Emergency Roster

TERMS OF REFERENCE

LAW'S EMERGENCY ROSTER 

Internal Expression of Interest Only

ABOUT LAW

Founded in 2013, Legal Action Worldwide (LAW) is an independent non-profit organisation comprised of human rights lawyers and jurists. LAW provides survivor-centred, gender-proactive and trauma-informed support to people who have experienced grave human rights violations and international crimes, combining national and international expertise to pursue accountability and access to justice.

ABOUT THE RAPID RESPONSE ROSTER

LAW is establishing a pre-identified pool of internal staff and external consultants who may be considered for short-term assignments when new projects, urgent needs or funding opportunities arise across different geographical contexts. The roster will enable LAW to identify relevant expertise effectively and, where funding is available and its use has been approved by LAW’s Senior Management Team (SMT), deploy that expertise avoiding delay, and maximising LAW’s ability to deliver essential support to survivors, gather critical evidence, and address justice needs as quickly as possible.

This internal expression of interest invites LAW staff to register skills, experience and availability for consideration alongside LAW’s existing global consultant network.

Inclusion on the roster is not an offer or guarantee of an assignment. Any deployment will be contingent on funding being available and approved for use by LAW’s SMT, as well as a defined organisational need, the individual’s availability and suitability for the specific context.

INDICATIVE AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Expressions of interest are welcome across a broad range of technical, operational and practical skills. These may include, but are not limited to:

• Legal analysis and strategic litigation: international criminal, human rights and humanitarian law; criminal and civil litigation; domestic and universal-jurisdiction frameworks; legal research, drafting, case development and litigation support.
• Investigations and case-building: investigation planning; evidence collection, preservation and analysis; statement-taking; chain of custody; case-file development and information management.
• Specialised interviewing and survivor engagement: trauma-informed, survivor-centred and gender-proactive interviewing; informed consent; safe and meaningful survivor participation; and interviewing survivors and witnesses of conflict-related sexual violence and other gendered violations of international law, children affected by armed conflict, detainees, displaced persons and refugees, and others requiring heightened protection, accessibility or safeguarding measures.
• Gender justice: gender-proactive and intersectional legal, factual and contextual analysis; investigation of conflict-related sexual violence (including interviewing survivors and witnesses of sexual violence), gender-based violence more widely and other gendered violations of international law; gendered barriers to justice; and integration of gender justice across investigations, litigation, advocacy and programme design.
• Children’s rights and children affected by armed conflict: child-sensitive interviewing and participation; age-appropriate information and communication; best-interests and safeguarding considerations; analysis and documentation of grave violations against children; and integration of children’s rights across legal, investigative, advocacy and programme responses.
• Digital, corporate and financial investigations: OSINT, digital verification, geolocation and chronolocation; corporate and beneficial-ownership research; financial investigations, asset tracing, supply-chain analysis and sanctions research.
• Protection and responsible information management: risk assessment, confidentiality, data protection (practical understanding of GDPR requirements), secure handling of sensitive information, safeguarding and coordination with specialist protection or psychosocial actors.
• Advocacy, communications and capacity strengthening: advocacy strategy, stakeholder engagement, legal and policy briefings, public reporting, survivor-sensitive communications, training, mentoring and development of practical tools and protocols.
• Programme and operational delivery: rapid assessments, programme design and start-up, partnership and grant management, monitoring and learning, donor compliance, fundraising, security, logistics, procurement and operational set-up.
• Contextual capabilities: country, regional, thematic and language expertise; translation and interpretation; and knowledge of local legal systems, institutions, civil society and survivor communities.

ASSIGNMENT ARRANGEMENTS

Assignments are expected to be short term and linked to a specific deliverable, “start-up” needs or periods of surge support which may be remote, in person or hybrid and may involve travel, subject to LAW’s security assessment and applicable informed consent procedures.

Further details such as exact location, estimated number of working days, deliverables and working arrangements will be set out in a separate specific Terms of Reference when you are selected for an assignment.

For current LAW staff, participation will require the agreement of the staff member’s line manager and the relevant budget holder, considering existing responsibilities and operational priorities. Where an assignment is offered, mutual agreement will be sought. Staff will retain the right to decline a specific assignment.

