Victoria Legal Aid · Melbourne CBD office on Wurundjeri Country, Australia
This is a new role that will lead work to enhance access to justice and strengthen VLA's services to people in custody. Situated in the Appeals and Strategic Litigation team and working alongside the Senior Legal Specialist – Prison Law, this role will work closely with internal and external stakeholders to build VLA's organisational capacity to respond to the needs of people in custody.
The role will also provide legal advice and casework to people in custody and help identify systemic barriers and opportunities for advocacy and strategic litigation.
This role is based at our Melbourne CBD office on Wurundjeri Country. The successful applicant may, however, be able to negotiate to work flexibly at a VLA office that has connections to local prisons (such as Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong, etc).
People with lived experience of incarceration and/or demonstrated experience working alongside lived experience experts to deliver legal services and/or engage in systemic advocacy are strongly encouraged to apply for this role.
As our ideal candidate, you will possess:
Substantial knowledge and experience providing legal advice, advocacy and cross discipline casework to people in prison, including knowledge of the experiences unique to people detained in custodial settings.
Demonstrated understanding of the systemic and intersectional challenges experienced by people in contact with prisons, police and the criminal legal system.
Strong practice management skills and a demonstrated ability to work independently with limited supervision, identify emerging trends, discern areas of strategic importance and collaborate with others to develop legal and advocacy strategies aimed at driving systemic change.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with an ability to engage and build collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
Demonstrated ability to develop and deliver training and resources, particularly in relation to legal issues impacting people in custody.
Don't meet every requirement? At VLA, we understand that your work and life experiences can be just as valuable. If your CV doesn't align perfectly with our job description, we strongly encourage you to apply. You may be just the right candidate.