Experience implementing technology projects in low-resource or volatile contexts.

·       Experience designing and applying Monitoring Evaluation and Learning frameworks.

·       Experience with user-centered design or participatory design processes.

·       Experience with AI governance frameworks (e.g., OECD AI Principles; AU Continental AI Strategy; AU Data Policy Framework; UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI) and familiarity with common Responsible AI program tools (e.g., DPIAs / AI impact assessments, risk registers, model or system documentation “cards,” and structured evaluation / red-teaming practices)

·       Fluency in a language other than English

Location: London, United Kingdom. Applicants must possess authorization to work in the United Kingdom.

Salary and Benefits

The salary for this role will start in the range of £85,000 GBP annually dependent on experience.

CFJ provides a laptop to employees, reimbursement for eligible office supply expenses, reimbursement of eligible phone and internet expenses, and an annual professional development budget.

CFJ also offers generous employer contributions to health and dental insurance coverage and an annual Paid Time Off policy that includes 25 vacation days, 4 personal days, and statutory holidays.

CFJ is committed to diversity in its workforce and is an equal opportunity employer. We actively seek a diverse applicant pool and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religious beliefs, color, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. This advert will be closed once the role is filled.