Senior Project Manager/Senior Attorney – Justice Initiative

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OPEN SOCIETY JUSTICE INITIATIVE
POSITION AVAILABLE
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER/SENIOR ATTORNEY - COMPLEMENTARITY
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE/NATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
(BUDAPEST OR LONDON BASED)

Seeking a professional with at least seven years’ practical experience in the justice field, including particular experience with complementarity-related, international justice, or rule-of-law development issues.

The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. To achieve this mission, the Foundations seek to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal, and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights. On a local level, the Open Society Foundations implement a range of initiatives to advance justice, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, we build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as corruption and freedom of information. The Foundations place a high priority on protecting and improving the lives of people in marginalized communities.

Investor and philanthropist George Soros established the Open Society Foundations, starting in 1984, to help countries make the transition from communism. Our activities have grown to encompass the United States and more than 70 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Each foundation relies on the expertise of boards composed of eminent citizens who determine individual agendas based on local priorities.

The Open Society Justice Initiative uses law to protect and empower people around the world. Through litigation, advocacy, research, and technical assistance, the Justice Initiative promotes human rights and builds legal capacity for open societies. We foster accountability for international crimes, combat racial discrimination and statelessness, support criminal justice reform, address abuses related to national security and counterterrorism, expand freedom of information and expression, and stem corruption linked to the exploitation of natural resources. Our staff are based in Abuja, Amsterdam, Bishkek, Brussels, Budapest, Freetown, The Hague, London, Mexico City, New York, Paris, Phnom Penh, Santo Domingo and Washington, D.C.

In the area of International Justice (IJ), the Justice Initiative undertakes projects that strengthen international and hybrid courts established to secure accountability for international crimes. In some instances, it works to strengthen the capacity of national courts to prosecute these crimes, particularly in contexts where an international tribunal has been established. A goal of the position is to ensure, over time, that all states are willing and able to investigate and prosecute international crimes domestically, particularly in ICC situation countries or those under analysis. This requires improvements in domestic capacity and will be achieved in part by more rigorously mainstreaming Rome Statute complementarity into rule of law programming; but, it also includes Rome Statute type crimes outside the jurisdiction of the ICC.

Based in Budapest or London, the Senior Project Manager/Senior Attorney works under the supervision of the Senior Legal Officer, International Justice (SLO-IJ). The Senior Project Manager/Senior Attorney also works in collaboration with the Senior Legal Officer, National Criminal Justice Reform (SLO-NCJR), in all assigned tasks.

Responsibilities:

1. Strategy Development
• Under the direction of the SLO– IJ, draft overall strategic plan for complementarity work with input and review from the SLO-NCJR and Senior Advocacy Officer (SAO). Strategy development should specifically, but not exclusively, build on current Justice Initiative work, aiming to:
1. identify ways to encourage and assist, and help coordinate among, donors to strategically integrate complementarity-specific efforts into rule of law programming; as well as
2. encourage regional and international bodies (such as the European Commission and the United Nations) to develop tools, hold conferences and engage donors and civil society in a way that will help them and their member states to better streamline complementarity into their own activities;
3. address political efforts or concerns to block genuine investigations and prosecutions at domestic or regional court levels;
4. identify success stories or potential success stories for domestic prosecution for Rome Statute crimes; for potential success stories develop a test case; and
5. develop an effective advocacy and communications strategy to achieve these goals;
6. advise civil society organizations engaging on complementarity issues.

Program Management
• Under the supervision of the SLO- IJ, with substantial input from the SLO-NCJR program, design, manage and oversee implementation of complementarity projects in cooperation with OSI National Foundations (NF) and/or local partner NGOs.

Project design and development:
 Under the supervision of the SLO-IJ, with input from SLO-NCJR and the IJ team, take specific lead in developing Justice Initiative work on complementarity.
• Continue and enhance the Justice Initiative’s ongoing work, through forums including the Assembly of States Parties, European Commission meetings, United Nations conferences and meetings, as well as individual donor meetings, to persuade States to assume responsibility for complementarity, including by undertaking research and advocacy with the aim of creating a changed discourse and practice among donor (and recipient) states on positive complementarity, from one which sees the ICC in the leading role, to one which regards states as the primary drivers of complementarity-specific activity.
• Work with the United Nations and the European Commission to develop toolkits and other resources aimed at assisting donors wanting to streamline complementarity into rule of law activities;
• Work with the EC, the UN and specific donors to identify 1-2 states in which the toolkit and/or other resources can be piloted and aim to start at least one pilot project by 2012 and work with donors and other national stakeholders to implement it;
• To the extent possible, use OSF convening power to coordinate work of other international and national NGOs working on complementarity issues;
• Develop specific research projects which deal with identifying obstacles or challenges to promoting complementarity (conceptual and practical) and developing practical solutions to those challenges; as well as documenting and disseminating successful illustrations of complementarity in action to donors and international/regional bodies, including mobile courts;
• Take the lead on identifying ways to support model or successful complementarity projects identified by the project.

