Northern Ireland Adviser (Consultant)

Application Deadline: 24 February 2021
Compensation: Negotiable
Location: Remote. Candidates must be based in the UK and have a right to work in the UK.
Consulting dates: Approximately 1 March 2021 – 30 June 2021

** Applications will be considered on a rolling basis **

Rights and Security International (RSI) seeks a Northern Ireland Adviser to work with us as a temporary consultant as we respond to new developments in UK national security and accountability laws and policies. The consultant will also bring expertise in lessons learned from the history of Northern Ireland as we plan our international work.

Projects to be completed:

Working with us approximately 1 day per week on a temporary basis, you will:

• Identify opportunities for RSI to contribute to post-conflict justice, peacebuilding, and human rights in Northern Ireland.
• Help strengthen our connections to local human rights organizations and networks.
• Draft a short report for publication on lessons learned from the Northern Ireland context regarding several specific areas of human rights (to be agreed with the Director).
• Contribute a Northern Ireland historical and rights-based perspective to our legal submissions, policy advocacy, and strategic planning, including by drafting materials and/or guiding other staff.

Person Specification:

RSI is looking for a passionate and experienced human rights professional.

Essential qualifications:

• Degree in law.
• Minimum of 4-6 years of experience in human rights
• Knowledge and understanding of the counter-terrorism and national security law and policy context in Northern Ireland.
• Strong writing, research, and coalition-building skills.
• Demonstrable record of completing successful, complex projects in a timely manner.
• Highly self-motivated, creative, open-minded, and a strategic thinker.
• A strong commitment to working in a collegial and respectful manner with colleagues as well as a broader range of partners and stakeholders.

Desirable qualifications:

• Experience with advocacy in Northern Ireland.
• Experience addressing gender rights or strong knowledge of the subject.

Application details: If you are interested in this position, please send the following material to Executive Director Sarah St Vincent at sstvincent@rightsandsecurity.org:

(1) Your CV
(2) A cover letter which describes how you fulfil the person specification and sets out your expected compensation.

About Us

Rights and Security International (RSI), formerly Rights Watch (UK) and British-Irish Rights Watch, promotes just and effective security. For over three decades, initially in Northern Ireland and now globally, RSI has successfully advocated for a rights-based approach to national security and held Governments to account for unlawful actions taken in the name of security. Our vision is of a world that recognises that our individual freedoms are essential to our collective security.

RSI is one of, if not the only, human rights organization that is exclusively working on national security issues. We mobilise our knowledge and expertise, in partnership with civil society globally, to address cutting-edge contemporary issues – including the weaponization of counter terrorism measures to close democratic and civil space, the use of emergency and securitized measures in response to the global health pandemic and other non-terrorism related threats, the impact of national security measures on children and vulnerable adults, including those held in IS-associated detention camps in Northeast Syria, the unlawful use of lethal force in the context of counterterrorism, and the proliferation of non-criminal counter terrorism measures.

RSI carries out its work through innovative and high-quality research, strategic litigation, collective action with trusted partners, and advocacy at the domestic, regional and international levels. Through its work, RSI has become a critical reference point and central hub of expertise and action on issues of national security and human rights. Our work has brought about important systemic reforms and justice for individuals, and consistently informs the work of the UN, governments and other influential stakeholders.

We have received wide acclaim for our work including receiving the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Human Rights Prize for ‘outstanding civil society action in the defence of human rights in Europe’, the Irish World Damien Gaffney Award, and the Beacon Prize for Human Rights and were shortlisted for the Columbia University Global Freedom of Expression Award for Best Legal Services 2018.

The work of RSI is becoming increasing relevant given the stark rise globally in national security measures that silence dissidents, disproportionately impact and/or target vulnerable and marginalised communities, or otherwise close civic and democratic space. In parallel, the obstacles for victims to access justice have significantly increased as governments hide behind the well-worn cloak of national security and at the same time are systematically dismantling vital legal protections and other safeguards.

You can learn more about us at www.rightsandsecurity.org.

By submitting your application, you consent to our processing and retention of your personal data to the extent, and for the time period, necessary to consider the application. We will keep your application on file for no more than six months.