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Oil Change International

Legal Officer, Global Public Finance - Virtual/Remote

Virtual/Remote

Full-Time

$68,500.00 - $73,000.00 annual salary

The Legal Officer is a new role in OCI's Global Public Finance team, which focuses on ending public finance for fossil fuels and shifting this money towards a 1.5°C-aligned just energy transition instead. The legal officer reports to the co-Manager of the Global Public Finance team and will engage in cross-team collaboration including with OCI's Asia, Africa and US teams and the Global Policy and Global Industry teams.

As legal officer you would work in close collaboration with international movement partners and OCI colleagues to lead efforts to build and steer OCI's legal work focused on holding governments and their public finance institutions accountable to their commitments and legal obligations to shift public finance out of fossil fuels, so that public money is no longer locking in more pollution that harms communities and fuels the climate crisis. The legal officer would be responsible for preparing and steering a strategic, human rights-based court case (to be supported and implemented by external lawyers and partner organizations) targeted at either a government or public finance institution that challenges the absence or inadequacy of fossil fuel exclusion policies for public finance or other forms of continued support for fossil fuel expansion. In addition, the legal officer would be responsible for coalition building and coordination, campaign strategy and advocacy, and supporting the development of communications and press materials.

Ultimately, the goal of OCI's public finance team is to fully end public finance for fossil fuels and shift this money towards a 1.5°C-aligned just energy transition instead, implemented with strong human rights due diligence and inclusive planning that takes leadership from local governments, workers and communities. We also work closely with other teams at OCI and movement partners to support broader work towards a just energy transition.
 
Reports to: Global Public Finance Co-Manager
Location(s): Virtual / remote work. Candidates must be willing to occasionally work flexible hours to coordinate with colleagues across time zones.
Type: Full-time (36 hours per week), exempt.
Application deadline: February 6, 2023; position will be open until filled.

How to Apply: 
We are pleased to be using a hiring platform, career.place, that strives to eliminate bias in hiring by keeping candidates anonymous in the initial screening processes. To apply, please follow the 'apply' link to make an account and submit some basic information about yourself as well as short written answers to 4 questions in place of a cover letter, as well as your resume. Note that you do not need to complete your responses all at once, you may sign out and continue to edit your questions later until you hit 'Submit'.
 
Please note: your application will initially be evaluated only by your answers to the screening and homework questions. In your answers to the homework questions, please provide examples that clearly explain where, when, and how you meet the qualifications and have gained the experience for the position, even if that information is repeated in your resume.

• Oil Change International offers a generous salary and benefits package. We have adopted policies of flexible working arrangements and every other Friday off. We offer US employees 5 weeks paid vacation, 10 paid sick days, and 11 federal holidays. We offer employees in other countries generous paid vacation, paid sick days, and appropriate local/regional/religious holidays, in accordance with local laws. We also offer all employees Christmas Eve through New Years Day as paid holidays. We provide cell phone and internet reimbursements, and support in setting up a home office or local co-working space. We encourage and offer funds for professional development and provide a paid 12-week sabbatical after 7 years of employment. We provide regular full-time US employees 12 weeks of paid new parent leave for the care of a newborn, adoption of a child, or foster care placement. We provide regular full-time employees in other countries paid new parent leave for the care of a newborn, adoption of a child, or foster care placement in accordance with local laws.

Oil Change International is a nonprofit organization that campaigns to expose the true costs of fossil fuels and facilitate the ongoing transition towards clean energy. We wage hard-hitting campaigns, grounded in solid and credible research, to confront the fossil fuel industry and its responsibility for the climate crisis and to push for policy change towards a socially just and environmentally sustainable future. We work together with a broad network of allies, in the United States and globally, to overcome the political barriers to a clean energy transition and advance a rapid and just transition off of fossil fuels.
 
