Head of Death Penalty Projects- USA

About Reprieve

Reprieve works with the most disenfranchised people in society. Our aim is simple: to consign the death penalty and abuses carried out in the name of “counter-terrorism” or “national security” to history, drawing public and political attention to past harms with a view to preventing them from occurring again.

In our view, you can best judge a society by how it treats prisoners, criminal defendants, and the far-flung targets of an ever-changing counter-terror policy. To us, the rule of law means little if we selectively apply it to people we agree with. It is for all of us. Liberty is always eroded at the margins.

Reprieve’s staff is made up of courageous and committed human rights defenders. Founded in 1999, we provide free legal and investigative support to people facing the death penalty and those victimised by states’ abusive counter-terror policies – rendition, torture, arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killing.

We fight our clients’ cases in courts around the world; investigate their mistreatment; and advocate on their behalf, encouraging public and political debate of human rights issues.

About this role

We are pleased to advertise for a Head of Death Penalty Projects- US to oversee our work against the death penalty in the United States of America. 

Reprieve has worked against the death penalty since our founding. In recent years we have built a particular specialism in issues relating to lethal injection, the most popular execution method in the US. Lethal injection has been touted as more humane than other methods – a modern, clean, clinical way to execute. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Lethal injection executions go wrong more often than any other execution method, often resulting in prolonged and torturous executions, commonly known as “botched” executions. Through our work we aim to dispel the myth of the humane execution, working with allies across medicine, business and other sectors to end the misuse of medicines and medical technology in executions.

The existing portfolio of work includes litigation, investigation and analysis, corporate engagement, a wide range of public and private advocacy, and developing and maintaining world-leading expertise on execution methods, particularly the jurisprudence and science relevant to lethal injection.

Contract, location and salary

The role is a full-time, permanent position with a salary of £59,226 per annum less any required deductions for tax and national insurance.  Reprieve operates a hybrid working model and we require staff to work a minimum of 40% from the London office and the rest of the week from home. There is the opportunity for international travel in the role.   

 Reprieve is proud to have an open and transparent pay structure, governed by a 2:1 pay ratio between the highest-paid member of staff and the lowest-paid member of staff. We are a flexible employer and offer a range of non-financial benefits to employees. We welcome applications from a range of backgrounds. You can learn more about Reprieve’s salary structure and ethos on our website. 

Full details and how to apply

Please see the job description for full details including a person description. Applicants should complete and submit an application form, and the deadline for applications is 17 November 2024. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK currently and for the duration of the contract.