Senior Lawyer, Asia At Tara Climate Ltd

• Work at cutting edge of climate/energy law with leading global philanthropies
• Would suit a lawyer with energy/environment/human rights/corporate experience
• Remotely based in South, Southeast, or East Asia; local work rights required

The Organisation

Founded in 2018, the Stichting Foundation for International Law for the Environment (FILE) is the major philanthropic initiative working to tackle climate change by scaling up environmental legal action globally. Driven by the urgent global transition to a zero-carbon society, FILE funds world-leading global partners to deliver pioneering legal and shareholder actions with the aim of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees.

In Asia, FILE collaborates closely with the Tara Climate Foundation (Tara) in Singapore. Tara is a regionally led grant-making initiative to accelerate the energy transformation in South, Southeast, and East Asia excluding India and China. Tara’s mission is to support a diverse group of partners, civil society organisations, businesses, think tanks, and donors, to accelerate Asia’s energy transformation. Tara has a team of advisors based in the region with strong local networks.

Benefits & Culture

• Competitive salary and benefits package, and flexible working conditions
• Meaningful, impactful role driving change to solve the climate crisis
• Work with a global team of expert lawyers at the cutting edge of climate-related legal interventions
• Based remotely in South, Southeast, or East Asia (excluding China)
• Local work and residency rights are essential for the Asia location you will be based in

The Role

This is a rare opportunity for an experienced, innovative lawyer to work across South, Southeast, and East Asia to contribute to driving the region’s transition to a clean energy future with two leading climate action philanthropic foundations. You will be contracted by Tara and work with the FILE team to support a growing network of climate-focused lawyers in the region, in collaboration with expert colleagues at FILE.

You will support FILE’s Head of Asia Pacific Strategy and team to develop FILE’s legal strategy across the region and build and strengthen the network of climate-focused lawyers in the region through funding, developing compelling legal strategies, and building capacity and knowledge across the region.

Your other duties will be to:

• Build an impactful portfolio of legal grantees to implement regional strategy and drive change
• Build and maintain relationships with lawyers and civil society across the region to foster knowledge-sharing and maximise the impact
• Identify ways to support the expansion of the Asian climate legal community, including building opportunities for innovation and learning
• Provide advice, specialist guidance, and support to colleagues to deepen knowledge about opportunities for legal intervention

Skills Required

You are a degree-qualified lawyer with advanced legal practice experience, ideally related to energy, human rights, the environment, or corporate law, and you have a strong desire to solve the climate crisis. You are a natural networker with high-level interpersonal, intercultural and strategic thinking skills; if you are not already working across the Asia region, building relationships, you would be comfortable doing so. Additionally, you offer:

• Experience presenting legal issues to diverse audiences
• Ability to work well under pressure and with a high degree of rigour
• Self-motivated, collaborative with a flexible work style; ability to prioritise competing projects
• Professional level English verbal and written communication and presentation skills
• Flexibility to accommodate global time zones; willingness to travel (including internationally)
• Impeccable ethics; experience working confidentially and within a high-security environment
• Local work and residency rights for your Asia location are essential; an Asian language is a plus

Tara Climate and FILE believe that a diversity of experiences and perspectives will help them build stronger strategies, teams, and movements. They strongly encourage indigenous people, people of colour, people living outside of cities, and people living with a disability to apply.