Russian Justice Initiative (RJI), a non-profit, non-partisan,
non-governmental organization, based in the Netherlands with offices in
Moscow and Ingushetia, Russia, seeks an Executive Director to oversee
its projects in Russia.

Russian Justice Initiative is a groundbreaking initiative that utilizes
domestic and international legal mechanisms to seek redress for human
rights abuses committed in the North Caucasus. RJI provides free legal
counsel to victims of human rights violations and their families. The
organization's lawyers and researchers investigate incidents of
arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial
executions and bring these cases to the European Court of Human Rights
in Strasbourg, France. RJI currently represents more than a thousand
clients in 150 cases pending before the European Court.

Job description:
The position is open to qualified women and men of any nationality. The
ideal candidate shall be committed to justice and respect for human
rights; creative and able to lead projects with minimal guidance or
supervision; a quick learner who is both detail-oriented and able to
define long-term goals. Start-date for the position is 1 July 2008 or
sooner. RJI will select a candidate willing to make a long-term
commitment to the organization.

The Executive Director is based in Moscow and reports to the board of
the RJI. S/he works with the organization's 15 staff members based in
offices in Moscow and Ingushetia and performs a wide range of functions,
including project management, development, legal research/writing,
public relations, and field research. The Executive Director travels to
the North Caucasus several times a year.

The Executive Director is responsible for the overall management of
RJI's projects and the organization's Moscow office. The
responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Fundraising, financial management and grant reporting;
• Developing legal strategy, together with the legal director;
• Overseeing the organization's caseload and evaluating potential new cases, together with the legal director;
• Meeting with and briefing clients and potential clients;
• Writing press-releases;
• Developing and maintaining contact with journalists;
• Ensuring security of staff and clients;
• Managing the Moscow office and ensuring compliance with Russian legal requirements;
• Recruiting, training, and evaluating staff members and interns;
• Maintaining and establishing relationships with colleague NGOs and legal experts;
• Managing the organization's 15 staff members and interns;
• Writing and developing materials that describe the project.

In addition, the Executive Director should expect to:

• Find and coordinate consultants;
• Write content for the organization's web site (www.srji.org);
• Travel to conferences and seminars to represent the organization;
• travel to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ;
• Maintain contact with the organization's Advisory and Recommendation committees;
• Lead staff meetings/retreats;
• Organize training seminars.

Qualifications:

• Fluency in Russian and English at professional working levels;
• Background in international law or human rights;
• Experience working for a non-governmental organization or in legal aid;
• Project management experience;
• Advanced degree;
• Collegiality; strong interpersonal and writing skills; computer literacy.

Recommended:

• Experience working in the Russian Federation or former Soviet Union;
• Knowledge of the conflict in Chechnya;
• Familiarity with the European Court of Human Rights; proficiency in Russian law;
• Proven record of fundraising.
• RJI offers a competitive salary and benefits package and twenty days paid vacation per year.

How to apply:

Application deadline: 11 April 2008
Interested applicants should submit to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it :

• a letter of interest describing your experience (in English);
• your resume (in English);
• short unedited writing samples (English and Russian).

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) monitors the enforcement of human rights enshrined in international human rights instruments, provides legal assistance to victims of human rights abuses falling under its scope of activity, and informs the public about rights violations. The organization strives to ensure that domestic legislation guarantees the consistent implementation of human rights norms. The HHC promotes legal education and training in fields relevant to its activities, both in Hungary and abroad.

The HHC’s main activities focus on protecting the rights of asylum seekers and foreigners in need of international protection, as well as on monitoring the human rights performance of law enforcement agencies and the judicial system. It pays particular attention to detention conditions as well as the effective enforcement of the right to defense and equality before the law. The HHC is a member of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE).
The HHC is based in Budapest, Hungary. It has 14 staff in the Budapest office. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee's working language is Hungarian, but communication on the Refugee Law Reader project is in English.

The Refugee Law Reader (www.refugeelawreader.org) is the first comprehensive on-line model curriculum for the study of the complex and rapidly evolving field of international asylum and refugee law. As a 'living book', The Reader reflects important developments in international and European refugee law that have occurred since the first online publication in April 2004.

The Reader is aimed for the use of professors, lawyers, advocates and students across a wide range of national jurisdictions. It provides a flexible course structure that can be easily adapted to meet a range of training and resource needs. The Reader also offers access to the complete texts of up-to-date core legal materials, instruments, and academic commentary. In its entirety, the Refugee Law Reader is designed to provide a full curriculum for a 48 hour course in International Refugee Law and contains over 600 documents and materials. Due to the depth, scope and flexibility of the Reader, the project has a user base of over 20,000 refugee experts from more than 80 countries world-wide.

The Refugee Law Reader is edited by an Editorial Board consisting of refugee law academics and is managed by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee.
In 2008, The Refugee Law Reader will undergo considerable expansion with the launch of new language versions and new regional sections. Two international seminars on refugee law will also be organised during the year.

DESCRIPTION
TITLE: PROJECT ASSISTANT
The project assistant will be primarily working on The Refugee Law Reader (www.refugeelawreader.org) and may also assist other HHC projects as required. He/she will be supervised by tbe Refugee Law Reader Project Coordinator.
Key responsibilities:

1. Research materials for new editions of The Refugee Law Reader;
2. Liaise with publishing houses on securing copyright permissions;
3. Prepare and edit background documents, including weekly progress reports;
4. Help organize editorial board meetings, seminars and teleconferences;
5. Liaise with the editors and project coordinator of The Reader on various issues, including the development of the language editions and regional sections;
6. Update content of The Reader website based on the guidance of the editorial board and the project coordinator;
7. Assist with other projects as required.

Person specification
Essential:

1.     Degree in law, political science, sociology or other related social sciences field
2.     Excellent written and spoken English
3.     At least 1 year of relevant work experience
4.     Strong interest in the field of human rights
5.     Excellent research, writing and communications skills
6.     Experience in drafting meeting minutes and reports and other written materials
7.     Strong organizational skills
8.     Ability to analyze and problem-solve issues
9.     Experience in working with databases
10.     High level of computer proficiency

Desirable:
1.    Knowledge of Hungarian
2.    Working knowledge of French and/or Russian
3.    Knowledge of refugee law
4.    Experience in project management/administrative duties
5.    Web development skills

This is a full-time position (40 hours per week).
Period of contract: start immediately, contract ends 31 January 2009
Candidates should already have the right to work in Hungary.

Please send your CV and motivation statement to Timea Szabo at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with the subject: “Refugee Law Reader assistant”.
Please indicate your salary needs in the cover letter.
Please give the names and contact information of at least 2 referees and state if you do not wish referees to be approached without your prior permission.
If you are looking for a short-term position, please do not apply.

Application deadline: Friday 14 March 2008.

Interviews will take place in the Budapest office or on the phone during the third week of March. The HHC will only notify short-listed applicants to be invited for an interview.

Hungarian Helsinki Committee
Magyar Helsinki Bizottság
H-1054 Budapest, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 36-38.
H-1242 Budapest, PO Box 317. Hungary
tel/fax: + 36 1 321 4323, 321 4327, 321 4141
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
http://www.helsinki.hu http://www.refugeelawreader.org