Legal Advisor -Strengthening Civic Engagement Activity (Kazakhstan)

Position Title: Legal Advisor -Strengthening Civic Engagement Activity (Kazakhstan)

Position Status: Full-Time

Vacancies: 1 – Hiring for this position is contingent on funding.

Location: This position can be based in Almaty or Astana, Kazakhstan and will require frequent travel throughout the region.

Salary: Commensurate with experience. PartnersGlobal offers a competitive salary and benefits package.

This position is not covered under a Collective Bargaining Agreement between PartnersGlobal and the Office and Professional Employees International Union, Local 2, AFL-CIO.

ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND

PartnersGlobal (previously Partners for Democratic Change), established in 1989, is an international, non-governmental organization committed to building sustainable capacity to advance democratic institutions, civil society, and a culture of peaceful change and conflict management worldwide. PartnersGlobal specializes in organizational development and social entrepreneurship, having provided the seed capital and technical assistance to establish 21 independent, local Centers around the world.

PartnersGlobal adheres to the values of participatory decision-making, collaboration, and consensus-building as the fundamentals of an inclusive, democratic society; and we promote the application of these skills in all aspects of our work. The PartnersGlobal team includes process and technical experts, facilitators, and trainers who apply those collaborative skills to achieve concrete results in technical areas such as rule of law development, women’s empowerment, security sector reform, and natural resource management. Our network of local Centers is renowned for undertaking cutting edge work and applying our process expertise to convene disparate parties to jointly tackle some of the most complex development challenges.

POSITION OVERVIEW

PartnersGlobal seeks a Legal Advisor to provide legal analysis and guidance for the anticipated five-year USAID- funded Strengthening Civic Engagement activity in Kazakhstan. The objective of the activity is to cultivate an independent and effective civil society to expand the rights of Kazakhstani citizens and is structured around three core objectives:

• Strengthen Public Engagement: Foster collective action to advance Kazakhstan’s reform priorities.
• Support Innovative Solutions: Empower civil society to apply innovative approaches to help people claim their fundamental rights.
• Enhance Regulatory Environment: Improve the regulatory framework to enable civil society to maximize their contributions to society.

Working closely with the Chief of Party (COP) and Program Manager, the Legal Advisor will serve as a subject-matter expert on legal affairs for the project, including maintaining a deep understanding of the legal and regulatory environment for the civil society sector and civic actors, and providing legal analysis and guidance to achieve the other objectives of the activity.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the technical implementation of Objective 3, ensuring legal components are effectively integrated into project activities.
• Provide legal analysis and guidance to support other project objectives, ensuring compliance with local and international standards.
• Collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society, think tanks, government agencies, and international donors.
• Conduct legal analysis and produce high-quality, accessible written materials for diverse audiences.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, facilitating understanding and engagement among stakeholders.
• Lead and facilitate training sessions.
• Plan and organize program activities with local partners.
• Design new program interventions aligned with project goals and budgets.
• Ensure compliance with funder policies and procedures.
• Monitor and evaluate program performance, recommending adjustments as needed.
• Collaborate with staff on Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan to track and report on program outcomes.

This job posting summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. PartnersGlobal reserves the right to review and revise duties and responsibilities at any time to ensure project success.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• A law degree applicable to Kazakhstan’s legal context is required and a minimum 5 years of experience working in democracy and governance, civil society, legal affairs, or other applicable fields, including at least 3 years’ experience with policymaking and law‐drafting in Kazakhstan.
• Deep understanding of the political and economic situation in the region and of the current political and civic environment in Kazakhstan; and a demonstrated ability to apply legal skills in an advocacy setting and use legal analysis to advance objectives.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct legal analysis and produce high‐quality written material in a simple format for a variety of audiences.
• Demonstrated experience collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society, think tanks, government agencies, international donors.
• Must have professional-level English and Kazakh proficiency, both written and oral.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with USG project management and managing the finances of USAID-funded programs.
• Ability to exercise sound and timely judgment and maintain the confidentiality of sensitive information.
• Critical thinker with a can-do approach to problem-solving, disaggregating larger/complex problems to identify underlying drivers and critical nuances.
• Ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks.
• High degree of professionalism and ability to deal sensitively with confidential material.
• Strong interpersonal (verbal and written) communication skills.
• Russian language skills preferred.
• Kazakhstan citizenship or residency with work authorization strongly preferred.

PartnersGlobal is an EEO Employer

At PartnersGlobal, we have a clear vision: to be the place where a diverse mix of talented people want to come, to stay and do their best work. Diversity is more than a commitment at PartnersGlobal—it is the foundation of what we do. We are fully focused on equality and believe deeply in diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin and all the other fascinating characteristics that make us different. As an equal opportunity employer, PartnersGlobal recruits, employs, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, HIV/AIDS status, political affiliations or belief, pregnancy, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please contact our Director of Human Resources & Talent Management, Edith Kardouni, at [email protected] for assistance. We welcome the opportunity to discuss accommodation of your disability and ensure fairness in our hiring process.