Jobs

Legal and Policy Director

Application Deadline: Open until filled

As communities around the world struggle to defend their human rights in the face of irresponsible extractive industries, rising authoritarianism and an escalating climate emergency, Inclusive Development International is seeking a Legal and Policy Director to help lead our expanding casework and policy advocacy.

About Inclusive Development International:

Inclusive Development International (IDI) supports communities around the world to defend their human rights and protect the environment in the face of harmful corporate activities and works to build a more just and equitable global economy. Through research, casework, capacity building and policy advocacy, we hold corporations and development finance institutions accountable to their human rights and environmental responsibilities. Our strategy revolves around investigations that unravel the investment and supply chains behind harmful industries to help affected communities and social movements pursue winning advocacy strategies. We bring our knowledge – grounded in years of experience supporting communities to defend their rights – to global policy arenas where we advocate to close accountability gaps and make business and human rights standards enforceable. Learn more at: https://www.inclusivedevelopment.net.

About the Position:

The Legal and Policy Director will work alongside the Senior Director to co-lead IDI’s high performing and highly collaborative global legal and policy team. The Director will work with the team to help IDI’s community and civil society partners achieve their advocacy goals and advance the organization’s policy agenda focused on ensuring a just energy transition and realizing the right to remedy for corporate abuses.

In close collaboration with the Senior Director, the Director will be responsible for overseeing the planning and implementation of IDI’s global case and policy work and managing the legal and policy team, which currently consists of ten staff and consultants based in eight countries. In addition to providing direction, support and supervision to the team, the Director will also contribute substantively to case and policy advocacy as needed and represent IDI in a variety of advocacy forums. After a six-month period of learning and integration, the Director will serve as a member of the organization’s leadership team.

The successful candidate will be a visionary and strategic thinker, who is innovative in advancing the organization’s mission and goals. The Director will be deeply experienced in the corporate accountability field, embodying IDI’s core values and community-driven approach. They will be an excellent writer and public speaker, who can effectively communicate IDI’s messages and represent the organization in a variety of policy and civil society forums. They will be a highly capable manager and problem-solver, who can support the legal and policy team to navigate and overcome the challenges of their work.

This full-time position will ideally be based in Washington, D.C. However, the successful candidate may have the option to work remotely from a location in the Eastern Time Zone of the United States / Canada or from Europe / United Kingdom.

Principle Responsibilities:

The Legal and Policy Director will work closely with the Senior Director to engage in and provide day-to-day management, quality assurance and leadership of the legal and policy team on the following activities:

Case work

• Support community and local civil society partners to develop and implement holistic advocacy strategies, using IDI’s “Follow the Money” approach, to defend human rights and protect the environment in the face of harmful corporate activities;
• Work with local partners to collect evidence of adverse human rights and environmental impacts;
• Support communities to draft and submit complaints to non-judicial grievance mechanisms and engage companies and other investment and supply chain actors on specific cases;
• Support communities and local partners to prepare for and engage in grievance redress and remediation processes, including mediation, negotiation, compliance investigations, and, less commonly, in litigation (in partnership with litigation lawyers);
• Contribute to IDI’s training activities and tools to strengthen the capabilities of local, national and regional organizations to support communities to defend their rights and hold corporations and development financial institutions accountable;
• Contribute to IDI’s Follow the Money initiative by reviewing investment chain reports, conducting pressure point analysis and identifying advocacy opportunities and strategies, and supporting the dissemination of information to local organizations and community advocates.
• Provide strategic support and advice to local partners as they implement their own advocacy strategies.
• Travel domestically and internationally, as required for internal meetings, research missions and advocacy opportunities.

Policy Advocacy

• Contribute to the development of policy advocacy and campaign strategies to strengthen the human rights regulation and compliance of corporate and financial actors;
• Conduct policy research and analysis, incorporating lessons learned from casework;
• Draft and review policy submissions, articles and publications;
• Liaise with policymakers to advocate for the policy reform agenda of the organization.

As part of the leadership team, the Legal and Policy Director will also contribute to:

• Shaping the overall strategic direction of the organization and supporting organizational growth and development;
• Representing IDI in public events; and
• Identifying and cultivating new funding opportunities for IDI’s work.

Managerial Responsibilities:

• Supervise a team of 4-5 legal and policy associates and regional coordinators based in a variety of locations, including the US, Europe and Asia, to advance IDI’s strategy and priorities in a timely manner;
• Lead, motivate, and mentor direct reports, including working with them to set priorities, ensuring balanced workload, and promoting staff well-being;
• Promote an inclusive and positive work environment, including by soliciting diverse points of views and encouraging creative, outside-the-box thinking;
• Provide timely and appropriate feedback to staff on their performance and provide guidance and support in achieving excellence in the team’s work products.

Essential qualifications and attributes:

• Minimum of ten years of relevant work experience, including at least four in a managerial capacity, in the areas of human rights or corporate accountability;
• A graduate degree in law, human rights or related field, or an equivalent level of additional work experience;
• Demonstrated corporate accountability case work experience (judicial or non-judicial) where communities are in the driver’s seat;
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing policy advocacy campaigns;
• Exceptional English language writing, editing and oral communications skills (French, Spanish or Portuguese proficiency is a plus);
• Strong legal, analytical, research, advocacy, problem-solving and interpersonal skills;
• Ability to travel up to 15% time.

The right person for this position is:

• A strong advocate and a highly motivated problem-solver with a positive attitude and a strong moral compass.
• Adept at building and maintaining constructive and collegial work relationships with a high performing and highly collaborative small team.
• Comfortable managing many competing demands, which are sometimes unpredictable, and is good at prioritizing and seizing advocacy opportunities in a timely manner, with the help of others.
• Comfortable with the messiness and challenges of corporate accountability advocacy and working respectfully alongside local partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America, who does not get discouraged too easily.
• A great communicator, who is sensitive to other people’s feelings and is able to provide feedback in a constructive manner through strong relationships.
• Comfortable with co-leadership and sharing the load with others in the leadership team.
• Feeling excited after reading this job description and is ready to apply to join IDI’s team!

** Candidates who possess most but not all of the essential qualifications, including years of experience, may be considered for a Deputy Director role.

Compensation and Benefits:

Inclusive Development International offers a competitive salary and benefits package, including a generous 401k plan (or comparable retirement plan for non-US employees), paid time off, paid parental leave, and comprehensive health insurance. If based in Washington DC, the salary range is $100,000 – $125,000 for this role, dependent on experience. The salary range for other locations will be adjusted based on the cost of living in that area.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates should submit a resume, cover letter addressing the key selection criteria (maximum 2 pages), and a writing sample demonstrating advocacy experience.

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a short writing test as part of our selection process.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Posting may close without notice.

We value diversity on our team and believe that a more diverse team is a more effective team. Inclusive Development International strongly encourages people of color, Indigenous people, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, adults of all ages, and all qualified persons to apply for our open options.

Inclusive Development International is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, national origin, ethnicity, religion, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, class or criminal record.

Job posted: 2023-05-16