Acces to Justice Program Officer

We are seeking an adaptable and dynamic individual to join our team in Delhi.

Nazdeek, meaning “to be close” in Urdu, is a legal capacity building organization committed to bringing access to justice closer to marginalized communities in India. Nazdeek partners with grassroots activists and lawyers to build community-based legal networks to increase accountability in the protection of social and economic rights.

Nazdeek is a small, women-led, organization based in Delhi, with national and international staff and a range of connections and partnerships within and outside India. Our work focuses on advancing socio-economic rights and demanding accountability for the delivery of essential entitlements, such as healthcare, food, water and sanitation, and housing.

In the past year we’ve been working in slum communities in Delhi to build a pool of paralegal activists who access judicial and non-judicial remedies to address violations of rights to health, food and housing. We seek an Access to Justice Officer to expand this work. The Officer will be mainly responsible for the delivery of our capacity building programme for community members, which includes fact-findings, training sessions and filing of complaints and applications before administrative and judicial forums.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities:

1. Capacity building

§ Organize and conduct workshops for community members and activists on a range of socioeconomic rights issues, primarily rights to housing, food and reproductive health

§ Produce training modules and resource materials

§ Build and maintain relations with community members, activists and lawyers

2. Legal advocacy:

§ Conduct field fact-findings to document violations of social and economic rights

§ Draft reports and briefs on rights violations

§ Draft and file complaints through existing administrative grievance procedures, Right To Information (RTI) applications

§ Follow up with applications filed, liaising with relevant government officials to ensure access to essential services for community members.

3. Administrative tasks

§ organize training sessions

§ draft reports for funders and donors

§ organize and maintain records as required

4. Communications

§ Draft external communications materials including press releases, blogs and briefings

§ Support the communication strategy by creating content for website, newsletters and social media

Qualifications

§ Educational requirement: Masters, LL.B or J.D. is strongly preferred. Candidates with background in Social or Political Science and Mass Communications may also apply.

§ Excellent written, verbal, research, analytical and communication skills

§ Experience working on issues of law, human rights and/or governance. Previous experience working in a NGO or a law firm is highly desirable.

§ Knowledge of human rights law and use of legal system to address poverty, exclusion and oppression

§ Ability to work under pressure, organize and prioritize workload and meet multiple deadlines

§ Demonstrated commitment to social justice, past field work experience in slum or rural areas is highly desirable.

§ Strong understanding of the relationship between poverty, caste, class and gender

§ Fluent English language skills are required, fluency in Hindi or other major Indian language preferred.

PLEASE NOTE THAT CANDIDATES MUST BE ELIGIBLE TO WORK IN THE COUNTRY

Compensation and other Benefits:

The position offers great career development opportunities, including travel and networking opportunities at national and international levels.

Salary: commensurate with experience and local standards

Duration: 1 year with possibility of extension.

Hours: 40 – 44 hours per week

Location: Jangpura, New Delhi, India