Advocacy Officer

Position description

REDRESS is recruiting an Advocacy Officer to support and deliver our policy advocacy primarily in the United Kingdom, including on Magnitsky Sanctions, universal jurisdiction and upholding the absolute ban on torture. The rule will also work with the Communities Officer to ensure the participation of survivors and survivor communities on our policy advocacy campaigns. We are seeking applications from intermediate professionals with some previous experience in human rights advocacy to contribute to this work. The role will also include some global advocacy.

REDRESS has a diverse team from different backgrounds and with different experiences, including those with lived experience of torture. Under our Equality Policy, we welcome applications from people of colour, LGBTQI+ people, and disabled people, who are currently under-represented. We will use positive action under the Equality Act 2010 to appoint from these groups if two candidates are equally qualified. We are also trying to recruit globally where UK immigration law permits it.

Who we are

REDRESS is an international human rights organisation based in London and The Hague that pursues legal claims on behalf of survivors of torture in the UK and around the world to obtain justice and reparation for violations against their human rights. We empower survivors to access justice through human rights cases against governments, civil cases against individuals, and cases where we advocate for law enforcement bodies to prosecute perpetrators under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

Our approach is strategic, so that as well as representing an individual we target the policy reasons that enabled the torture to take place, by building a campaign that uses advocacy, community engagement, and communications to influence change.

Our 2025 Strategy identifies torture related to dissent and discriminatory torture as our two thematic priorities. We also support the anti-torture movement through our solidarity programme.

REDRESS has undertaken a process of growth and modernization over the last few years. You can find information about the organization in the latest Trustees Annual Report. We currently have good reserves of nearly six months running costs, and a diverse funding base. We have grown to about 30 staff, and plan to remain at a similar size while we consolidate. We have upgraded our procedures and policies, and we are developing new commitments to improve staff development, further enhance our diversity, build our survivor-centred approach, and ensure people with lived experience are part of REDRESS.

The Programmes

Through the Justice UK programme we bring legal claims on behalf of survivors based in the UK, ensure referrals for their psycho-social support, engage with their communities, and conduct advocacy to push for policy changes to improve their situation and address the underlying causes of torture. We encourage the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute perpetrators.

Through our Reparation programme we deliver remedies and reparation for survivors. This work includes a novel project on asset recovery and Magnitsky sanctions as a way to deliver reparations, promoting reparations in specific tribunals including the International Criminal Court, and implementing influential international standards on reparations such as the UN Basic Principles on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation.

Position Profile

The main responsibilities of the role are:

• UK Advocacy. Build relationships with stakeholders relevant to REDRESS’s UK policy objectives, including government departments, MPs, parliamentary committees, NGOs, think tanks and academics. Draft written materials and undertake direct advocacy.
• Sanctions Advocacy and APPG. Deliver REDRESS’s advocacy on ensuring the UK Government uses Magnitsky sanctions effectively. This will include acting as secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Magnitsky Sanctions and undertaking advocacy to key stakeholders: the FCDO, Treasury, MPs, NGOs and others.
• Upholding the Absolute Prohibition of Torture. Supporting and delivering our policy advocacy work in the UK relating to other issues, such as an effective system for universal jurisdiction prosecutions, responding to threats to the absolute prohibition of tortures such as the Illegal Immigration Bill and the Overseas Operations Act, and promoting justice through universal jurisdiction and for UK torture overseas.
• United Against Torture. Work with colleagues as well as international and national partners in the United Against Torture Consortium to develop national, regional, and international advocacy relating to torture and protest.

The position is also expected to carry out such further duties as may reasonably be required from time to time by REDRESS.

Person Specification

This is an intermediate position, and so we expect candidates to have directly relevant experience, demonstrated through their CV, cover letter, and interview performance:

Essential Competencies

The successful candidate will need to have the following essential competencies:

• At least three years relevant post-qualification professional experience.
• Strong knowledge of how UK Parliament and government works.
• Undergraduate degree specialised in international law, human rights, politics, international relations, or a related field.
• A solid understanding of international human rights policy issues.
• Demonstrated proficiency in policy analysis and policy writing and editing; demonstrated competence in writing for a broader public audience.
• Experience at delivering projects and managing project budgets.
• Experience working with victims of human rights violations, survivor groups, or grassroots campaigns.
• Experience working with NGOs and other stakeholders.
• Experience in public speaking to a variety of audiences.
• Experience managing interns and volunteers.
• Fluency in written and oral English.
• Literacy in social media in a professional environment (primarily Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook).
• Willing to undertake travel within the UK.
• An ability to work with a range of political parties.

Desirable Competencies

A strong candidate will also have other desirable competencies:

• Competence in other languages, in particular French or Spanish.

Personal Attributes

To work for Redress, the candidate should have the following personal attributes:

• Happy to work collaboratively as part of a small and energetic team with a wide range of personalities.
• Highly efficient and organised, with an ability to multi-task, show initiative, solve problems, and take a hands-on role when necessary.
• Able to think and work strategically, creatively, and under pressure.
• Able to understand and support the aims, objectives and values of REDRESS and reflect them in all aspects of work.
• Able to work with victims of human rights abuse with a range of specific needs.

Terms

Reporting. The position will report to the legal advisors for Justice UK and for Reparations.

Hours. This is a full-time position at 35 hours a week. Evening and weekend work may be required from time to time.

Location. The position is based at the REDRESS office in London.

Flexible Working. REDRESS is an “in-person” organisation and we value team work, but we have a flexible working policy which allows for working from home. Staff are currently required to be in the office at least two days a week.

Salary. REDRESS has fixed salary scales, with annual cost of living increases, and the possibility of step increases with strong performance. This is a mid-level ‘officer’ position, and the is either B1 (£35,200) for those who meet the experience requirement, or potentially B2 (£37,841) for those who have more experience.

Duration. The contract is for a fixed-term of 12 months, but is expected to be extended, subject to funding.

Start date. The position would start by September 2023 if possible.

Probation. There is a six-month probationary period.

Pension. REDRESS offers a pension contribution of 10% of salary.

Holiday.  There are 25 days of holiday per year, in addition to UK public holidays. The office is also closed between Christmas and New Year.

Status. The candidate must have the right to live and work in the UK. Unfortunately we cannot sponsor a UK immigration process for this role.

Interview process. We expect to do two rounds of interviews. We may ask candidates to make a short presentation as part of the process, but will provide information on that nearer the time.

• First round Interviews will take place on Wednesday 12 July 2023 and will be on-line.
• Final round interview will take place on Friday 21 July 2023 and will be in-person at our office in London.

Application instructions

Please be sure to indicate you saw this position on tendersglobal.net