Principal Legal Adviser (Maternity Cover)

We are currently looking for a Principal Legal Adviser (Maternity cover) to drive forward opportunities for strategic legal and policy advocacy. This is an exciting opportunity to help build an ambitious movement to phase out oil and gas extraction in the UK.

About Us

Uplift supports efforts to create a rapid and fair transition away from oil and gas production in the UK. We strategically support, connect and elevate ideas and voices to set in motion a just transition away from fossil fuel production commensurate with the scale of the climate crisis.

The Role

As Principal Legal Adviser (Maternity cover), you will collaborate with Uplift’s team and key partners to ensure that our collective work is underpinned by robust and forward-thinking legal and policy analysis. From identifying strategic litigation opportunities to advancing law reform advocacy, this is a diverse role that is key to our work.

Uplift has taken and supported high-profile climate litigation and used legal insight to generate front-page headlines linked to our campaigns. Most recently, we have won the legal case against the Rosebank oil field in the North Sea. We have also generated legal analysis to support a wider network to participate in vital public consultation processes.

The successful candidate will have exceptional legal and advocacy skills, an ability to think strategically about law and policy opportunities, and a keen interest in climate and energy-related policy and campaigns. A strong commitment to Uplift's mission and core values is also required.

Responsibilities

Core responsibilities include:

Strategy and leadership

• Responsible for the development and implementation of Uplift’s legal strategy.
• Lead the development of Uplift’s strategic legal work, including litigation, law reform advocacy, and legal advice and analysis, that advances Uplift’s objectives.
• Lead the delivery of work programmes - including management of diverse and complex litigation and associated legal campaigns/communications - in line with Uplift’s legal strategy.
• Identify and shape strategic litigation opportunities, providing legal analysis and support to external lawyers and experts throughout.

Analysis and legal advocacy

• Develop legal analysis to support campaign, communications and research strategies, including support for key partners.
• Analyse, interpret, and synthesise legal and policy developments to support the politics team and advise our network.
• Track ongoing legal and policy developments across Uplift’s core areas of interest to identify key opportunities and gaps.
• Provide fact-checking and ad-hoc legal research for the Uplift team to ensure accuracy in Uplift’s public communications.

Management and staff support

• Manage a team to deliver Uplift’s legal strategy and objectives, including Legal & Policy Adviser and Legal Campaigns Coordinator.
• Manage sub-grants, sub-contractors and arrangements with external lawyers where relevant.
• Oversee financial and budget management of key legal work programmes and campaigns, with support from Uplift’s senior management team.
• Provide ad hoc high-level legal guidance and advice to Uplift’s senior management team on operational matters.

Our ideal candidate will have: 

• Experience in a similar or related role.
• A formal legal qualification, with a strong preference for previous experience in strategic litigation. Legal expertise in an area relevant to Uplift’s legal work is essential: environmental or climate law, public law (including administrative law) and/or just energy transitions.
• Experience of working and advising on policy areas linked to Uplift’s agenda would be a significant asset.
• A demonstrable ability to provide compelling and novel analysis, including defining and executing strategic legal projects.
• Motivation, initiative, exceptionally high standards, a collaborative approach, and associated qualities are needed to work in a dynamic organisation with an ambitious agenda.
• A strong commitment to Uplift’s mission and core values of equity and climate justice.

Accessibility and Anti-oppression are at the core of Uplift’s values and therefore we strongly encourage applications from candidates whose backgrounds or accessibility/support needs mean they have been traditionally under-represented in the climate and environment sector. If you are unsure if you meet the requirements or feel you will be disadvantaged by the process then please email us at careers@upliftuk.org so we can see how we might provide support.

Unfortunately, we can only consider candidates who are already eligible to work in the UK.

Uplift requests no contact from agencies or media sales.