Reports to / liaison with: HR Manager / Traineeship Coordinator
Sectors: Professional Development, Legal Training, Legal Practice
Type / hours: One year fixed term / Full-time
OVERVIEW
Justice Defenders is recruiting for 3 Legal Trainees to join the Kenya team from October 2021 to October 2022. Legal Trainees join the organisation on a formative journey that is aimed at developing the life skills, professional experience and personal character they need to successfully transition into their post-release life. Justice Defenders Trainees undertake meaningful legal work while gaining valuable workplace skills and benefitting from specialised training in all business areas of Justice Defenders.
These positions are exclusively open for formerly incarcerated individuals who served in Justice Defenders’ legal offices as paralegals, University of London students or graduates for at least 2 years.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Eligibility
Justice Defenders University of London graduates and third-year students are invited to apply. First- and second-year students who have served in prison with Justice Defenders are invited to apply as well. In exceptional cases, released Paralegals with at least 2 years of experience, who can demonstrate compelling reasons to be involved in the programme will be considered too.
Priority will begiven to LLB holders and third-year students of exceptional merit in terms of academic abilities and results.
In order to be eligible, all students applying shall be progressing satisfactorily through their studies. Equally, all paralegals shall demonstrate to meet Justice Defenders standards for quality paralegal work, ethics and behaviour.
Legal Trainee will possess:
● Good knowledge of the law including key practice areas
● High intellectual, learning and researching ability
● Common sense and the ability to make decisions and to advise clients on the course of action which is considered to be in the client’s best interest
● Solid foundations for effective communication
● Willingness to work for the defenceless and to recognise that all people should be entitled to equal opportunities before the law
● Ability to work in teams as well as independently and with little supervision.
All applicants also have to demonstrate:
● A track record of good service with Justice Defenders whilst in prison - candidates who have been involved in disciplinary proceedings may still be considered, depending on the nature of their cases
● Alignment with the values and policies of the organisation as demonstrated by their conduct, work and journey whilst in prison
● Motivation to develop themselves to become self-sufficient individuals
● A clear understanding and ratification of the rights and duties of the LTS.
All applicants must have been released prior the commencement of the traineeship and available to report to the Justice Defenders office on the agreed programme start date.
TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Personal and professional development
Trainees will focus on building the required knowledge, behaviours and professional skills to boost their expertise and employability. This will include:
● Attending all onboarding and induction activities
● Learning about Justice Defenders, including familiarising with its policies, values as well as all other relevant aspects of the company
● Learning new relevant work skills in all areas of the company by attending in-house seminars and specialised workshops;
● Attending practical workplace training to develop key interpersonal, communication and leadership skills;
● Building professional relationships with colleagues and clients
● Acquiring and practicing ICT and digital skills;
● Building employability skills such as professionalism, interview skills, teamwork, CV writing, prioritisation, quality service delivery and more;
● Completing all tests, presentations, assignments and assessments.
Work experience
Most of the Trainees’ working hours will be dedicated to developing solid work experience by contributing to the areas of Justice Defenders they will be assigned to, including working in the legal practice department, as well as undertaking other duties and projects as may be assigned from time to time. Trainees will fulfil various practical tasks with a view to developing a comprehensive set of transferable skills while meaningfully contributing to Justice Defenders’ mission.
This will entail:
● shadowing Justice Defenders members of staff as they carry out their daily duties
● engaging in refresher legal training and work experience aimed at reinforcing previously acquired skills and knowledge
● organising workflow, delivering assigned work and reporting to supervisors
● embedding knowledge in the company’s various roles by putting new learning into practice under the supervision of Justice Defenders' staff.
Personal well-being and development
Trainees are expected to attend scheduled sessions on mentoring, coaching, counselling and personal development planning. They will benefit from regular interactions with a wide range of professional advisors, confidants and pastors who will look after their holistic well-being. They are therefore expected to attend and come to such sessions prepared and willing to engage.
Other activities
Trainees’ working schedule will also include network-building and other resettlement-oriented activities, such as practical orientation, house searching, settling down, community reconciliation and building independent living skills. Moreover, Trainees will also be provided with platforms to share their lived experiences with the rest of the Justice Defenders community, through public speaking and in other for a. Time will be therefore allocated for preparing for and delivering such interventions.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications must be submitted electronically the Kenya HR Manager and include:
● CV (no more than 2 A4 pages)
● A supporting statement explaining why you believe you are the ideal candidate for the role (no more than 600 words).
Applications must be submitted via email to lydia@justice-defenders.org before 5:00pm EAT by July 30th, 2021.
Interviews with the shortlisted applicants will be held during the week commencing August 9th.
Successful applicants will be notified by August 27th, 2021.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Eligible candidates are made aware of the opportunity to apply to the LTS by Justice Defenders. May they freely decide to pursue this opportunity, they are firstly required to submit a complete application through the formal channels.
The first stage of the application process consists in writing a personal statement letter to attach to a curriculum vitae. These documents will be submitted to and considered by Justice Defenders as a whole. Formal and informal references from fellow inmates, PLEs, Justice Defenders staff members, prison officers and family members will be taken into careful consideration too.
The second stage of the application process consists in a face-to-face or virtual interview with the Justice Defenders team. In order to provide applicants with a positive experience, when scheduling the interview Justice Defenders will brief prospective candidates and explain what the process will entail, including what types of questions they can expect and what they might need to prepare.
The Justice Defenders team is committed to be consistent, fair, transparent and to provide an honest picture of the company and the position. Each candidate will receive individual feedback within 10 working days after the interview. Regardless of the outcome, if explicitly requested, candidates will be given feedback on strengths and are as of improvement. Unsuccessful applicants will have the opportunity to discuss their options and to reapply in the future.
Successful candidates will be invited to join Justice Defenders as Legal Trainees and receive a full induction package, including the Traineeship Agreement. Upon agreement reached by both parties and signing of the Agreement, the Legal Trainee Scheme will officially commence on the start date of October 4th, 2021.
Due to the highly competitive nature of the selection process and the limited capacity on the programme, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
