Lawyer/Project Leader, Forest Rights and Governance (Africa) – London

In this exciting, challenging role, we’ll look to an experienced lawyer to bring the strategic thinking and skillful, collaborative approaches needed to lead and animate a series of projects in Africa that aim to change how natural resources are managed sustainably and for the benefit of local communities. You will bring a creative and practical approach to public interest law and capacity-building in developing countries, and be a skilled and thoughtful manager of people, teams and projects. You will be an active participant in work on the ground in Africa.   The position is an integral part of ClientEarth’s Climate & Forest Programme team, based in our attractive international headquarters in east London and will involve extensive and regular travel to Africa.

ABOUT YOU
With a demonstrated track record in the law and natural resources management or development, you are ready to bring your capacities for strategic thinking and people and project management to lead a team of lawyers delivering a series of complex projects in central and west Africa.

• You are able to bring a creative approach to the law and use of legal practice to secure the sustainable use of natural resources and community rights.
• You are adept at analysing problems rigorously and from all angles, showing sound practical and political judgement.
• You are able to contribute as an expert and represent ClientEarth in external forums. 
• You are able to guide, manage, supervise and direct the work of others. You are adaptable and resilient, able to work in diverse settings, and in collaboration with a team.
• You are an excellent communicator, able to influence, convince and collaborate at a high level, and to build and support partnerships and networks.
• You are fluent in French and English. You’ll also need to be willing to travel extensively in Europe and Africa and elsewhere as required.

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.

ClientEarth’s Climate and Forests Programme has a growing influence on policies to address the drivers of deforestation. In our rights and governance work, we take coherent, integrated ecosystem and community rights based approaches to reforming governance of forest land tenure and related natural resources and the effective regulation of consumption patterns driving global deforestation and forest degradation.

Climate & Forest Programme Overview

ClientEarth’s Climate and Forests Programme exerts a growing influence on the development and implementation of effective policies to address the drivers of deforestation. We aim to take law and policy forward, beyond narrow sectoral approaches which fail to link together the drivers of natural resource degradation, destruction and livelihood loss for forest peoples and other local communities. Instead, we look for coherent, integrated ecosystem and community rights based approaches to reforming governance of forest land tenure and related natural resources and the effective regulation of consumption patterns driving global deforestation and forest degradation.

In relation to specific commodity drivers of deforestation (e.g., timber products, palm oil, bioenergy), we focus on EU policies relevant to sustainable public procurement, regulating trade in illegal timber, and ensuring that EU bioenergy use is sustainable. We aim to reduce the EU’s ‘forest footprint’ and contribute to the definition of legal frameworks that bring consumption patterns in line with social and environmental sustainability limitations.

Our Forest Rights & Governance work engages with local partners in countries at risk of deforestation and forest degradation to strengthen local efforts to address drivers of deforestation in the focus countries. This includes securing the rights of forest-dependent communities to forest tenure, use, management, and benefit sharing, and strengthening their capacity to effectively engage in FLEGT VPA and REDD+ processes. Current focus countries include Ghana, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Honduras, and Guatemala.

Project Description
ClientEarth is engaged in two projects to support civil society and community organisations engaged in FLEGT and REDD+ processes in Ghana, the Republic of Congo (RoC) and Gabon. 

The first project, entitled “Strong Seat at the Table” is funded by the EU and will run through December 2014. This project is undertaken in partnership with other NGOs (FERN, Forest Peoples Programme, and Centre Pour l’Environment et le Developpement - a Cameroon-based organisation). Its focus is on providing specific legal advice and capacity building to civil society organisations and local communities in relation to on-going FLEGT and REDD+ processes.

The second project is a three-year project funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) that complements the “Strong Seat at the Table” project by working with different stakeholders to develop a coherent, integrated ecosystem and community rights based approach to reforming governance of forest land tenure and related natural resources. The focus countries for this three-year project are Ghana, RoC, and Gabon. The project will deliver analytical tools that can be adapted and applied in other settings in Africa and beyond. 
We aim to take law and policy forward, beyond narrow sectoral approaches which fail to link together the drivers of natural resource degradation, destruction and livelihood loss for forest peoples and other local communities. A primary objective of the projects is to foster and develop an in-country knowledge network of legal practitioners, academics, and civil society and community leaders — to develop their capacity to design, implement and enforce laws and policies which realise sustainable and equitable use and management of land-based natural resources in African countries.

The project involves three inter-related components:

• Development of an Analytical Framework to Inform Meaningful Law Reform: Developing innovative diagnostic legal tools with forest communities and civil society and undertaking legal gap analyses, using these tools to highlight obstacles to realising the necessary law reforms, and developing achievable pathways and contents for meaningful reforms.
• Building Civil Society Capacity to Engage in Law Reform Opportunities: Expanding the legal awareness and capacity of forest communities and civil society in African countries engaged in FLEGT VPA and REDD+ processes regarding opportunities to achieve sustainable and equitable use and management of forest lands and natural resources through well-crafted legal reforms.
• Development of In-Country Legal Knowledge Networks: Strengthening forest communities’ and civil society’s legal knowledge and skills to engage in the design and implementation of laws and policies which realise sustainable and equitable use and management of forest lands and natural resources.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job focus
The Lawyer/Project Leader, Rights and Governance (Africa) has overall responsibility for the strategic development, management, implementation, and administrative oversight of the Africa projects within the Climate & Forests programme. The Project Leader supervises, and closely collaborates with, the team of London-based project lawyers and the in-country associates in Ghana, RoC, and Gabon. The Project Leader provides expert input on and strategic oversight to the development of the analytical framework and diagnostic legal tools in collaboration with the lawyer who is responsible for research and knowledge networks and with the other Africa projects lawyers. The Project Leader leads the legal gap analysis and civil society capacity-building efforts in one of the three focus countries, and oversees these activities in the other two countries. The Project Leader represents ClientEarth in relevant forums in Africa, Europe and internationally. Over time, the Project Leader also identifies, develops, and implements other projects as appropriate.

