The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), established in 1948, is the oldest and largest global environmental organization in the world. Its work focuses on valuing and conserving nature, ensuring effective and equitable governance of its use, and deploying nature-based solutions to global challenges in climate, food and development. IUCN supports research, manages field projects all over the world, and brings governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practices.
The IUCN Environmental Law Centre (ELC) located in Bonn, Germany, is an outposted unit of IUCN headquarters working on conceptual development of law as well as technical assistance, capacity building and information dissemination. It works closely with the World Commission on Environmental Law, a network of environmental law and policy experts from all regions of the world, and with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law, a network of universities and law schools committed to advancing environmental legal research, teaching and scholarship.

Under the overall supervision of the Director of the IUCN Environmental Law Centre, and the direct supervision of the assigned Legal Officer(s), the Legal Research and Technical Assistant (LRTA) will support and assist in developing and implementing the ELC’s programme portfolio.
Working closely with the assigned Legal Officer(s), the LRTA will provide inputs needed for implementation of existing projects, support the development and expansion of the portfolio, and contribute to monitoring and reporting on programme implementation.

Areas of work

In close collaboration with staff of the ELC, the LRTA will support ELC’s work in the following substantive areas:

• Protected areas, including financing, capacity building, and compliance;

• Oceans, including areas beyond national jurisdictions, marine protected areas, and coastal zone management;

• Access and benefit sharing, with focus on developing national legal frameworks for implementing the Nagoya Protocol;

• Rights issues relating to natural resources;

• Water, including national and transboundary governance and hydrodiplomacy;

• Wildlife, including capacity building, information, and international cooperation.


Key functions

Under the supervision of the assigned Legal Officer, the LRTA will:

• Support the implementation and further development of existing projects, which may include research, analysis, drafting; reviewing and editing of papers and reports; the organization of workshops and meetings, general project management, and selected project-related administrative duties;

• Assist in the development of project concepts and proposals within the ELC’s portfolio;

• Identify funding opportunities, which may include organizing documentation and setting up meetings with potential partners;

• Contribute to monitoring and reporting on projects and programme implementation;

Assist in preparing for the IUCN World Concervation Congress 2020

• Perform any other related duties as required.