Justice First Fellowship Officer

About the Legal Education Foundation

“Why does it matter that people can understand and use the law?”

This question lies at our core. By asking it, the role of the law as a tool for social justice has become the common thread in our development. We are now one of the largest social justice funders in the UK, and one of the only ones to focus on the specific role and potential of the law. We do this through the strategic development and delivery of a number of programmes and initiatives.

We distribute around £6m a year through our grants, which cover areas of law including human rights, employment, housing, discrimination, children’s rights, community care, education, immigration, asylum and public and administrative law. We also fund particular issues and communities, such as racial justice, gender justice including violence against women and girls, disability justice, tenants, workers, migrants, refugees and children.

The Justice First Fellowship

In 2014 we established the Justice First Fellowship (JFF), our flagship scheme to support the next generation of social justice lawyers. More than 160 Fellowships have been awarded across all four nations in the UK, over ten cohorts. The Foundation has invested around £10.6 million into the scheme with additional contributions from other funders totalling £4.7 million.

The Fellowships have supported the new lawyers to use their skills and networks to bring about social change. Over 90% of JFF graduates remain in legal roles using law for public benefit and we are committed to continuing to support our alumni over the long term. So, it is an active and engaged group with a growing collective impact and voice for social justice.

About the role

This is a new role within the Foundation, and the post-holder will play a key part in ensuring the successful delivery of this flagship scheme. As part of a small and collaborative team, the JFF Officer role is varied and will include overseeing the coordination of events and training, acting as a key point of contact for Fellows as well as administration, communication and relationship management. The candidate will join us at an exciting time as we explore opportunities to help further develop the support provided to our Fellows.

If you have relevant experience and skills, are passionate about social justice and the not-for-profit sector, and thrive on building relationships, then this could be a great opportunity for you. On a practical note there will be some UK travel and you’ll need a demonstrable ability to juggle multiple projects. There’s lots more information in the pack (linked below) so please find out more if you are interested, and if you feel that you could be right for the role then we’d love to hear from you.

Power, Culture and Inclusion

As an organisation we are committed to shifting power in the systems that we are part of. Through a process of learning about anti-oppression, developing our values and behaviours, we want to build the best workplace.

Across all our recruitment we are working towards greater equity, diversity and inclusion and take this journey extremely seriously. Part of this journey is building a team that is diverse and representative, so whilst you will need the skills and experience described, we really want to hear from candidates from a wide range of backgrounds. We particularly encourage people with lived experience of social welfare legal issues and where they intersect with structural racism and other forms of discrimination. However, there is no expectation for candidates to disclose details of personal experiences at any stage during this recruitment or during their work at the LEF.

We are happy to make adjustments to the application and interview process, please contact Belinda Berry (contact details in the pack linked below).

How to apply

If you would like to apply for this role, first download the pack (linked below) which contains the information about the role and requirements. Then:

1. complete the brief Application Form (linked below) which includes your supporting statement,
2. fill in the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form (linked below), and
3. find your CV outlining your career to date, with any academic and professional qualifications.

Please send your application form, EO form and CV, by 10am on 27 March, to the email address in the pack.

If you have any difficulty downloading the forms, please request them from the email listed on the "Apply via website" link above.