Centre for Environmental Rights New Job Vacancy

The Centre for Environmental Rights is looking for a tech-savvy
legal researcher with a nerdy passion for environmental law,
environmental rights, accountability and justice.

Job
Title: Environmen-
tal Law Specialist
Job Location: Cape
Town or Johannesburg

This is a dynamic role, and the successful candidate will work
across the CER’s
programmes, supporting our training work, our litigation, our
legal advocacy, and for our strategic
communications. The candidate will also track policy and
law reform processes, liaise with Parliamentary Portfolio
Committees, draft Parliamentary submissions and manage the
legal content of CER’s website, particularly our Virtual Environmental Law
Library

Qualification, skills and experience

• An LLB or equivalent qualification. Candidates who have an
  LLM in environmental law will receive preference.
  


• A detailed knowledge of environmental and administrative
  laws, and decision-making processes.
  


• Strong legal research and analysis skills.
  


• Excellent writing skills, with an eye for detail.
  


• A sensitivity to social issues and the needs of communities
  impacted by polluting industries.
  


• Strong networking skills and capabilities in building
  support amongst a wide range of stakeholders.
  


• A passion for social and environmental justice.
  


• A commitment to diversity, inclusion and transformation.
  

Key responsibilities

• 
  Legal research and drafting: Providing legal
  research support to all of the CER’s programmes and projects,
  and drafting opinions and submissions on proposed law reform
  as required;
  


• 
  Training: Providing legal content for the
  CER’s Activist Support and Training project; monitoring
  training opportunities for CER attorneys and staff;
  


• 
  Monitoring and knowledge dissemination:
  
  • monitoring the activities of key departments and
    agencies, including draft legislation, media releases,
    regulations & notices;
    
  
  
  • tracking law reform processes, and all new
    environmental law developments; and
    
  
  
  • keeping CER attorneys and relevant CER stakeholders
    informed in relation to these developments;
    
  
  


• 
  Parliamentary liaison: Liaising with
  Parliamentary Portfolio Committees, monitoring oversight
  meetings by Parliamentary Portfolio Committees relevant to
  CER’s work, and coordinating the CER’s attendance and input
  as appropriate;
  


• 
  Website and virtual Library: Maintaining the
  legal content of the CER’s website, including in particular
  the Virtual Library, and writing concise summaries on legal
  developments (including case law and legislation) for the
  CER’s stakeholders.
  

The salary range is R389 933 to R458 745 (total cost
to company) and the salary offered will be dependent on factors
that include the qualifications, level of expertise and
experience of the successful candidate.

Working for the CER

The Centre for Environmental Rights is a non-profit
organisation and law clinic of environmental rights lawyers
that helps communities defend their right to a healthy
environment. We do this by advocating and litigating for
environmental justice.

As South Africa’s largest public interest environmental law
organisation, we leverage our expertise and commitment to fight
for environmental justice and advance the right to a healthy
environment for all. We take on the big environmental fights –
high-stakes cases where we can empower local communities, have
an enduring impact, and set powerful precedents for other
cases, and help improve policy and practice across the country.

Winning the legal case is only part of the battle. CER’s
litigation work is strengthened by local empowerment, dedicated
policy and advocacy work, and strategic communications. In all
of our work, we work closely with partners in affected
communities, with other civil society organisations in the
environmental and social justice sector, and with other public
interest law organisations.

We work across the following core themes: Biodiversity, Mining,
Water, Pollution and Climate Change, and Corporate
Accountability. We have our main office in Observatory, Cape
Town, with a smaller office in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
Staff who join our Johannesburg office are required to travel
to our Cape Town office on a regular basis.

At CER, we value our staff and regard their wellbeing as a
priority. We have a Staff Well-Being Policy that includes a
Savings and Insurance Benefit for permanent staff. We are
committed to a work environment that is an inclusive,
empathetic space, and in which diversity is celebrated and
supported.

How to Apply

Please send the following documents to: [email protected] by 27
August 2018, with the email subject line: “CER
Environmental Law Specialist”:

• A cover letter setting out your skills and relevant
  experience, as well as why you want to work at the CER;
  


• A copy of your CV;
  


• Two recent written references.
  

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.