Partnerships Lawyer

Strategy Development & Execution: Clear development and execution of an articulated strategy to increase the capacity of casework partners to deliver effective legal services, grounded in strong analysis of identified gaps.

Partnership Management: Effective and fruitful partnerships are created and maintained with governmental and civil society actors capable of providing quality legal service.

Mentorship and Training: Government and civil society partners are well trained in multi-disciplinary and trauma-informed prosecution techniques and legal provisions for THB casework that results in conviction of perpetrators.

Contribute to development of strategy framework for implementing casework through external partners

Assist casework team in ongoing program design, redesign, and analysis as needed

Build effective, trusting partnership relationships with justice system officials, DIICOT, ANITP, social welfare officers, and other stakeholders within the district and national level, including districts without IJM’s physical presence

Convene and provide leadership in multi-disciplinary meetings with a variety of government and non-government stakeholders and support inter-institutional dialogue and coordination on cases of THB.

Develop and maintain an effective network of contacts within the legal aid space.

Develop the capacity of casework partners to mentor and support public prosecutors and justice officials to ensure that perpetrators of THB are properly held accountable.

Mentor public justice system officials and other legal entities in the law, law enforcement and best practices in responding to incidents of THB;

Ability to develop and deliver high-quality, professional training curriculum to multi-disciplinary stakeholders;

Support joint training programs with the police, prosecutors, judiciary, social welfare, and medical staff on trauma-informed THB interventions, including relevant legal provisions; and

Convene and provide leadership in multi-disciplinary meetings with a variety of government and non-government stakeholders and support inter-institutional dialogue and coordination on cases of THB.

Assist in development of processes for identifying, onboarding and managing casework partners.

Assist in documentation of best practices for working through and developing partnerships, incorporating IJM global learnings, suitable for use by both IJM and external stakeholders.

Analyze and document cases of THB that can contribute to updated case management protocols;

Work with casework team members to monitor and evaluate the project, including monitoring and reporting of project targets, results, and outputs; and

Collaborate with Monitoring and Evaluation (MERL) Specialist to develop monitoring and evaluation metrics to strategically maximize IJM’s effectiveness in developing casework goals through partnerships.

The Partnerships Lawyer role reports to the Country Director.

Bachelor’s Degree in law; advanced degree preferred.

Five or more years of professional experience in law; fully licensed in Romania.

Experience working on issues of human trafficking; experience with THB casework preferred.

Experience in networking and partnering with legal aid providers and relevant justice system officials.

Fluent in written and oral communication in English and Romanian, with working knowledge of at least one additional European language desirable (German, Italian, French or Spanish).

Excellent writing, documentation and reporting skills, including the ability to maintain digital records and generate high-quality reports on all casework interventions, stakeholder interactions, etc.

Excellent critical thinking, legal analysis, and oral and written advocacy skills.

Proficiency in the Microsoft Office Suite with ability to quickly learn and consistently use other software systems for purposes of case management, M&E and documentation.

Partnership-oriented mindset – high prioritization of collaboration and common learning.

Innovative and catalytic thinker; ability to confidently create and implement new projects, models, and methods.

Humble, servant leader.

Passionate commitment to IJM’s mission and values.

Professional in demeanor, appearance, writing and oral communication.

Works well under stress with a sustained positive attitude.

Exceptionally high level of honesty and integrity.

Intelligent, organized, creative and proactive problem solver.

Ability to cooperate effectively in a multi-cultural environment.

Ability to persuade persons with opposing views to adopt his/her position.

Ability to live and work in Romania.