Working relationships
The position reports to the Programme Leader, Climate & Forests. The Project Leader has line management responsibility for the individuals within the Africa projects Rights and Governance (Africa) team (three lawyers and a project assistant), and has overall responsibility for the in-country associates in the three focus countries.

The Project Leader (Africa) works closely with the Latin America project team, and with members of the Climate & Forests team more generally. Close working relationships will be required with members of the knowledge networks in the African focus countries.

Job specification
This role involves strategic oversight and delivery of the Africa rights and governance projects in collaboration with the project team. The responsibilities include:

Management and planning - Leading, planning, managing and overseeing the team in charge of the execution of the Africa projects

• Defining, with the team and in country associates, the format, content, and timely delivery of the various project deliverables, in line with the project plans
• Proactively managing changes in the projects’ scope, identifying potential obstacles or other problems, and devising contingency plans
• Working in coordination with the Climate & Forests Programme Leader to ensure that the Africa projects support, are coherent with, and are reflected in other elements of the Climate & Forest Programme, and more broadly in ClientEarth’s programmes.

External relationships and representation - Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with personnel of relevant agencies and intergovernmental organisations, NGOs and networks to achieve Climate and Forest Programme objectives

• Developing relationships and engaging with decision makers as required for the successful delivery of the projects
• Building relationships with key partner organizations in-country and in Europe to develop a platform for coordinated action as appropriate to ensure the effective delivery of project objectives
• Representing ClientEarth in coalitions, international negotiation processes, public meetings and workshops, hearings, press, and other processes
• Identifying key stakeholders in one of the focus countries and developing relationships with civil society organizations, forest community leaders, and relevant government officers

Development and implementation of the project - Developing and maintaining a robust knowledge over the projects, and monitoring ongoing activities affecting project objectives and working together with the project lawyers to develop a unified, strategic approach to delivering the Africa projects

• Overseeing and contributing to development of an analytical framework to inform meaningful law reform in the focus countries, including the development of innovative diagnostic legal tools with forest communities and civil society
• Ensuring that legal inputs provided by project lawyers to on-going law reform efforts are of the highest professional standard, delivered on a timely basis, and well-tailored to the needs of civil society and local community partners, national processes, and context in each focus country
• Developing and maintaining a robust knowledge of REDD+ and FLEGT processes as well as legal and institutional frameworks and political context in the countries of engagement
• Developing and maintaining a robust knowledge of the key drivers of deforestation within each of the countries of engagement
• Ensuring proper management of project budgets and fulfillment of grant reporting requirements
• Contributing to and overseeing development of communications materials to educate, inform, and engage supporters and the public about ClientEarth’s Forest Rights and Governance projects in Africa

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

Experience

• Minimum 5 years of relevant legal, project management experience, ideally in the area of forest law and policy and/or other relevant  natural resource, community rights, public and administrative law, or commercial and investment law
• Working in Africa and/or in an international environment, particularly on forest issues, natural resource management, land tenure issues, international development or community rights
• Contributing to law reform processes, particularly in African settings
• Working with NGOs, government stakeholders and other relevant civil society groups

Knowledge and qualifications

• Advanced Law degree in environmental law or other relevant legal speciality
• Fluency in English and French
• Working knowledge of one or more of the following areas: natural resources law, investment law, international human rights law, environmental law, forest law, community rights law, customary law, public and administrative law, legal reform processes, development and application of access rights, comparative legal systems, governance and civil society
• Understanding of law-making processes in African settings; understanding of REDD+ and FLEGT policy frameworks, issues, and processes and knowledge of climate change and environmental governance issues  in Africa and international settings

Skills and competencies

• Demonstrated ability to think and plan strategically and to lead a high performing team - proven line management and project management experience (including setting of common objectives, quality control, evaluation, motivation, performance management, learning and development) and strong team building skills
• Excellent written and oral communication skills to give authoritative advice and influence external stakeholders - ability to adapt language, content and style to address the needs of different audiences and to effectively interact with people in a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural and sometimes challenging environment
• Excellent legal analytical skills and ability to grasp quickly new and complex concepts and areas of law, and commitment to learning
• Excellent organisational skills, priority setting and ability in managing multiple tasks while balancing priorities
• Excellent political and practical judgment and diplomacy and ability to build partnerships and relationships, ideally in developing countries
• Confident, energetic and dedicated to working for the environment and for the mission and vision of ClientEarth, and in the interests of local communities
• Drive to achieve results and ability to spot and utilise opportunities to achieve change

This position involves extensive travel. You must be willing and able to travel within Europe and globally, particularly to Central and West Africa (approximately 2 weeks every 2 months).

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 role and the organisation.
Please include ‘Project Leader – Africa’ in the email subject line, and identify the documents you are sending by including ‘[your name] Project Leader Africa cover letter’ and ‘[your name] CV’ in the file name.
Please address your application to Janet Meissner Pritchard, Programme Leader, Climate & Forests, 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 are scheduled to close on 21 September 2012. We may invite candidates for interview on a rolling basis.
Please note that ClientEarth will only consider candidates who have the legal right to work in the UK.
If you have any questions about the roles advertised or recruitment process, please contact Julie Langevin ( jlangevin@clientearth.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Note that this position was advertised previously in June.