This position is an excellent opportunity for a lawyer with strong advocacy skills to make a key contribution to the work of our Value Chains, Trade & Investment (VCTI) team.  The VCTI team is part of our broader Financial & Economic group in Europe. It works to strengthen and enforce supply chain laws requiring companies to identify, prevent and mitigate adverse human rights, health and environmental impacts throughout their global value chains. 

The primary focus of the role will be to support the team’s work on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the related Simplification Omnibus package. The aim of this work is to ensure that the CSDDD is not significantly weakened or postponed, and is meaningfully transposed and implemented at national level to provide a strong legal framework for corporate environmental, human rights  and climate due diligence in the EU. 

This is a new position created due to a newly received 3-year funding and will start with a defined employee contract of 12 months. We will of course inform the post holder about possible extensions to this initial 12 months ahead of time.  

Meet your Manager

Michael Rice joined ClientEarth in 2021, working on deforestation-free supply chains and new laws on this topic being developed in the UK and EU. He is an Australian-qualified lawyer with a background in Indigenous land rights and major extractive projects. He has worked in the NGO sector on environmental, climate and gender justice agendas for over eight years. He now leads our Value Chains, Trade and Investment team supporting a broad range of supply chain and value chain accountability efforts.

Main Duties

• Legal research and advocacy - Developing and maintaining a robust knowledge of the CSDDD and other due diligence legislation with particular focus on its provisions regarding climate transition plans. 
• Strategic litigation and legal action - Contributing to the strategic direction of work to ensure that the CSDDD is implemented across EU Member States and that mechanisms are put in place for effective enforcement in EU Member States.
• Relationship and capacity building 
• Communication, learning and fundraising 

See the job description (below) for a full list of duties for this role.

Role requirements

• Law degree or equivalent
• Professional experience in a legal capacity (in an NGO, the public sector, private practice, or a relevant in-house role) with a focus on environmental, human rights, or corporate law in the EU
• Experience in litigation or supporting strategic litigation and/or experience of advocacy with relevant stakeholders at EU institutions
• Familiarity with corporate sustainability regulations and/or corporate climate transition standards 

See the job description (below) for a full list of requirements for this role.

Note to candidates: We know that long lists of criteria can be daunting and that some candidates will not apply for a role unless they feel they are 100% qualified. If you feel you meet at least some of the essential criteria, we still encourage you to apply.

Further Information

Have a question about this job? Please visit our Careers site for advice on applying, FAQs, and more.

Flexible working:  We are proud to be a Flexa accredited Employer. Visit our Flexa Employer page for more information on our approach to flexible working. Our flexible working policy allows our people the choice to decide to work from home/another location in the country where their contract of employment is issued for 80% of their month, with the other 20% of their month being office-based  See our Benefits page for more as well as our flexible working FAQ.

ClientEarth values diversity and inclusion and the benefits this brings. We aim to appoint the most suitable candidate at all times and welcome applications from people from all different backgrounds. See our equity, diversity and inclusion journey page for more.

Please note that ClientEarth is only able to employ those who have the pre-existing legal right to work in Belgium.

ClientEarth is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or legal services to third parties.