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Lead Lawyer - Africa Death Penalty Team

Reprieve

London

Hybrid

GBP 53,000

Full time

2 days ago

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Job summary

Join a leading organization as a Lead Lawyer for the Africa Death Penalty Team, focusing on litigation and advocacy to abolish the death penalty in Sub-Saharan Africa. This full-time role offers a chance to make significant contributions to human rights and legal reforms.

Qualifications

Experience in coordinating litigation and advocacy.
Commitment to fighting against racism and advancing racial justice.

Responsibilities

Coordinate Reprieve’s litigation and advocacy in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Work on death penalty casework and abolition advocacy.

Skills

Human Rights

Litigation

Advocacy

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About Reprieve

Reprieve works with the most disenfranchised people in society. Our aim is simple: to consign the death penalty and abuses carried out in the name of “counter-terrorism” or “national security” to history, drawing public and political attention to these past harms with a view to preventing them from occurring again.

In our view, you can best judge a society by how it treats prisoners, criminal defendants, and the far-flung targets of an ever-changing counter-terror policy. To us, the rule of law means little if we selectively apply it to people we agree with. It is for all of us. Liberty is always eroded at the margins.

Reprieve’s staff is made up of courageous and committed human rights defenders. Founded in 1999, we provide free legal and investigative support to people facing the death penalty and those victimised by states’ abusive counter-terror policies - rendition, torture, arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killing.

We fight our clients’ cases in courts around the world; investigate their mistreatment; and advocate on their behalf, encouraging public and political debate of human rights issues.

Reprieve’s main office is in Aldgate, London, UK. Reprieve also supports full-time Fellows, who work as lawyers, investigators and campaigners in the countries in which we work. We work closely with a number of partner organisations in jurisdictions all over the world, who provide access to clients, expertise, knowledge and guidance on specific issues or regions. We work in cooperation with relevant government officials, individual lawyers and human rights defenders, as well as individual, corporate and foundation funders to further the cause of our shared goals.

Reprieve works in close partnership with its independent sibling organisation Reprieve US. This collaboration is mutually beneficial to both Reprieve and Reprieve US as it enables each organisation to work more effectively and take advantage of the strategic locations to increase the impact of our work.

Reprieve is an equal opportunity employer and we particularly welcome applicants from Black and minority ethnic communities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and those with disabilities. Reprieve is committed to fighting racism and advancing racial justice, both in our work and within Reprieve.

About The Role

The Lead Lawyer - Africa Death Penalty Team is responsible for coordinating Reprieve’s litigation and advocacy in Sub-Saharan Africa. At the moment, the team works on death penalty casework and abolition advocacy in Malawi, Tanzania, and Kenya.

Our casework includes work on appeals to the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal in the context of historic denials of a right to appeal and related contextual challenges; large-scale projects, such as the Kenya resentencing project, wherein we support stakeholders to ensure 5,000+ people are able to access a chance at reducing their sentence from death via a new sentence hearing, as well as supporting on individual strategic resentencing cases; and long-term regional projects, such as our strategic litigation before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which challenges the mandatory death penalty, torture, and other associated violations of the African Charter. This is an opportunity to join a team that has developed groundbreaking work with great success in getting people off death row, making significant contribution to legal reforms and towards abolition.

You will share our commitment to fighting against racism and advancing racial justice, and understand our responsibility to do our work in a way that does not compound racist structures.

For Full Details, Please Download The Job Description.

Length and Salary

This is a full-time role, on a one-year fixed term contract, with the possibility to extend, subject to funding. The annual salary is £52,088 per annum, less any required deductions for income tax and national insurance.

This role is based in Reprieve’s London office. Reprieve operates a hybrid working model and we require staff to work two days per week from the London office and the rest of the week from home. Applicants must have the current right to work in the UK, which will be checked prior to interview.

Your presence is important during core office hours, whether remotely or in the office. You will also be available outside of office hours in the event of an emergency, for example case developments that require urgent action. This is a role that may require travel and work outside of core office hours from time to time.

Reprieve is proud to have an open and transparent pay structure, governed by a 2:1 pay ratio between the highest-paid member of staff and the lowest-paid member of staff. We are a flexible employer and offer a range of nonfinancial benefits to employees. We welcome applications from a range of backgrounds.

Full Details And How To Apply

Please review the job description and person specification for full details.To apply, please submit the application form at the web address provided. Please note that CVs and cover letters cannot be accepted for this role.

The deadline for applications is 23:58 BST on 8 June 2025. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK currently and for the duration of the contract.

Seniority level

Seniority level
Mid-Senior level

Employment type

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