Legal/Policy Adviser at Amnesty International

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide legal and policy advice and analysis to the International Secretariat including its various Regional Offices, and the broader movement on specified areas of international humanitarian law, international human rights and related positions of the organization. The areas of most importance to this position are international humanitarian law, international and non-international armed conflict, international criminal justice and accountability, the International Criminal Court, and the rules of the United Nations on the use of force and its powers with regard to international criminal justice.
• Lead, help develop and/or support research, drafting, advocacy, policy, training and standard-setting activities as part of a project team leading Amnesty's work on international justice, international criminal law and international humanitarian law.
• Keep abreast of developments at inter-governmental organizations and in other relevant international and national forums of relevant standards, policies and practices and identifying opportunities for strategically important pro-active advocacy, in collaboration with the relevant Amnesty Programmes, Regional Offices and Sections, and lead or support on such advocacy where appropriate.
• Support the organization's strategic litigation on the aforementioned areas. This could include helping to identify areas and forums for strategic litigation, to draft third party interventions and to liaise with external counsel.
• Contribute to the maintenance and availability of comprehensive reference materials relating to human rights issues and the related application of Amnesty's policies within the post-holder's focus in order to maximise the effective and consistent implementation of the organization's priorities.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Substantial expertise and experience in international humanitarian law, international criminal law and international justice mechanisms is essential. Substantial knowledge of and experience in the application of international human rights law is also important;
• Good knowledge of the bases for extraterritorial jurisdiction and the application of human rights obligations, including of non-state actors, under international law is desirable.  
• Demonstrated experience in research and advocacy on human rights issues.
• Experience in or working with the legal profession, and/or in inter-governmental organizations, human rights NGOs or social movements.
• Strong advisory, advocacy and communication skills.