BIHR’s Human Rights Officers are an integral part of the team, enabling change through human rights by working with People, Communities, and Systems, taking what we learn from this to influence law and policy.
A passion for human rights in the UK is a must. A commitment to ensuring the best possible practical use of domestic standards outside the courts is essential. The HRO is a very varied and exciting role for someone with solid knowledge of the Human Rights Act and experience of working directly with people and policy makers to achieve change.
The two key aspects of the HRO role are:
- In practice: developing, delivering and reviewing our resources and support sessions on the practical use of UK human rights law. These resources and support sessions are delivered to both rights-holders and duty bearers. HROs do this with a clear understanding, confidence and an ability to support and work with different groups.
- In policy: leading on BIHR's work on policy and legal reviews in Westminster and the devolved nations, identifying key interventions for BIHR to share evidence on the value of the Human Rights Act for people in their everyday lives. Work to secure the Human Rights Act and resist the Bill of Rights is a key organisational priority for the 2022-23 and will involve parliamentary work.
We're looking for someone who is:
- Passionate about BIHR’s mission and values and committed to working in the charity sector.
- A strong team player with ability to get stuck in within a small organisation.
- Self-motivating with ability to work effectively from home as part of a virtual team.
We're looking for someone who has:
- Proven experience of working on human rights, with specific experience of the Human Rights Act.
- Demonstrable work experience developing an understanding of human rights standards in the delivery of health and social care, particularly mental health and/or mental capacity law.
- Demonstrable practical experience of human rights in relation to another area of people’s interactions with public services (e.g., housing, children, education, immigration, policing, welfare, etc.).
- Demonstrable experience of development and delivery of rights-based training for adults, preferably including UK human rights.
- Demonstrable experience of policy work, demonstrating a practical understanding of political and parliamentary processes, ideally at the UK level (devolved experience is also valued).
- Excellent networking and relationship management skills, developed through demonstrable experience.
Location
Remote working (home equipment provided). Flexi-desks are available 1 day a week in London, on rotation. There is a once-a-month meeting of the whole team in London (usually the last Monday of the month). Most of BIHR’s work is delivered digitally, but for some work there may be very occasional travel within the UK, including overnight stays / early starts, particularly in this role.
Hours
Full time for a fixed term 12-month contract (possible that 0.8 FTE/4 days a week or 0.9/ 9 day fortnight could be considered for the right candidate).