Project implementation:
• Oversee running of projects, including through:
o maintaining regular communication with partners, and Open Society Foundations network program and National Foundation staff;
o participating in project events (including but not limited to project meetings, media events, networking meetings with international and regional human rights organizations);
o organizing and carrying out in-country visits to work on the projects and to evaluate the work of partner organizations, drafting trip and project reports;
o managing relevant consultants, grantees, pro bono counsel, partners and the ICC liaison legal officer on complementarity-related efforts to ensure that their efforts follow the direction and are geared to produce the outputs and results outlined in project descriptions, grant and consultancy agreements, program strategies and/or workplans agreed with the IJ and NCJR SLOs.
o providing regular reporting on activities, current issues status, and opportunities with relevant program staff (IJ, NCJR, advocacy, communications/publications and senior management);
o enforcing deadlines and conducting an initial review of project documents; making recommendations for edits/improvements;
• Additional implementation duties that vary depending on particular project needs may include participation in strategic advice, legal advice, legal research, documentation, writing and editing reports, advocacy before national and/or inter-governmental bodies and/or the media, contacting foreign experts, trainings of partners/outside participants and provision of technical assistance.
• Under supervision of SLO-IJ, in consultation with SLO-NCJR and SAO, take the lead in driving, coordinating and facilitating advocacy efforts at the United Nations, UN Missions, European Commission, Assembly of States Parties, International Criminal Court, national justice officials and other related fora.

Project reporting & evaluation:
• Maintain, with assistance from Program Coordinator, a rolling workplan, task list and deadlines.
• Prepare first draft of monthly reports on complementarity-related projects, review project reports, drafts press releases, carries out evaluation of the work of partners and the impact of projects as part of process of developing future strategies and deciding upon future projects.
• Draft and update project descriptions and complementarity strategic plans, along with other program documentation for Board and sub-committee materials.
• Represent the Justice Initiative at meetings within Open Society Foundations and at public events organized as part of ongoing projects and other meetings with project partners; national, regional and/or inter-governmental organizations; and the media. Coordinate with the program coordinator to organize workshops, conferences and other events, for the Justice Initiative and/or in cooperation with partner organizations.

2. Research, Information Management, Communications
• Conduct research in the area of IJ and NCJR, with a particular focus on researching and mapping the work of civil society groups, international NGOs and IGOs and donor organizations.
• Develop materials for the Justice Initiative website and blog, including reports and analyses related to projects which the position is overseeing.
• Regularly contribute in coordination with the program coordinator to a database of contacts on issues of IJ and NCJR.
• Collaborate with the Communications team and SAO on advocacy and communications strategies and on publications and articles written or relating to project work.
• Participate in monthly all-staff conference calls and monthly program calls.
• Submit documents to the litigation director as necessary, including litigation plans, new case assessments, advocacy plans, structural outlines of briefs and drafts of briefs.
• Review proposed legal arguments with the litigation director.
• Prepares web materials for cases that are being litigated.

3. Supervision of Staff and Consultants
• As per (1) above, consult with administrative staff, who have responsibility for all administrative and financial aspects of the IJ and NCJR.
• Supervise Legal Interns working on dedicated complementarity projects and develop management plans for the Legal Interns.
• Supervise consultants and pro bono staff working on specific complementarity projects liaising with them on substantive matters.

4. Other
• Performs any other tasks as assigned by the SLO-IJ and SLO-NCJR.

Qualifications:
• A law degree or an advanced degree in the relevant fields, with at least seven years’ experience in the justice field, including particular experience with rule of law development issues in national criminal justice reform and/or the International Criminal Court, and/or with other international and hybrid courts;
• Demonstrable knowledge of rule of law issues, particularly in post-conflict societies. In-depth experience in an ICC situation county high desirable;
• Knowledge of the ICC Statute, international criminal/humanitarian law, and jurisprudence of other international courts highly desirable;
• Excellent political judgment and the proven ability to develop and carry out innovative advocacy strategies;
• Strong analytic and organizational skills and the ability to maintain and expand a program;
• Excellent oral advocacy and communication skills;
• Fluent in English with proven legal writing and editing skills. Working knowledge of French and/or Arabic highly desirable;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication and networking skills and ability to work as part of a multi-cultural team;
• Ability to travel, including to war zones or hostile environments;
• Ability to manage effectively multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.

Salary: Competitive salary commensurate with experience. Excellent benefits.

Start Date: ASAP

To Apply: Send CV, cover letter and writing sample before April 27th, 2011 to: recruitment-JI@osf-eu.org for applicants interested in being based in London. Applicants interested in being based in Budapest should apply to: applications@admingroup.hu. For either location please enter the job code in the subject line: SPRMGR/OSJI

No phone calls, please. The Open Society Foundations is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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