Legal Associate

Background:  

Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) is a US-based, global public health organization with a mission to accelerate action against the world’s deadliest health threats. Since 2017, RTSL has partnered with low-and middle-income country governments, multilateral agencies, academic and other civil society partners, and communities to design simple solutions that can be scaled up to stop leading health threats worldwide.  Our legal team supports governments in reviewing their existing legal frameworks, identifying gaps and needs, and designing effective response measures across a range of technical issues including health security, nutrition, hypertension, health taxes, and environmental health.   

Position Purpose:  

The Legal Associate supports RTSL’s public health legal work by conducting legal and regulatory research, monitoring policy developments, supporting the development of presentations and legal and policy materials, and coordinating with partners and tracking priority workstreams. Working under the guidance of the Director, Public Health Legal and in collaboration with other members of the public health legal team, RTSL technical teams, and external partners, the Legal Officer helps translate legal analysis into practical tools, guidance, and technical assistance that advance public health policy and strengthen national legal and regulatory frameworks. 

Success in the role means providing rigorous, timely, and practical legal and policy support that helps RTSL teams and partners advance priority public health reforms. 

Work Location: This is a remote position open to candidates based in the US or the UK.

Duration: Full-time employment for a fixed term of 24 months.

Core Duties and Responsibilities:  

Legal and Policy Research & Analysis 

• Conduct supervised legal and regulatory research and analysis in countries where RTSL supports public health initiatives, including review of laws, regulations, policies, legal authorities, and relevant international standards and instruments.  

• Monitor and analyze legal, regulatory, and policy developments relevant to RTSL priorities, including health security, nutrition, hypertension control, health taxes, and environmental health.  

• Synthesize legal research into clear findings, options, and practical implications for RTSL teams, governments, and partners.  

• Support comparative legal and policy analyses across countries and jurisdictions to identify relevant approaches, gaps, and lessons.  

• Maintain organized and reliable legal research and reference materials to support ongoing country and thematic work.  

Legal and Policy Technical Assistance 

• Support the team's provision of legal and policy technical assistance to governments, grantees, and other partners.  

• Draft, review, and edit legal, policy, advocacy, training, and presentation materials for internal and external audiences.  

• Contribute to the development and refinement of legal tools, templates, guidance, and other knowledge products at country, regional, and global levels.  

• Support the design and delivery of capacity-building activities, including workshops, trainings, and technical consultations with government and other country partners.  

• Translate complex legal and regulatory issues into clear, accessible information for public health practitioners and other non-legal audiences.  

Country, Partner & Workstream Coordination 

• Coordinate with country partners, grantees, RTSL technical teams, and regional and global stakeholders to support legal work planning, information gathering, and implementation.  

• Track priority legal workstreams, country engagements, partner requests, deliverables, and deadlines to support timely follow-up and execution.  

• Prepare background materials, presentations, meeting materials, and concise summaries to support technical discussions and decision-making.  

• Participate in meetings and consultations with government and partner stakeholders and document key decisions, actions, and follow-up.  

• Perform other legal, policy, research, and coordination responsibilities consistent with the role, as needed.  

Required Qualifications:  

Education:  

• Juris Doctor, LLM, or equivalent degree  

Experience:  

• Minimum 2 years of relevant legal or policy experience, including experience in legal research and analysis, regulatory or policy analysis, public interest law, global health or related area(s) of legal work.  

• Demonstrated experience in conducting legal and regulatory research, producing clear written analysis.  

• Prior experience coordinating projects, deliverables, or partner engagements across multiple workstreams. 

• Prior experience working with or supporting government ministries, regulatory agencies, or other public sector institutions. 

Skills & abilities:  

• Strong legal research, analysis, and writing skills, with close attention to legal authority, accuracy, and detail.  

• Ability to analyze laws, regulations, policies, and international legal instruments and identify their practical implications for public health policy and implementation.  

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex legal and policy issues into concise, practical, and accessible guidance for legal and non-legal audiences.  

• Strong analytical judgment and ability to distinguish legal requirements from policy options, implementation considerations, and advocacy objectives.  

• Strong organizational and project coordination skills, with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple assignments, deadlines, and stakeholders.  

• Ability to work independently on defined assignments while recognizing when issues require additional legal guidance or escalation.  

• Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills and ability to work effectively with government officials, technical experts, partners, and colleagues from different professional backgrounds.  

• Collaborative and service-oriented approach to working with multidisciplinary public health teams.  

• Familiarity with international public health law and relevant WHO instruments, including the International Health Regulations, or demonstrated ability to develop this expertise quickly.  

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and other relevant research and collaboration tools.  

• Ability to work effectively in a remote, internationally distributed organization.  

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Experience communicating legal concepts effectively to non-legal audiences. 

• Experience working in or with low- and middle-income countries, strongly preferred. 

• Experience or substantive knowledge in one or more of RTSL's priority areas, such as health security, nutrition policy, health taxes, cardiovascular health, or environmental health.  

• Experience supporting legislative, regulatory, or policy reform processes.  

• Experience conducting comparative legal research across multiple jurisdictions.  

• Fluency in French.  

Compensation and Benefits:

Resolve to Save Lives prides itself on cultivating a supportive, connected remote team doing work that matters. We do everything possible to ensure our employees are connected and set up for success.  

The starting salary range for this position in the US is $75,000 to $85,000 annually. The exact offer will be determined by various factors, such as the candidate's skills and experience relative to the requirements of the role. For applicants based outside the US, salaries are set according to national labor rates for the international NGO sector.

In addition to a competitive salary, Resolve to Save Lives provides a generous package of benefits, including:   

• Health insurance for you and your dependents  
• Contributions toward retirement   
• Paid annual leave and sick leave, in addition to public holidays  
• Two paid, week-long organization-wide breaks at mid-year and end-of-year   
• Professional development and home office setup benefits  
• Up-to-date computer equipment