About The Role

The Thomson Reuters Foundation is recruiting a dynamic Legal Officer, Africa to support the delivery of legal activities on donor-funded projects in the region. You will report into the Legal Projects Manager, Africa and work closely with other regional TrustLaw team members. The Legal Officer will be based in our Nairobi office.

As a Legal Officer, your responsibilities will include:

• Support the Legal Projects Manager to set out, administer, implement and monitor progress against project plans, and logistical responsibilities linked to the role, in a timely manner
• Deliver key activities and work products under the guidance/review of the manager, which may include:
• Conducting outreach to TrustLaw members or partners
• Onboarding new TrustLaw members and engaging existing members
• Scoping and drafting pro bono legal requests from project beneficiaries
• Managing pro bono requests, including connecting the pro bono client with lawyers
• Designing and managing cross-border research projects that address the most critical social and policy needs facing project beneficiaries
• Coordinating the development, design and dissemination of legal resources
• Setting up and/or administering the processes, systems and tools to support the provision of legal support
• Updating Salesforce and internal record-keeping systems
• Drafting updates, presentations, reports, etc. for internal and external audiences
• Collecting feedback from project beneficiaries
• Organising and supporting the delivery of workshops, training and events
• Support other projects and tasks as needed
• Work hours that overlap with global team availability, including some evening meetings each week

This is a fixed-term contract for 3 years starting in December 2022/January 2023.

The successful candidate will likely:

• Be a qualified lawyer (1+ years PQE) with experience working either in a law firm, in-house or non-profit organisation in pro bono, international development or social change
• A good understanding of the legal and non-profit sectors in Africa, and an understanding of the challenges and opportunities that pro bono opportunities bring to law firms and legal teams
• Have some experience coordinating and delivering project or programmatic activities, including organising trainings/events. Experience working on donor-funded projects would be a plus
• Bring experience engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders, from senior corporate executives and partners of top law firms to social entrepreneurs, NGOs and donors
• Have experience supporting beneficiaries, including NGOs and social enterprises, to use a service
• Have strong organisational and project management skills, and excellent time-management abilities
• Excellent research, writing and analytical skills
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Experience working with databases essential. Experience in Salesforce would be favourable
• Thrive in a fast-paced environment and be able to manage multiple priorities at once

About The Role

The Thomson Reuters Foundation is recruiting a dynamic Legal Projects Manager, Africa to drive and deliver the legal and programmatic activities for key donor-funded projects in the region and serve as the point person and lead for TrustLaw on these projects.

You will report into the Head of Special Projects, and work closely with other regional TrustLaw team members. The Legal Projects Manager will be based in our Nairobi office.

The person in this role will:

• Manage and drive the delivery of legal activities on donor-funded projects in the region, including:
• Setting out project plans for delivery of legal activities
• Ensuring work is done on time, within budget, to the agreed scope and to a high quality
• Escalating delivery issues or changes in scope to the relevant TrustLaw Head
• Reporting internally and externally on progress, including to donors
• Working closely with members of the project team across TRF and inputting into project-wide work plans, results frameworks, etc.
• Serving as the TrustLaw point person on the project, ensuring the project aligns with TrustLaw’s and TRF’s processes, approach and priorities
• Deliver key activities and work products, including:
• Scoping and drafting pro bono legal requests from project beneficiaries
• Managing pro bono requests, including connecting the pro bono client with lawyers
• Designing and managing cross-border legal research projects
• Managing the development of legal resources (e.g., trainings, guides, etc.)
• Facilitating the provision of advisory legal support to project beneficiaries
• Leading workshops, legal health checks, presentations and events
• Conducting outreach to TrustLaw members or partners
• Building processes, systems and tools to support the provision of legal support
• Coordinating the design and dissemination of legal resources
• Updating Salesforce and internal record-keeping systems
• Reviewing the project’s legal outputs for clarity, accuracy and alignment with TrustLaw standards
• Manage a team of one Senior Legal Officer and one Legal Officer, supporting their growth and performance in a fast-paced environment
• Support other projects and tasks as needed
• Work hours that overlap with global team availability, including some evening meetings each week

This is a fixed-term contract for 3 years starting in December 2022/January 2023.

The successful candidate will likely:

• Be an experienced lawyer (5+ years) with strong legal skills and experience with pro bono, international development or social change. Experience working in a law firm, NGO, media hous or in-house is a plus
• Have prior experience working in or demonstrated understanding of one of the following themes: media freedom, inclusive economies or human rights
• A good understanding of the legal and non-profit sectors in Africa and an understanding of the challenges and opportunities that pro bono opportunities bring to law firms and legal teams
• Have excellent research, drafting and analytical skills, including experience both developing and reviewing legal outputs and resources
• Bring experience managing the delivery of legal programming, resources and activities, ideally in a programme or project that is donor funded
• Have experience engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders, from senior corporate executives and partners of top law firms to social entrepreneurs, NGOs and donors
• Be a strong team player with experience managing and supporting a team to achieve results
• Have strong organisational abilities, experience using databases and an ability to support a team to use systems and processes
• Bring experience delivering trainings, workshops and events on legal topics
• Thrive in a fast-paced environment and be able to manage multiple priorities at once, with a high degree of creative and flexible thinking
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Experience inputting into a results framework and reporting on project results would be a plus