CAREERS

The Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) provides strategic support to advocates working to enact and implement laws that save lives, and is a leading policy advocacy voice on a range of issues including food policy, road safety, cardiovascular health, drowning prevention, civil registration & vital statistics, preventing epidemics, and maternal and reproductive health, among others. Our history is rooted in one of the most successful public health campaigns — tobacco control. Building on the successes and lessons learned in the global fight against tobacco deaths, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids launched the Global Health Advocacy Incubator in 2014 to strengthen advocacy capacity to improve public health around the globe using a locally-led approach that is adaptable to culture, political context and issue area. 

Position Overview

Legal and policy analysis, along with strategic litigation, play a key role in GHAI’s policy advocacy efforts and is critical to the success of the locally-led, locally-driven public health victories we help catalyze and support. GHAI is recruiting its first Legal Director to position GHAI as a go-to resource on legal dimensions of creating global public health policy change and strengthen our capacity to support our in-country partners to develop winning advocacy campaigns, counteract powerful industry interests, and ensure the sustainability of policy efforts.  The Legal Director will lead a growing international team of mission-driven attorneys whose work supports live-saving policy initiatives around the world.

Reporting to the SVP of the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, the Legal Director will provide leadership and strategic oversight of all GHAI legal work, GHAI legal staff and consultants. She/he/they will provide guidance and technical support to the GHAI legal and program teams to support in-country advocacy campaigns and strategic litigation. This includes working with the GHAI lawyers and program teams to identify in-country legal capacity and coordinate with local and global partners to achieve policy goals.  The Legal Director will also be a key thought-partner to the SVP around conceptualizing and developing new programs and initiatives to grow GHAI’s impact.

This position is based in Washington, DC and is open to U.S. citizens and other applicants who already possess authorization to work in the U.S. on a permanent basis. This is a DC office-based position working a hybrid schedule. Full vaccination (including booster shots) against Covid-19 is required.

Responsibilities

As head of the GHAI Legal Team, the Legal Director will oversee GHAI’s legal work, providing strategic direction, technical leadership and mentoring of the legal team, the majority of whom are assigned full-time to specific GHAI programs (e.g. food policy and cardiovascular health, road safety, etc.) and have content expertise in those program areas.  The Legal Director will work with legal team, a network of cooperating attorneys, consultants, global and in-country partners/grantees to develop and implement legal strategies and approaches across all programs.  

Legal Strategy and Coordination

• In collaboration with program directors and GHAI leadership, oversee the development and pursuit of a strategic vision for the legal work of GHAI.,
• Identify opportunities to use the law and legal actions to secure strategic advocacy goals.
• Conceptualize and deploy sophisticated legal strategies to advance public health policy change and contribute to program advocacy planning, ensuring that legal efforts are an integrated part of policy change campaigns. 
• Ensure high-quality legal analyses of legislation, regulations, and other initiatives at the global, national and/or subnational level such that they reflect best public health and legal practice.
• Where needed, advise on drafting of legislation or regulations and identify opportunities to fill critical gaps in legislation
• Develop relationships with attorneys, law firms, legal organizations, and other coalition partners to advance issues of mutual concern.  

Capacity Strengthening 

• Provide guidance in developing high-quality, tailored training and technical assistance frameworks to build the capacity of lawyers on staff and at partner organizations. 
• Support GHAI lawyers, working with them to develop appropriate professional development and other capacity building opportunities

Strategic Litigation

When strategic or necessary, offensive and defensive litigation may be part of advocacy efforts – defending laws/regulations, efforts to affect government or corporate action/inaction, etc.    The Legal Director will provide oversight and guidance to the legal team and these efforts, including the following:

• Review legal context in priority countries to determine what litigation approaches might further overall program efforts.
• Work closely with staff attorneys and local legal counsel to manage caseload of pending legal actions. 
• Review work products of local counsel, including pleadings and briefs, discovery and motion practice, and documents for evidentiary hearings and oral arguments.
• Identify and work with outside counsel and experts to support litigation efforts.
• Provide technical assistance and expert legal advice to cooperating attorneys.

Knowledge and profile building

• Provide oversight for GHAI legal team’s development of resource materials and tools relevant to advancing policy.
• Capture best practices and document success stories resulting from the work of the GHAI legal team and partners.
• Work with global tobacco legal team to identify and leverage appropriate synergies, applying lessons learned from the decades of work advanced there.
• Represent the legal team and its work to current and potential funders.
• Conceptualize and pursue opportunities for organizational growth.
• Assess global, regional, national and sectoral legal trends relevant to GHAI’s work and communicate them to a variety of stakeholders,
• Build and maintain a range of relevant knowledge and information resources to inform current and future programs

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor Degree (or equivalent) or LL.M required.
• Experience providing leadership, management, and mentoring to legal staff and building a team.
• A minimum of ten years of relevant legal experience working on public health or broader development issues, on a global basis; at least three to five years of litigation experience desired; experience with corporate accountability issues highly desirable. 
• Proven track record and a minimum of five years of experience managing multi-faceted and complex projects related to policy change in global health, including ability to lead teams, mentor staff, solve problems, balance competing priorities and provide strategic direction.
• Experience in legal analysis of public health issues, particularly in the areas of nutrition and non-communicable diseases, a plus.   Experience in related areas such as consumer protection, corporate accountability, human rights, and transparency in government also a plus.
• Experience with developing training seminars and programs for government lawyers and local advocates on public health legal issues.
• Excellent analytical skills and legal writing and research ability.
• Demonstrated excellence in communication and in working with peoples from diverse cultures and countries; strong interpersonal and diplomatic skills. 
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment while juggling and coordinating multiple projects and deadlines.
• Ability to take initiative and work independently with only minimal supervision.
• Ability to travel internationally up to 25% (when travel is deemed safe for staff and partners).
• Fluency in English is required; foreign language proficiency in Spanish highly desirable.

TO APPLY

To apply for this position, please email a cover letter, resume and salary requirement to: jobs@advocacyincubator.org. Please reference the position code: LD/GHAI in the subject line of your email. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. No phone calls please.  

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes applications from individuals who will contribute to its diversity. 
    
The Global Health Advocacy Incubator, a program of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, advances public health policies to build a healthier and safer world. Drawing on our extensive global experience, we offer strategic support to in-country partners to develop and execute advocacy campaigns to pass laws and policies that save lives. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a leader in the fight to reduce tobacco use in the United States and around the world. A non-profit organization established in 1996, the Campaign works with more than 130 organizational partners, including public health, medical, education, civic, corporate, youth and religious organizations. The Campaign does not accept any government or tobacco industry funding.