Senior Legal Officer

The Open Society Institute (OSI) is a private operating and grantmaking foundation that develops and implements a range of programs in civil society, education, media, public health and human and women's rights, as well as social, legal, and economic reform. Established in 1993 by investor and philanthropist George Soros, OSI is at the center of an informal network of foundations and organizations active in more than 50 countries worldwide.

OSI's International Legal Program addresses criminal justice reform (including rationalization of pre-trial detention to reduce over-incarceration, promotion of mechanisms to foster effective and accountable law enforcement, and broadening of access to quality legal representation); international justice (including support for the International Criminal Court, the development of national capacity to prosecute international crimes, and assistance to mixed tribunals); freedom of information and the media; corruption; and discrimination on grounds of race/ethnicity, gender, and citizenship status.

The Senior Legal Officer/Africa, an Africa-based position within the International Legal Program, develops, oversees and implements operational and grantmaking programs in each of the above fields in Africa. The Senior Legal Officer will work in cooperation with the International Legal Program's offices in New York and Budapest, OSI's national foundation in South Africa (OSF-SA), and its regional foundations in Southern and West Africa (OSISA and OSIWA).

The Senior Legal Officer will perform a variety of tasks, including:
hands-on engagement in providing assistance to NGOs in pursuing legal advocacy and to governments in the design and/or implementation of legislation and institutional reform; the development of pilot projects; litigation and support for litigation; research and policy analysis; and review and monitoring of grants.

Candidates should have a law degree; substantial experience working in Africa in one or more of the above thematic areas; a demonstrated capacity to develop and apply successfully innovative legal strategies; extraordinary initiative and creativity; ability and willingness to travel frequently; and strong management, organizational and interpersonal skills. Fluency in written and oral English, and reasonable proficiency in French, are required.

Salary/Benefits: Competitive salary commensurate with experience.
Excellent benefits.

Start Date: September 1, 2002.

Apply To: Send cover letter and curriculum vitae, together with an English-language legal writing sample and salary requirements, no later than July
30, 2002, to:

Virginia Moracho Open Society Institute Human Resources - Code SLOA/ILP
400 W. 59th Street New York, New York 10019 Fax: (212) 548-4675