Legal & Policy Officer

Post details Job title: Legal & Policy Officer Reports to: Director Working hours: Full time Starting salary: £27,000 - £32,000 (depending on experience) Location: Vauxhall, London Application deadline: Monday 30 th March 2020 Start date: ASAP To apply Please send: Your CV A covering letter (1 page maximum) Task : Buzzfeed recently revealed that a facial recognition company called Clearview AI has been used by 6 police forces. In 200 words, outline the key legal and policy issues raised. In 200 further words, outline what steps you would take, or consider taking, as Legal & Policy Officer at Big Brother Watch. Please note: applications without all three required documents will not be considered. No agencies please. Post summary This is an exciting position for an exceptional person with a legal, policy and digital rights campaigning background to work for one of the UK’s leading rights NGOs. In this role, you’ll have the opportunity to lobby UK Parliament to further privacy, free expression and data protection rights; to oversee some of the most important litigation on human rights and surveillance in Europe, including on facial recognition and mass interception; and to lead public advocacy campaigns for real change. You’ll also be a key Big Brother Watch spokesperson in the media. The focus of this role will initially be on our Stop Facial Recognition and End Digital Strip Searches campaigns. You’ll have opportunities to work across all areas of our organisational strategy: data, rights and justice; freedom of expression online; policing and technology; and suspcionless surveillance - and to specialise in certain themes, as well as explore new organisational priorities, over time. About you We’re looking for highly skilled professional with a demonstrable passion for protecting civil liberties, especially privacy and freedom of expression, and a high level of interest in new and emerging technologies. Ideally, you’ll have 2 years experience in a legal or policy capacity, or in a comparable environment that relied on your expertise on surveillance technology issues. You’ll be familiar with key litigation and policy issues in the area. You’ll also have excellent knowledge of British politics and UK parliamentary procedures. You’ll be a brilliant communicator, able to simplify complex technology issues and convey powerful messages whether in expert policy briefings or in live news interviews as a Big Brother Watch spokesperson. The ideal candidate will appreciate the importance of winning not only in courts of law but of public opinion, and have the skills to do both. You’ll be at ease working on a strictly non-partisan, cross-party basis and grounding policy analysis in human rights and liberal principles. You’ll be proactive in pitching policy, litigation and campaign ideas for the organisation to pursue within our work streams. You’ll also be proactive and in building relationships with partner organisations, experts and stakeholders. We’re looking for someone who is highly capable, self-motivated, flexible, diligent and able to work under pressure with an often competing workload. If you’re committed to Big Brother Watch’s mission, we’d like to hear from you. Job description Legal Co-ordinate Big Brother Watch’s strategic litigation, liaising with external lawyers Manage relationships with external counsel & build strong relationships with partners Produce legal and policy analysis and identify strategic litigation opportunities Policy Produce policy analysis, research, briefings and reports for dissemination Develop strategic policy recommendations informed by expertise Identify and explore new and emerging policy issues in our key work areas Communicate complex policy issues to varied audiences, whether parliament, the press or the public Build strong relationships with parliamentarians and advisors across all parties Identify opportunities to further our strategic aims in parliament, through committees, parliamentary questions and other activities; as well as regional assemblies and on occasion local government Work with stakeholders and pursue collaborative campaigns/coalitions on key issues Develop Big Brother Watch’s relationships with allies across Government, legislative bodies, international organisations, and NGOs Draft formal correspondence, blog posts, presentations, and other documents articulating Big Brother Watch’s policy positions Advocacy Work with the team to develop campaigns plans to manage and schedule relevant legal, policy and advocacy work to further strategic aims Identify campaigns and advocacy opportunities Feed into development of campaign materials Write articles and give quotes to press Give pre-recorded and live interviews for TV and radio Uphold Big Brother Watch’s reputational excellence in public fora Person specification Essential Min. 2 years experience in a similar role A degree in a relevant field (law, politics) Familiarity with domestic policy matters relating to privacy, surveillance and/or free expression Strong legal and policy research skills Excellent and persuasive communications skills Demonstrable experience in privacy, freedom of expression, or other rights and technology areas Aptitude for managing and building relationships with partner organisations, parliamentarians and other stakeholders Proven ability to produce high quality work under pressure Creativity and energy in approaching a workload consisting of large long-term projects Willingness to work in non-partisan environment, and ability to recruit support of MPs across all parties Desirable Experience managing litigation, either in a legal or campaigns capacity Experience working with parliamentarians and/or producing policy briefings Strong media/spokesperson experience A track record of successful campaigns experience Project management experience Familiarity with relevant UK surveillance laws, human rights frameworks, and relevant case law Big Brother Watch Big Brother Watch is a UK civil liberties campaign group fighting for a free future. We’re determined to reclaim our privacy and defend freedoms at this time of enormous technological change. And we fight to win. We’re a fiercely independent, diverse, non-partisan and non-profit group of campaigners and researchers who work to roll back the surveillance state and protect rights in parliament, the media or the courts if we have to. We publish unique investigations and pursue powerful public campaigns to pursue real change. We work relentlessly to inform and empower the public to collectively reclaim privacy, defend our civil liberties and protect freedoms for the future. We’re a small, dedicated and highly effective team of three full-time staff and five volunteers. Please apply via the button below.