Access Tanzania
Volunteer Legal
Advocates Needed in Tanzania
Please Note: Asylum
Access Tanzania (AATZ) has openings for national and non-national Volunteer
Legal Advocate (VLA) candidates. AATZ is seeking a Tanzanian national to start
immediately in Nov. or Dec. 2015. There are several openings for foreign VLAs,
available on a rolling basis. Preference is given to foreign applicants who can
make a one year comm
itment.
Asylum Access
Tanzania seeks applications from well-prepared candidates with impeccable
writing skills and a passion for social justice for the position of Volunteer
Legal Advocate (VLA). VLAs must commit to at least six months of volunteer
service in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Following an intensive training program in
international and domestic refugee law and response, VLAs are given the
opportunity to engage with asylum law in the Tanzanian administrative system,
help refugees assert their full scope of rights, train refugee community
leaders and participate in local, regional, and international policy advocacy.
Applications are
accepted on a rolling basis.
About
the Program
In addition to
working directly with refugees, VLAs receive over 30 hours of training on
refugee law and practice and at least 24 hours of one-on-one mentoring from a
refugee rights advocate. To enhance each VLAs experience and promote continuous
learning, VLAs participate in regular debriefing sessions that help volunteers
to process their experience.
After working with
Asylum Access Tanzania, VLAs are connected with an ever-growing global network
of refugee legal advocates, policy professionals, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit
leaders. The network continuously circulates job openings, research
opportunities, refugee news, and more.
Specific VLA duties
will depend upon the position. All Volunteer Legal Advocates (VLAs) take an
active role in executing one or more of Asylum Access’ four advocacy tools:
- Legal
Services: Providing legal counsel, advice and/or advocacy on behalf of
refugees seeking asylum or the assertion of other legal rights. - Community
Outreach: Facilitating community educational activities that promote
grassroots refugee empowerment and train refugee community leaders to
build the movement from within. - Strategic
Litigation: Supporting landmark refugee cases before national and
international courts, through research, report writing, and legal
strategizing. The Strategic Litigation tool focuses on winning high-impact
cases to set new precedent for improved jurisprudence and the respect of
refugee rights in future cases. - Policy
Advocacy: Advocating for national, regional, and interaction policy change
or policy enforcement. May involve engaging with local government and UN
leaders on refugee policy issues.
Please see below to
learn more about the general responsibilities of each position. Though each VLA
will focus their work on a specific tool, the Asylum Access model requires that
all tools be integrated to fully realize refugee rights. Therefore, all VLAs
should expect their job responsibilities to overlap with all of the tools. This
also ensures VLAs gain comprehensive insight and experience in the refugee
rights field.
Asylum Access’
Tanzania office fosters a collaborative team environment, to which all VLAs
will contribute. The VLAs help to support the full management of the office and
are also expected to facilitate community activities, present information about
Asylum Access and refugee rights at community events, organize conferences and
meetings, and support publicity and/or fundraising events.
Types
of VLA Positions
Legal Services
Position Responsibilities:
- Advise
refugee clients on the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) process and
assist them to understand their rights - Conduct
client intake and screening interviews, assess needs, and determine
appropriate next steps - Manage
RSD caseload diligently and communicate updates with clients - Occasional
travel to offices other than your station depending on client demand - Develop
unique and innovative legal tactics to assist clients with non-RSD legal
needs, including assistance to assert rights to employment, security,
education and social services - Develop
legal and client resources through research on “country of origin”
research and refugee law and protocols
Community Outreach
Position Responsibilities:
- Develop
material for “Know Your Rights” workshops for refugees and teach and/or
participate in the workshops - Develop
a resource list and referral system that helps to connect clients to local
social services and health providers - Develop
and execute client outreach strategy in collaboration with Asylum Access
team; - Participate
in community meetings and identify and develop the leadership capacity of
community members
Strategic Litigation
Position Responsibilities:
- Provide
information management regarding pending judicial proceedings - Prepare
written arguments for and carry out procedures with international courts
and other agencies using legal argumentation based on statute laws and
jurisprudence - Carry
out in-person court visits to national courts and other agencies - Revise
and analyze legislation and internal, international, and comparative jurisprudence
according to the strategic litigation cases - Assist
in strengthening judicial strategy and complementary activities for the
initiation of cases and obtain any other information necessary for
adequate case management
Policy Advocacy
Position Responsibilities
- Assist
the Country Director in the implementation of policy advocacy strategy of
AATZ - Participate
in local, regional and global networks to ensure the strengthening of AATZ
goals - Help in
advising governmental and international organisms to apply public policy
and meet established national and international standards as well as
pressure them to improve and develop new standards - Assist
in the update and monitoring of the Annual Plan of AATZ
Preferred
Qualifications
- A
Bachelor of Laws, JD or equivalent is preferred for legal aid and
strategic litigation VLAs - Public
policy, International Relations, or International Development degrees will
also be considered and sometimes preferred for policy advocacy and
community outreach positions - Community
organizing experience (Depending on years of experience, can override
degree requirement for community outreach positions) - Demonstrated
academic or professional background in human rights is strongly desired - Ability
to commit to 6 months of full-time work. One year is preferred.
How
to Apply
Because of space
limitations, AATZ VLA positions are awarded on a very competitive basis. We
accept applications on a rolling basis.
Please Note: At this
time, we can only accept applications from Tanzania Nationals. The first
opening for non-national applicants is in October 2016.
To apply, please
send a cover letter, resume, and a legal writing sample to Lilia Walsh at apply@asylumaccess.org
with the subject line “AATZ VLA Application”. Please be sure to specify in your
cover letter what makes you uniquely qualified to be a VLA with AATZ, how
volunteering with us fits into your career plans, and the dates that you expect
to be available.
Please specify the
type of VLA position for which you are applying. You may apply for more than
one type of VLA in a single application.
Please note that all
Asylum Access VLA positions are unpaid; we are happy to work with successful
applicants to arrange for funding or school credit where available. If
selected, VLAs are responsible for obtaining their visa and work permit.
Asylum Access is an
equal opportunity employer
