Environmental Justice Legal Fellowship, Kenya at Natural Justice

What does the Environmental Justice Legal (EJ) Legal Fellowship offer?

The EJ Legal Fellowship offers an exciting opportunity to young, up and coming Kenyan professionals who are passionate about supporting communities in securing rights to their lands, resources and knowledge. The legal fellows will be introduced to a broad spectrum of issues within environmental and human rights law and provided hands-on experience and training in research, legal empowerment, data collection and analysis, public interest litigation, analysis on laws and regulations, and advocacy. Over the duration of the Fellowship, the fellows will have the opportunity to spend time and work directly with communities, community-based organizations and community paralegals. At the completion of the Fellowship, each fellow will submit a research report on a topic of interest within the environmental justice area.

The Fellowship will provide the successful applicants with a stronger understanding of/in:

• The principles of environmental and human rights law and citizenry participation in environmental decision-making
• The realities of communities facing environmental injustices
• Community centred legal empowerment methodologies
• The environmental decision-making processes of key institutions and bodies,such as the National Environmental Management Authority, Water Resources Authority, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service and county governments
• Analysing and evaluating environmental and human rights laws, regulations and policies
• Analysing and commenting on environmental impact assessments (EIA), environmental audits and strategic impact assessments (SEA)
• Environmental justice litigation
• Evidence based environmental justice advocacy and research
• The civil society organizations and individuals in Kenya working towardsenvironmental justice

The Fellowship will be for a period of around 11 months full time. A modest salary and travel budget will be offered. The successful applicants will be required to begin immediately.

Selection Criteria

Qualifications and Personal Profile:

• A Bachelor of Laws degree
• Fluency in English and Kiswahili
• Ability to engage in research, draft reports and legal documents
• Excellent writing skills with the ability to critically analyze relevantenvironmental laws and policy issues
• A passion for learning and a commitment to environmental justice
• Ability to work productively and to deadlines
• Reliability and attention to detail
• Ability to work both independently and as a team member
• A willingness to travel on a regular basis on short notice and sometimes forextended periods
• An awareness of and sensitivity to the needs and concerns of individuals fromdiverse cultures, backgrounds and orientations
• Committed to continuous learning and to self-development with a focus onprofessionally promoting organizational interests, objectives and values