Legal Assistant At Samos Volunteers

Organisational Context

A joint initiative of several grassroots organisations operating on Samos, and funded by Choose Love and Aidhoc, have recently founded the ‘Human Rights Legal Project’, whose primary aim is litigation and representation in cases of alleged human rights violations on behalf of asylum-seekers and refugees within the Greek asylum process, and the defence of people criminalised whilst migrating. As the organisation develops, we are now now seeking to engage an assistant caseworker to the two lawyers deployed to the field team.

The project provides legal aid for those who wish to make a complaint or seek legal assistance with an issue outside of the asylum process and supports individuals criminalised through seeking safety. Such cases may include, but are not limited to, denial of access to essential health care services, negligence on behalf of health care professionals, unlawful incarceration, incarceration with inadequate facilities, and cases of sexual abuse and violence.

The candidate for this role would be willing to relocate to Samos and to support the work of the lawyers. They must have extensive knowledge of EU and Greek migration and asylum processes, and most importantly, be passionate about human rights and justice.

Responsibilities

The candidate will work on the ground in Vathy town, Samos, to support the lawyers as they respond to the legal needs and cases as they arise. Primary tasks will include, but are not limited to:

● Monitoring human rights violations against asylum-seekers and refugees residing in Zervou MPRIC and other locations on Samos. In particular, public authority violence and misconduct, false or unlawful imprisonment, and medical negligence and denial of access to essential healthcare services, and denial of access to asylum procedures;

● Developing relationships with the refugee and asylum seeking communities, and contributing, maintaining and developing secure administrative processes for recording and storing confidential data;

● Contributing, maintaining and developing the case management system to accurately reflect the project’s caseload.

● Maintaining a thorough knowledge of cases to ensure evidence requirements are met in a timely way, and individuals are aware of case progress.

● Supporting the lawyers in bringing cases of strategic litigation to national Courts and administrative mechanisms or, if needed, to the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and other authoritative legal bodies;

● Working closely with other legal actors on the island to ensure close and effective cooperation and information exchange;

● Analysis of contextual risks and capacities;

● Understanding the perspectives, capacities, needs and resources of the refugee and asylum seeking population and providing input into programme support.

Essential Qualifications and Experience

●Relevant academic qualification (Honours Bachelor Level) in law, human rights law, migration law, or social work;

● Fluent English language skills;

● Initial professional experience working in a legal capacity, ideally in the area of human rights or migration law;

● Similar experience in the Greek context;

● Awareness of ethical guidelines for the humanitarian field, including GDPR;

● Dedication to the pursuit of justice and due process in the field of migration;

● Ability and willingness to work in a dynamic and highly challenging environment, which may necessitate out-of-work hours.

Desirable Qualifications and Experience

● Ability to process large volumes of complex information, and condense it into concise summaries;

● Strong administrative and organisational skills, with the ability to work and manage caseload autonomously;

● Previous experience either working or volunteering in a humanitarian context;

● Proficiency in one other language (e.g. French, Farsi, Arabic). Greek language skills will be considered a distinct advantage.