Founded in 2005, Oil Change International has a creative, passionate, and dedicated staff of twenty-eight across twelve countries and a supporter base of hundreds of thousands. Known both for our credible, insightful research on the fossil fuel industry and our hard-hitting campaigns, Oil Change is a talented group that continues to punch above its weight.
 
At Oil Change International, we know a diversity of experiences and perspectives will help us build stronger strategies, teams and movements. We strongly encourage Indigenous people, people of color, and people with disabilities to apply. We are a U.S.-based organization but have staff on five continents. We are continually working to become a better workplace for everyone.
 
For more information, explore our website and read our Annual Reports at the bottom of our About page.

Responsibilities:
  • Preparing and steering a strategic, human rights based court case (to be supported and implemented by external lawyers and partner organizations; jurisdiction TBD) challenging the absence or inadequacy of fossil fuel exclusion policies for public finance or other forms of continued support for fossil fuel expansion targeting either a government or a public finance institution;
  • Building and coordinating a network of CSOs, lawyers and other relevant actors utilizing legal avenues to shift public finance to develop a more coordinated approach to campaigns and legal actions focused on the legal obligations of public finance institutions and their governments in relation to the energy transition;
  • Supporting ongoing and new litigation campaigns initiated by partner organizations focused on challenging public finance for specific fossil fuel projects, including in, but not limited to Canada, Australia, Korea, Japan, South Africa and the UK;
  • Where relevant and strategic, ensuring OCI and close partners incorporate legal arguments in advocacy and campaign efforts targeted at ending public finance for fossil fuels and ensuring governments use public finance to instead support a 1.5°C aligned just energy transition;
  • Support the development of new campaign and advocacy strategies to build legal pressure on governments and public finance institutions to end fossil fuel expansion and support an equitable phase-out of fossil fuel production in line with 1.5°C;
  • Draft compelling and accessible press materials, blogs and other campaign materials;
  • Commission one or multiple legal opinion(s) and any needed research and analysis in collaboration with partners and colleagues. Share information and resources to support partners in their campaigns;
  • Collaboration with other programs in the Global Campaigns Team and Regional Program Team as required.
Required Qualifications, Skills, and Abilities:
  • Bachelors or Masters degree in law with minimum of 4-5 years work experience (but no need to be a qualified lawyer);
  • Background in climate change policy and law or energy policy and law or public finance policy and law and/or other related fields and an ability to digest complex information on energy and climate and translate it into accessible and compelling materials;
  • Strong relationship and coalition building skills and experience across a variety of geographies, lived experiences, and institutions;
  • Strong written and verbal communication;
  • Skilled in project and time management;
  • Proven experience driving complex projects forward and persevering despite obstacles;
  • Flexible schedule and willingness to accommodate meetings and calls across time zones;
  • Commitment to the mission of Oil Change International, passion for advocacy and campaigning, and a collaborative, team-oriented work style;
  • Sensitivity to issues of privilege, class, and race, and dedication to incorporating principles of justice into organizational work and alignment with OCI's values.
Desired Skills:
  • Experience with strategic climate litigation;
  • Previous experience working on campaigns or advocacy focused on shifting finance out of fossil fuels, climate justice and multilateral fora are a plus;
  • Experience working in Asia, Africa or Latin America and/or with partners in these regions;
  • Able to navigate detail-oriented and big picture thinking and planning.
  • Bachelors or Masters degree in law with minimum of 4-5 years legal work experience (but no need to be a qualified lawyer);
  • Background in climate change policy and law or energy policy and law or public finance policy and law and/or other related fields and an ability to digest complex information on energy and climate and translate it into accessible and compelling materials;
  • Strong relationship and coalition building skills and experience across a variety of geographies, lived experiences, and institutions;
  • Skilled in project and time management;
  • Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communications skills.
  • Sensitivity to issues of privilege, class, and race, and dedication to incorporating principles of justice into organizational work and alignment with OCI’s values.
Oil Change International values diversity, equity, and inclusivity as central to our work. Oil Change International provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.