Should a LAW staff member leave the organisation, they may remain on the Roster only if they are engaged as a consultant under a valid framework agreement or other appropriate contractual arrangement with LAW. Individuals cannot remain on the Roster or undertake assignments without a valid contractual agreement in place.

Any such arrangement will be subject to funding availability and SMT approval. The appropriate contractual and assignment arrangements must be confirmed before an assignment begins and must comply with LAW policies and applicable law.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Individuals selected for an assignment will be expected to:

• Deliver agreed work to the required quality and within the assignment timeframe;
• Work collaboratively with the designated LAW manager, relevant programme teams, partners and other stakeholders;
• Apply LAW’s survivor-centred, gender-proactive, trauma-informed and locally driven approaches, as set out in LAW’s 10-year report, annual reports, and Vision 2030;
• Comply with LAW policies, including those concerning safeguarding, security, confidentiality, data protection and professional conduct;
• Declare any actual or potential conflict of interest and promptly raise risks, constraints or changes affecting delivery;
• Provide a concise handover or completion note where required.

ELIGIBILITY

The roster is open to LAW staff who can demonstrate:

• Relevant skills and direct experience (minimum 5 years) that may support rapid project design, start-up or implementation.

• Relevant knowledge and or ability
• Able to travel immediately
• Staff must have successfully completed the probation period, and be confirmed in post
• No informal or formal performance concerns

Staff should be able to work flexibly, communicate effectively across teams and contexts, and operate within LAW’s mandate and organisational values. Previous deployment experience is welcome but is not required. You should identify any geographical, language, travel or availability limitations in their expression of interest.

CONFIDENTIALITY

All information accessed, received or produced during an assignment must be treated confidentially and must not be disclosed to any third party without prior written authorisation from LAW. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, all materials and deliverables produced as part of the assignment will remain the property of LAW.

ROSTER AND SELECTION PROCESS

Expressions of interest will be reviewed to identify relevant skills and experience for inclusion in LAW’s internal roster. When a need arises, LAW may assess roster members against the assignment-specific requirements, including expertise, contextual knowledge, language skills, availability, security considerations and value for money.

Selection and mobilisation will remain contingent on the necessary funding being available and approved for use by LAW’s SMT. LAW may request further information or hold a short discussion before making any selection. Roster membership may be reviewed periodically to keep information current.

FINANCIAL BENEFITS

No financial remuneration or other financial benefits will be provided for participation. However, where a staff member is deployed on an assignment, LAW will cover all eligible business-related expenses in accordance with its applicable policies and procedures.

HOW TO EXPRESS INTEREST

If interested, you should submit:

• An up-to-date CV
• A brief statement of interest outlining your suitability and relevant examples of technical and operation experience that you wish to register
• Highlight the countries, regions, languages or contexts in which you have relevant experience
• Indicative availability, willingness to travel and any relevant limitations
• Email confirmation that you have discussed the expression of interest with your line manager.

Deadline for Applications: 9 a.m. Geneva time on Friday 20th November 2026.

Click the link to apply: https://legalactionworldwide.bamboohr.com/careers/108

When submitting your application, please indicate which categories on the Roster you wish to be considered for, as outlined below:

• Investigation/ Documentation:
  • Interviewing
  • Open-Source Investigation Techniques
  • Gender-Based Crimes
  • Crimes against Children
  • Financial investigation
  • Weaponry/military conduct expertise
  • Information/Evidence analysis
• Strategic litigation
  • Planning investigations for litigation purposes
  • Legal research
  • Drafting
  • Securing emergency/ preliminary measures.
• Survivor Engagement
  • Survivor support (for participation in investigations)
  • Case management and referral pathways (including ICLA and wider protection support)
  • Managing continued engagement with survivors
  • Gender - women and girls, men and boys, LGBTQIA+ communities
  • Children and young people
  • People with disabilities
  • Security and risk management for survivor participation
  • Amplifying survivor voices
• Operations
  • Security and risk management
  • Small grant management
  • Logistics management (especially travel coordination)
• Thematic/Geographic
  • Languages
  • Thematic expertise
  • Geographic/ context expertise
• Other expertise

It is the applicant's responsibility to update their information on the roster if their experience, skills, or availability changes.