Climate & Energy Senior Lawyer or Lawyer (London)

In this exciting, challenging role, we’ll look to an experienced lawyer to play a pivotal role developing and delivering a strategic and diverse programme of climate and energy work. The focus of the role is on the transition to a low carbon, sustainable electricity system in Europe within the context of global action on climate change. This role involves analysing legal, policy, and political terrain, identifying opportunities for intervention, and engaging with a wide range of civil society partners and stakeholders in government and industry.

Based in ClientEarth’s attractive offices in east London, this role will involve frequent travel within Europe.

ABOUT YOU
With a demonstrated track record in the law, you are ready to bring your strategic thinking and problem solving capabilities in a public interest law setting. You have outstanding thinking and analytical abilities that will enable you to bring a creative approach to the law and use of legal practice. The track record you have built in your professional field to date equips you to develop a strong understanding of EU climate and energy law, environmental law, infrastructure, energy market reform, competition and state aid, public law, and apply this in law and policy development, legislative, and implementation settings at national and European level. You are adaptable, resilient and able to take initiative to collaborate with others to develop relationships and strategies. You are committed to environmental issues and to urgent action on climate change.

ABOUT US
ClientEarth is a public interest environmental law group founded in 2007. ClientEarth brings together law, science and policy to create practical solutions to key environmental challenges. Working in partnership with civil society and policy-makers, ClientEarth is committed to securing the rights of citizens and civil society to participation, information and justice in environmental matters. In Europe and beyond, ClientEarth’s 50 strong staff includes legal experts qualified in more than nine jurisdictions based in offices in London, Brussels and Warsaw. Our programmes cover biodiversity and ecosystems, climate and energy, and health and environment.

Our Climate and Energy Programme aims to advance development of law and policy to drive Europe’s transition to a low carbon, efficient and sustainable energy system and to secure global solutions to climate change.

Climate and Energy Programme Overview

ClientEarth’s Climate and Energy Programme aims to advance development of law and policy to drive Europe’s transition to a low carbon, efficient and sustainable energy system. We work on strategies to avoid lock-in to damaging high carbon infrastructure, and to promote solutions and action in recognition of Europe’s leadership role in global action on climate change.

Decarbonisation of the power sector is a priority issue for the EU, and over the next few years the EU and key member states will develop frameworks and policies to address the infrastructure, markets, and policy challenges associated with this challenge. We seek to offer practical solutions and make targeted interventions to address key questions. These questions range from the legal basis for EU action, approaches to public participation and planning of generation and network infrastructure to support for renewable and low carbon power and CCS, market reform, innovation policy and technology issues (including intellectual property rights), finance and energy efficiency. We act as independent legal advocates and experts in close cooperation with partner organisations and initiatives at EU level, and with a national focus in the UK and Poland in particular. 

Recent highlights in the programme include challenging aspects of Poland’s derogation application for transitional free allowances to its power sector, design of the UK’s green investment bank, legal analysis in support of Commission’s powers to fix the EU emissions trading scheme, and engagement in advocacy on the new energy efficiency directive.

JOB DESCRIPTION
The Lawyer/Senior Lawyer, Climate and Energy will be responsible for development and delivery of a range of work streams. Requiring aptitude for technical, political, and economic analysis on a range of issues related to climate and energy law and policy, the role necessitates big picture thinking, to identify opportunities, to define desired outcomes, and to formulate sequences of actions to secure defined outcomes.
We are in a process of developing a number of potential work streams, and an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit is required. Proven ability to scope and generate ideas, interventions and outcome-focussed activities will be highly regarded.

Working relationships
The position reports to the Director of Programmes. The lawyer will also have key relationships across the Climate and Energy programme with lawyers based in Brussels and Warsaw and more widely across ClientEarth’s programmes and functions including development and communications.

Job responsibilities
The role will also involve assistance and guidance on strategy formulation for workstreams that are the primary responsibility of other staff within the Climate and Energy programme.

• Scoping and developing a strategic programme of work within framework of overall Climate and Energy programme
• Collaborating and coordinating work and thinking across the Climate and Energy team
• Contributing to development of the overall Climate and Energy strategy and long term planning, including review of existing work streams and evaluation and development of new initiatives
• Researching and producing high quality written work products in a variety of forms such as briefings, submissions
• Developing and maintaining a robust knowledge of EU and international climate and energy law, policy and politics with a particular focus on the EU
• Participating in formal and informal forums and groups, and representing ClientEarth in external forums
• Identifying and establishing relationships with key contacts within the field
• Initiating and maintaining collaborative partnerships and working relationships with key organisations
• Engaging in fundraising including developing concepts and proposals for submission to funders, producing activity reports
• Developing and engaging in communications associated with the programme including website communications and press relations

We will look for candidates able to demonstrate the capabilities to fulfill the role, including all or most of the following qualifications, experience, knowledge, skills and competencies:

Qualifications and experience

• Law degree
• Fluent in English and ideally another European language
• At least 4 years relevant professional experience
• Sound knowledge base one or more of the following areas: EU law and institutions, public and administrative, environmental, corporate or infrastructure law and practice, climate and energy law and policy

Skills and competencies

• Excellent creative, critical and lateral thinking and analytical skills and ability to grasp quickly new concepts and areas of law with an openness to learning and new ideas
• Excellent legal research, analysis, writing, advisory and advocacy skills
• Ability to think and plan strategically, and to break complex issues and strategies into defined, outcome-oriented activities
• Excellent written and oral communication skills to give authoritative advice and influence external audiences, to adapt language, content and style to make communications relevant to policy-makers, funders, press
• Capable of developing effective working relationships with partner organisations
• Able to represent ClientEarth confidently in a range of forums
• Confident working with and assimilating complex technical (scientific, energy systems and technologies, economic, carbon and energy markets and policy), political and legal material as the basis for a big picture understanding of problems, intervention points and possible solutions
• Ability to engage constructively with and develop relationships with a range of external stakeholders in government, industry and civil society
• Ability to interact with people in a multi-disciplinary and multicultural environment
• Ability to work both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative manner
• Excellent organisational skills and able to set priorities and manage multiple tasks
• Collaborative working style, ability to work independently in a self-directed, self-motivated manner, to operate as part of a small team as a team member
• Potential to take on a supervisory role, to build and manage a small team
• Ability to react positively in the light of shifting and competing timelines
• Excellent political and practical judgement and diplomacy
• Motivated to achieve results and ability to spot and take advantage of opportunities to achieve change
• Organised, reliable, flexible, poised, dynamic, self-motivated

This position is based in London. Brussels will be considered as an alternative location. This role involves extensive travel, mainly within Europe.

To apply

Please send us your CV and a cover letter explaining your interest in joining ClientEarth and the contribution you believe you could make to the organisation.
Please include ‘Climate & Energy Lawyer’ in the email subject line, and identify the documents you are sending by including ‘[your name] Climate & Energy Lawyer cover letter’ and ‘[your name] CV’ in the file name.
Please address your application to Karla Hill, Director, Programmes, ClientEarth, The Hothouse, 274 Richmond Road, London E8 3QW and send it by email to  jobs@clientearth.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Recruitment is open now and you should send your application as soon as possible. Applications close on Monday 24 September. We may interview candidates on a rolling basis, and we may close the recruitment if we select a suitable candidate before the closing date.
Please note that ClientEarth will only consider candidates who have the legal right to work in the EU.

If you have any questions about the roles advertised or recruitment process, please contact Patricia del Rio ( pdelrio@clientearth.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).