Legal Director, Food and Nutrition Program

CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS•Washington, DC

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), an initiative of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), draws on decades of work on tobacco control campaigns and its growing experience on other public health issues to drive policy change campaigns around the globe to improve health. To date, these issues have included road safety, food and nutrition policy, cardiovascular health, drowning prevention, civil registration & vital statistics, preventing epidemics, and maternal and reproductive health, among others. The Food and Nutrition Policy Program works to advance policy advocacy campaigns to create healthy, sustainable food systems and defend everyone’s right to nutritious food. We build movements to reduce the demand for unhealthy, ultra processed products and to increase access to nutritious food. Legal and policy analysis, along with strategic litigation, play a key role in Food and Nutrition policy advocacy efforts. The Food and Nutrition Program is looking for a team leader for our excellent staff of public health lawyers whose work supports live saving policy change advocacy initiatives around the world. Reporting to the Vice President of Food and Nutrition, the Legal Director will oversee all the food and nutrition legal work and supervise legal staff and consultants in close collaboration and alignment with the Food and Nutrition Program leads. (S)he will provide leadership, strategic planning, and technical advice to the food and nutrition legal and program teams to support in country advocacy campaigns and strategic litigation through review of legal contexts for policy reform; drafting and review of pending legislation or regulations; and providing guidance for strategic litigation that advances the program goals. This includes working with food and nutrition program leadership, the lawyers and program teams and collaborate with local and global partners. The Legal Director will provide leadership, management, and mentoring to the food and nutrition legal team and facilitate coordination on legal issues and approaches across the program as necessary and helpful. The Legal Director will also provide guidance in developing high quality, tailored training and technical assistance frameworks to strengthen the capacity of lawyers on staff and at local partner organizations. This position is based in Washington, DC and is open to U.S. citizens and other applicants who already possess authorization to work in the U.S. on a permanent basis.

Requirements

Juris Doctor Degree (or equivalent) or LL.M required.
A minimum of ten years of relevant legal, legislative, and litigation experience working on public health or broader development issues, on a global basis.
A minimum of five years of experience providing leadership, management, and mentoring to legal staff and building a team.
International experience is required particularly in developing countries, and experience in corporate accountability issues highly desirable.
Proven track record and a minimum of ten years of experience managing multi-faceted and complex projects related to policy change in global health, including ability to lead teams, mentor staff, solve problems, balance competing priorities and provide strategic direction.
Excellent analytical skills and legal writing and research ability.
Demonstrated excellence in communication and in working with peoples from diverse cultures and countries, strong interpersonal and diplomatic skills.
Ability to work in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment while juggling and coordinating multiple projects and deadlines.
Ability to take initiative and work independently with only minimal supervision.
Ability to travel internationally up to 25% (when travel is deemed safe for staff and partners).
Fluency in English is required, foreign language proficiency in French or Portuguese highly desirable.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in Africa and Asia highly desired.
Experience in food and nutrition legal related work will be a plus.
Experience in legal analysis of public health issues, particularly in the areas of nutrition and non-communicable diseases, a plus. Experience in related areas such as consumer protection, corporate accountability, human rights, and transparency in government also a plus.
Experience with developing training seminars and programs for government lawyers and local advocates on public health legal issues.

Responsibilities

Provide strategic guidance to the legal team to ensure high quality legal analyses of legislation, regulations, and other initiatives at the global, national and/or subnational level to ensure that they reflect best public health and legal practice.
Identify gaps in legislation to inform the setting of policy change priorities on public health and safety issues.
Assist with the drafting of legislation or regulations and providing continuing assistance as the draft is modified or changed by the government.
Support development and maintenance of legislative drafting tools for those considering legislation for the first time or for comparing weaknesses in specific provisions.
Work with global tobacco legal team to develop appropriate synergies and to learn from the decades of work advanced there.
Provide oversight for Food and Nutrition legal team’s development of resource materials and tools relevant to advancing policy.
Review legal context in priority countries to determine what litigation approaches might further overall program efforts.
Work closely with staff attorneys and local legal counsel to manage caseload of pending legal actions.
Support the development of work products of local counsel as needed, which could include providing feedback to pleadings and briefs, discovery and motion practice, and documents for evidentiary hearings and oral arguments.
Identify and work with outside lawyers and litigation counsels to support legal efforts.
Provide technical assistance and expert legal advice to cooperating attorneys.
Develop overall strategic vision for the Food and Nutrition legal work and promote links with international and in country legal partners.
Contribute to strategic advocacy planning and ensuring that legal efforts are an integrated part of policy change campaigns.
Supervise and support food and nutrition lawyers and work with them to develop appropriate professional development and other capacity building opportunities.
Capture best practices and document success stories resulting from the work of the legal team and partners.
Represent the legal team and its work to current and potential funders.
Conceptualize and pursue opportunities for organizational growth.

Benefits

You will be joining a respected global health advocacy organization dedicated to creating meaningful policy change and saving lives in our neighborhoods and in communities worldwide.
A comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plan for employees and dependents.
403b plan participation (with 9% company contribution)
12 paid company holidays, 15 vacation days, 10 sick days, and 5 personal days (on an accrual basis each calendar year)

Stand Out From the Crowd

Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.

Upload and Match Resume