Community Paralegal [4] – Refugee Law Project (RLP)

Deadline: Friday 29th July 2016 by 5.00pm

Duty Station: Nakivale and Kyangwali Refugee Settlement, Uganda

Reports to: Field Office Coordinator, Access to Justice

About US:

The Refugee Law Project (RLP) is an outreach project of the School of Law, Makerere University. Our Mission is to empower asylum seekers, refugees, deportees, IDPs and host communities to enjoy their human rights and lead dignified lives. Refugee Law Project’s work is currently structured in five thematic areas: Access to Justice; Conflict, Transitional Justice & Governance (CTJ&G), Gender & Sexuality; Mental Health & Psychosocial Wellbeing; and Media for Social Change.

Job Summary: The Community Paralegal will provide substantive legal, administrative secretarial work, research and provision of legal information.

Key Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Client Support:
  • The Community Paralegal will receive clients and visitors, carryout initial needs assessment and directthem to the relevant officer(s); Provide research support to the Legal Officers on cases;
  • Assist the Legal Officers in Investigations including locating relevant witnesses for cases and also support in interviewing clients and witnesses and prepare report(s) on the interview for the Legal Officer and providing quotes to clients.
• Networking, Local advocacy and Awareness Raising:Actively participate in community education and raising awareness on forced migration, International Human Rights, Refugee Law and also participate in relevant field visits to refugee and IDP settlements and other places such as police stations and prisons.
• Information Management Support: The Community Paralegal will conduct other clerkship responsibilities including; filing, taking and responding to legal related correspondences as necessary; support in basic psychosocial counseling for clients; prepare legal documents; research cases and any pertinent legal information needed and also help legal officers prepare for court cases, including opening and closing arguments and aiding in court pleadings or motions
• Others:
• Uphold the RLP’s code of conduct
• Any other roles as may be assigned 

Qualifications, Skills and Experience: 

• The applicant for the Refugee Law Project (RLP) Community Paralegal job placement should hold a Diploma in Law.
• Computer literacy skills
• Fluency in Kiswahili and/or any other language spoken in refugee communities will be an added advantage

How to Apply:

If you meet the above requirements and are interested, we encourage you to address motivation letter and updated CV to the Human Resources Manager via E-mail to recruitment@refugeelawproject.org. Please indicate the position applied for in the subject line of the email. Copies of certificates should not be attached, but will be requested for from short-listed candidates only.