MINELRES: Job: OSI Justice Initiative, Senior Legal Officer/Equality & Migration

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: Mariann Wang <mariannwang@hotmail.com>


Senior Legal Officer/Equality & Migration
Open Society Justice Initiative

The Open Society Institute (OSI) is a private operating and grantmaking
foundation that develops and implements a range of programs in civil
society, education, media, public health and human and women's rights,
as well as social, legal, and economic reform.  OSI is at the center of
an informal network of foundations and organizations active in more than
50 countries worldwide that supports a range of programs.  Established
in 1993 by investor and philanthropist George Soros, OSI is based in New
York City and operates network-wide programs, grantmaking activities in
the United States, and other international initiatives.  OSI provides
support and assistance to Soros foundations in Central and Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union, Guatemala, Haiti, Mongolia, South,
Southern and West Africa.

The Justice Initiative is a new international legal program of OSI. 
Based in New York and Budapest, the mission of the Justice Initiative is
to contribute to the consolidation of open societies through the
development of legal policies and practices grounded in the rule of law
and the protection of human rights.  The Justice Initiative aims to
provide intellectual leadership to law reform efforts by combining
practice and legal advocacy with the accumulation and dissemination of
knowledge in its areas of core concern -- national criminal justice
reform; international justice; freedom of information and expression;
anti-corruption; equality and migration. In each of these areas, the
Justice Initiative seeks to contribute to the evolution and application
of substantive law, and the development of legal capacity.

In the field of equality, the Justice Initiative aims to advance the
development of anti-discrimination norms - particularly with regard to
race and gender - and ensure their effective enforcement through
strategic litigation and other means.  The Justice Initiative will offer
practical, comparative experience to local actors, undertake targeted
trainings and provide long term support for developing legal strategies
and litigating test cases.  The program on migration will provide legal
expertise on human rights standards to groups assisting refugees and
migrants, and help foster strategies to apply those standards more
effectively.

The Senior Legal Officer/Equality & Migration, will develop, oversee and
implement the programs on equality and migration.  Working in
cooperation with OSI's various national foundations and local partner
NGOs, the Senior Legal Officer will perform a variety of tasks,
including: hands-on engagement in providing assistance to NGOs in
pursuing legal advocacy and to governments in the design and/or
implementation of legislation and institutional reform; litigation and
support for litigation; research and policy analysis; and review and
monitoring of grants.

Candidates should have a law degree; substantial experience working in
the fields of anti-discrimination and/or migration law; a demonstrated
capacity to develop and apply successfully innovative legal strategies;
extraordinary initiative and creativity; ability and willingness to
travel frequently; and strong management, organizational and
interpersonal skills.  Experience with litigation at national or
regional levels is preferred, as is familiarity with some of the
geographic regions of OSI engagement.  Fluency in written and oral
English is required, and ability to function in other languages
desirable.
 
Salary/Benefits:  Competitive salary commensurate with experience. 
Excellent benefits.

Start Date: January 1, 2003. 
Apply To:  Send cover letter and curriculum vitae, together with an
English-language legal writing sample and salary requirements, no later
than November 30, 2002, to:

Virginia Moracho
Open Society Institute
Human Resources - Code SLO/EQUAL
400 W. 59th Street 
New York, New York 10019
Fax:  (212) 548-4675

No telephone calls, please.  The Open Society Institute is an Equal
Opportunity Employer.