The Open Society Foundations Justice Initiative is pleased to invite applications for its 2019-2020 Aryeh Neier Fellowship Programme. The Justice Initiative, an operational programme of Open Society, uses litigation and other forms of legal advocacy to empower people, defend the rule of law, and advance human rights.

The Aryeh Neier Fellowship is a full-time, two-year program that offers lawyers and other advocates the opportunity to gain practical experience in international human rights advocacy across a broad range of thematic areas and geographies, embedding them as an integral part of the global Justice Initiative team.

Fellows work across the Justice Initiative’s core thematic areas including: Accountability; Liberty and Transparency; Criminal Justice; Equality & Inclusion; Rule of Law, as well as methodological areas, like Advocacy and Legal Empowerment.

In order to ensure a rich and varied experience, the selected fellows will work with two different Justice Initiative teams throughout the term of their fellowship. Placement into specific teams will be decided according to anticipated program needs and priorities of the Justice Initiative, taking account as practicable of the interests and preferences of the selected fellow.

Fellows can expect to conduct research on a broad range of justice-related issues; draft reports, legal briefs, advocacy memos, blogs and other written products; monitor developments at trials and other legal proceedings, and engage legal, jurisprudential, legislative and governance developments worldwide; liaise with civil society and other justice advocates to promote Justice Initiative objectives; and help to develop and execute evidence-based advocacy strategies.

Selected Fellows will demonstrate a strong commitment to human rights and the rule of law in general, and a particular interest in our four core thematic areas. Additional requirements include:

• A university degree in Law or an LL.M or M.A. in Human Rights; graduate degrees in related fields (e.g. Economics, Politics and Statistics) may be considered sufficient in exceptional circumstances, provided the applicant can demonstrate substantial human rights advocacy experience and a demonstrated capacity to work on legal issues.
• A maximum of five years’ practical experience in the human rights field.
• A demonstrated record of accomplishment in legal analysis, legal research and writing, litigation, and/or relevant advocacy.
• A high degree of English proficiency (speaking, writing and reading).

We are seeking Fellows with a desire to gain exposure to human rights topics, advocacy tools and geographies which may be currently unfamiliar to them. Selected fellows will demonstrate a willingness to take initiative, and the ability to work successfully both as members of a global team and as individual advocates. Proficient knowledge of French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and other languages is an asset. Some international travel will be required for internal meetings; additional project-related travel will be at the discretion of supervising teams.

For the January 2019 – December 2020 fellowship class, we will select up to one fellow to be based in each of the Justice Initiative’s three principal offices: Budapest, London, and New York. Applicants must apply to the location in which they wish to be based. Applications to multiple locations are acceptable, but an individual application must be submitted for each location. Fellowship offers will be specific to each location.

To qualify, you must, by the start of your employment, have permission to work in the UK.

Please apply online with your CV and a statement of purpose (of no more than two pages) detailing your interest and experience in human rights and the Aryeh Neier Fellowship, the specific thematic areas in which you are interested, the reasons for your interest in that particular area, and how you intend to contribute to those fields.

Please note, all application materials must be submitted as one single PDF document. We are unable to receive additional documents via email.

Closing date: 5:00pm (EST) on 25 March 2018.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews and writing exercises which will take place by 30 May 2018. The final selection decisions will be announced by 30 June 2018, with successful applicants beginning their fellowship in January 2019.

We are strengthened by the diversity of our colleagues across the Open Society Foundations. We welcome applications from people of all cultures, backgrounds, and experiences, and are committed to providing reasonable accommodations so that colleagues with disabilities are able to fulfill the essential functions of the job.