Job Opportunity

Position Description – Legal Officer

Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA), based in Accra, Ghana, is recruiting a Legal Officer.
This is a full-time, staff position based in Accra, Ghana. 

Established in April 2016, ACA helps West African communities that are threatened by the destructive impacts of extractives-led development to take control of their own futures. We do this by working with communities to design their own sustainable development plans and to advocate to achieve those plans. We also build networks of lawyers and other experts to help communities’ plans come to fruition. ACA has projects in communities in Ghana’s Bono East and Eastern Regions, in Liberia and Guinea addition to collaborating and supporting programs for the Public Interest
Lawyering Initiative for West Africa (PILIWA), a network of lawyers and legal advocates in nine West African countries.

Role

The Legal Officer will assist the Legal Director to coordinate with ACA’s legal partners and advance our legal strategies. This includes both legal support for our development projects in Ghanaian, Liberian, Sierra Leonean, and Guinean communities, and coordination of our work in and through PILIWA in Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, and Sierra Leone. The Legal Officer will report to ACA’s Legal Director. This position requires frequent travel, mostly within the Anglophone countries of West Africa.

Specifically, he or she will undertake the following:

1. Coordinate PILIWA network in the Anglophone West African countries

• Assist the Legal Director to manage PILIWA grants in Liberia, Nigeria. Ghana, and Sierra Leone
• Contribute to the PILIWA’s litigation and other legal strategies in Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, and Sierra Leone
• Draft legal product for and in collaboration with PILIWA members in Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, and Sierra Leone
• Assist the Legal Director in the organization of the annual PILIWA conference 
• Assist the Legal Director on building relationships and collaborations with legal institutions in Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, and Sierra Leone, such as Bar Associations and law schools
• Assist the Legal Director to coordinate the foundation of legal clinics and in PILIWA anglophone countries
• Attend public interest and advocacy conferences taking place in PILIWA Anglophone countries
• Assist the Legal Director to coordinate ACA and PILIWA’s work in Francophone countries where required

2. Provide legal support to partner communities in Ghana, Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone

• Deliver trainings for partner communities on legal topics, including land rights and administrative processes relevant to community-driven development plans
• Assist the Legal Director and the Communities development Director to develop and implement proactive legal and other advocacy strategies to strengthen communities’ resilience to externally imposed, destructive development projects
• Provide legal aid to partner communities in Ghana, including legal education, case development, serving as liaison to our Ghanaian legal partners, and court appearances where necessary

Required Qualifications

• Law degree (J.D., LL.B, or equivalent)
• At least two years of work in human rights, including at least one year of post-graduate work as a legal practitioner
• Familiarity with national, regional, and international mechanisms and strategies to prevent and seek remedies for human rights abuses
• Willingness and ability to relocate in Accra, Ghana
• Willingness and ability to travel widely in West Africa, including to remote rural areas

Preferred Qualification

• Currently active certification to practice law in Ghana
• Post-graduate litigation experience in national or international tribunals
• Professional competency in French
• Fluency in Twi
• Authorization to reside and work in Ghana
• Human rights field experience
• Familiarity and experience with digital knowledge management tools
• Professional experience working in less-developed, rural communities

Compensation

ACA offers salaries and a package of health and retirement benefits that are competitive with other regional non-profit organizations. Exact salary depends on the candidate’s experience and professional qualifications, as well as any special skills that she brings to the job.

Application Procedure

Submit the following to ACA’s Executive Director, Jonathan Kaufman, at jonathan@advocatesforalternatives.org., attached to an e-mail with the subject header “ACA Legal Officer Job Application”:

• Cover letter explaining interest and relevant experience
• Resume/CV of no more than 2 pages
• List of three professional references

Application Deadline

October 30, 2021

Opportunities

Internships

ACA always welcomes current students and recent graduates to join us as interns in both our legal and community-based programs. 

To inquire, please send a cover letter, resume, reference list, and writing sample to the Executive Director, Jonathan Kaufman, at jonathan@advocatesforalternatives.org.