The Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ), an international nongovernmental organization (NGO) that advocates for justice through accountability for human rights abuses around the world, seeks a full-time Advocacy Fellow. Someone with strong written and oral advocacy skills will be a critical addition to our dynamic team during this exciting time of organizational growth. The ideal candidate will be creative, self-motivated, and able to work well under pressure. They will engage in advocacy, policy, and outreach work, as appropriate, before courts, legislatures, executive agencies, human rights bodies, civil society organizations, think tanks, the media, and the public at large related to CFJ’s two flagship initiatives, TrialWatch® and The Docket. Through their work, the Fellow will aim to ensure the fairness of trials against vulnerable individuals, promote the criminal accountability of those complicit in human rights violations, support international justice efforts, educate the public about the causes and consequences of unfair trials or international crimes, and contribute to systemic change.

TrialWatch® monitors criminal trials and advocates for victims of injustice around the world. TrialWatch focuses on judicial proceedings against those who are most vulnerable: journalists, women and girls, LGBTQ+ persons, minorities, and human rights defenders. TrialWatch recruits monitors who complete our UN-approved online training program and use a customized app developed with Microsoft to record their observations. Using these data, a legal expert grades the trial and writes a “Fairness Report” examining to what extent the trial complied with international legal standards. When an injustice occurs, we conduct or fund legal advocacy in domestic, regional, or international forums.

The Docket pursues accountability for individual and corporate perpetrators and enablers of genocide, crimes against humanity, and other international crimes, and supports survivors in their efforts to obtain justice. This initiative, in collaboration with diverse partners, combines multi-disciplinary investigations, legal action, and advocacy to bring the perpetrators to justice, obtain redress for survivors, and achieve long-lasting systemic change.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Reporting to a Legal Advocacy Director and working across CFJ’s flagship initiatives, the Advocacy Fellow will have the following responsibilities:

• Help execute the advocacy plans for TrialWatch and The Docket
• Support advocacy collaboration with The Sentry, CFJ’s strategic partner, especially when The Docket cases involve Sentry investigative work
• Collaborate with other CFJ team members in planning and executing high-profile events that have an advocacy component
• Provide direct representation to clients in domestic, regional, and international forums and collaborate with other CFJ staff who are doing likewise
• Draft legal filings and participate as appropriate in hearings on behalf of CFJ
• Engage with law firms on pro bono advocacy-related projects

• Coordinate with the communications team in preparing material for use in outreach to the press and public
• Provide support to the fundraising team in designing material for use in implementing CFJ’s resource mobilization strategy
• Perform other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications:

• J.D. or LL.B degree
• At least 3 years of relevant work experience
• Demonstrated capacity to develop cohesive communications and high-impact advocacy strategies
• Ability to think outside of the box and devise innovative solutions to problems
• Outstanding written and oral communications skills
• Ability to write for multiple audiences
• Strong project management skills
• Ability to pursue multiple tasks at the same time
• Willingness to contribute across the board as needed as a member of a small team
• Willingness to travel internationally as needed

Preferred Qualifications:

• Human rights advocacy experience
• Familiarity with the operation of the judicial system
• Experience working abroad
• Experience with litigation and drafting filings before national courts, international courts, UN bodies, or regional human rights courts
• Other advanced degree (e.g. LL.M)

Location

Flexible

Compensation

Commensurate with experience and competitive with other not-for-profit organizations, plus full staff benefits

Start Date

As soon as possible

To Apply
Submit a resume, a cover letter, two writing samples, and a list of three references to em********@cf*.org no later than 5:00 pm EST on Friday, February 19, 2021.