Legal Affairs Officer at Kenya Human Rights Commission

Overall Purpose

KHRC seeks to recruit a Legal Affairs Officer to advance its Strategic Plan for 2025–2035 and mission of empowering people to claim their rights and resist impunity. This position will provide leadership in advancing KHRC’s legal and justice agenda through litigation, research, advocacy, and partnerships. The role involves implementing the public interest litigation strategy, monitoring human rights violations, and ensuring KHRC’s compliance with legal and regulatory obligations. The position will also work closely with the Civic Engagement & Rapid Response Officer and Urgent Action Team to contribute to urgent action responses, human rights documentation, policy development, and resource mobilization to strengthen access to justice in Kenya.

The officer will lead in the advancement of access to justice and the protection of human rights aligned with the Strategic Plan’s frameworks, working closely with thematic teams to ensure coherence and synergy across advocacy, research, and community-based initiatives. The position will seek to strengthen KHRC’s legal advocacy and accountability efforts by conducting rigorous legal research, preparing opinions, briefs, and petitions, and maintaining accurate documentation of all legal actions, campaigns, and media actions while ensuring evidence-based litigation, credible reporting, and effective monitoring.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• The position comes with the following duties and responsibilities:

Legal Affairs & Actions – 40%

• Strengthen and oversee the KHRC Legal Affairs department and team.
• Design and implement KHRC’s interventions on legal affairs and access to justice.
• Lead and oversee implementation of the KHRC public interest litigation strategy
• Receive, compile, and address complaints and human rights violations through KHRC channels.
• Act as the principal representative for KHRC in judicial and quasi-judicial mechanisms, as wellas oversee all cases assigned to external advocates.
• Develop and disseminate legal briefs, case digests, and summaries for knowledge sharing and public engagement.
• Follow up on recovery of bail funds from various courts and ensure proper financial accountability.
• Represent KHRC in key networks, including the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ).

Legal Research & Documentation – 40%

• Provide legal reviews, opinions, and advisories to KHRC reports, and draft petitions and statements.
• Maintain and update the case tracker on all cases where KHRC is involved.
• Lead legal research and drafting of briefs, opinions, and petitions for litigation.
• Contribute to the annual state of the administration of justice report prepared by the NCAJ.
• Lead in the documentation of the violations received under the legal office and contribute to the periodic State of Human Rights Report.
• Monitor and report on legal, judicial, policy, and regulatory actions affecting KHRC’s mandate.
• Work with the Urgent Action Team to organize and coordinate all urgent legal responses to emerging violations.

Administration & Partnerships – 20%

• Engage in effective resource mobilization and utilization for your plans and interventions.
• Work closely with the relevant programme leads and members to synchronize legal affairs & engagements.
• Ensure timely reporting in line with KHRC and donors’ schedules and policies.
• Participate in the internal committees and overall activities/ affairs of the organization.
• Represent KHRC in national, regional, and international advocacy networks and forums.
• Supervise researchers, interns, consultants and other staff or human resources assigned to this project.
• Ensure compliance with KHRC policies, practices, and values.
• Undertake other tasks as may be assigned by the supervisor or management.

Required Qualifications

• Education: A degree in Law from a recognized institution.
• Must be an advocate of the High Court of Kenya, with a practicing certificate and in good standing.
• A minimum of 5 years of related experience, preferably in the NGO sector.
• A solid understanding of and deep commitment to human rights discourse and its application in the promotion of democracy and the rule of law.
• A solid understanding of and engagement with national, regional, and international human rights mechanisms.
• Ability to network with or develop a broad array of partnerships with both state and non-state actors.
• Proven track record in public interest litigation and human rights advocacy.
• Experience engaging with national, regional, and international human rights instruments and reporting mechanisms.
• Demonstrated experience in project management and resource mobilization.

Required Competencies

The job holder should possess the following skills and behavioural competencies:

• Passionate and committed to respect for human rights, diversity, integrity, and transparency.
• A proactive and spirited human rights defender.
• A strong understanding of Kenyan constitutional, legal, and policy frameworks.
• Expertise in litigation, legal support, and access to justice mechanisms.
• Strong research, analytical, and drafting skills (legal briefs, petitions, reports)
• Ability to provide rapid legal interventions in urgent situations.
• Strong interpersonal, coordination, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Proven ability to manage projects, monitor budgets, and supervise staff
• High ethical standards, integrity, passion, and commitment to human rights.
• Tangible experience in resource mobilization