Position 1: Legal Officer (2 Vacancies)

• Duty Stations: One (1) based in Jinja District; One (1) based in Kalangala District
• Reports To: Country Programs Manager
• Contract Duration: 1 Year (Subject to renewal based on performance and funding)

About Justice Defenders
The global justice gap disproportionately affects the poorest and most marginalised populations, particularly those in custodial settings. We are living amidst a global justice crisis. We believe that everyone has the right to tell their side of the story before being convicted of a crime or punished. Justice Defenders works with defenceless communities to provide world-class legal education, training, and practice. Training paralegals within defenceless communities provides access to free legal services at the point of greatest need.

We work for justice for everyone, without breaking fellowship with anyone. Incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated people, and prison staff offer unique perspectives on legal systems. Yet their experiences are rarely listened to. Bringing them together with prosecutors, the police, judges, experienced lawyers, and academics creates remarkable possibilities for good.

About The Project
Justice Defenders, in partnership with the International Development Law Organisation (IDLO), is implementing a two-year project titled "Enhancing access to fair trial and timely justice delivery for inmates at Jinja and Kalangala prisons" under the Community Justice Program Phase II (CJP II), 2025–2030. This sub-project aims to strengthen access to fair trial rights and timely justice delivery for inmates by addressing the legal, procedural, and institutional barriers that contribute to prolonged detention, particularly for remand prisoners, including women and other vulnerable groups.

To support this intervention, Justice Defenders Uganda seeks to recruit qualified, passionate, and dynamic professionals to fill the following three (2) positions:

Job Summary
The Legal Officer will implement field-level operations to address legal, procedural, and institutional barriers causing prolonged detention in Jinja and Kalangala prisons. The role focuses heavily on protecting the rights of remand prisoners, providing direct courtroom representation on behalf of Justice Defenders, coaching inmates for self-representation, and building sustainable legal empowerment structures within the target prisons.

Key Responsibilities

• Courtroom Advocacy: Serve as the primary legal counsel representing Justice Defenders and providing legal representation to eligible inmates in courts of law, including during trials, bail hearings, and appeals.
• Self-Representation Coaching: Conduct targeted clinics to prepare inmates for self-representation, equipping them with court rules, trial procedures, cross-examination techniques, and public speaking confidence.
• Rights Education & Awareness: Conduct rights education campaigns and distribute accessible information materials to strengthen inmates’ understanding of their constitutional, procedural and trial rights.
• Paralegal Capacity Building: Establish, train, and provide technical mentorship to prison-based paralegal networks consisting of both inmates and prison staff.
• Direct Legal Aid Delivery: Provide comprehensive legal aid services, including case file tracking, legal document preparation, file tracing, and surety tracing to fast-track bail application approvals.
• Mediation & ADR: Facilitate alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and victim-offender mediation and reconciliation for petty offenders to aid prison decongestion.
• Institutional Coordination: Support case tracking and active coordination among justice system actors (Police, State Attorneys, Judiciary, Prison administration) to remove system bottlenecks.
• Legal Research. Carry out legal research to support clients’ cases and ensure compliance with criminal legal procedures and practices and government policies.
• Feedback & Accountability Structures: Create structured feedback and accountability mechanisms between inmates and duty bearers to reduce case delays and improve system responsiveness.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Education: Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre (LDC).
• Professional Status: Enrolled Advocate of the High Court of Uganda with a valid, current practicing certificate (mandatory for court representation).
• Experience: Minimum of 2–3 years of hands-on experience in criminal defense litigation, legal aid delivery, or human rights advocacy in Uganda. Experience working in the prison community will be an added advantage.
• Language Skills: Professional mastery of English. For Jinja-based positions: Working fluency in Lusoga and Luganda is highly desirable. For Kalangala-based position: Working fluency in Luganda is highly desirable.

• Courtroom Advocacy: Serve as the primary legal counsel representing Justice Defenders and providing legal representation to eligible inmates in courts of law, including during trials, bail hearings, and appeals.
• Self-Representation Coaching: Conduct targeted clinics to prepare inmates for self-representation, equipping them with court rules, trial procedures, cross-examination techniques, and public speaking confidence.
• Rights Education & Awareness: Conduct rights education campaigns and distribute accessible information materials to strengthen inmates’ understanding of their constitutional, procedural and trial rights.
• Paralegal Capacity Building: Establish, train, and provide technical mentorship to prison-based paralegal networks consisting of both inmates and prison staff.
• Direct Legal Aid Delivery: Provide comprehensive legal aid services, including case file tracking, legal document preparation, file tracing, and surety tracing to fast-track bail application approvals.
• Mediation & ADR: Facilitate alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and victim-offender mediation and reconciliation for petty offenders to aid prison decongestion.
• Institutional Coordination: Support case tracking and active coordination among justice system actors (Police, State Attorneys, Judiciary, Prison administration) to remove system bottlenecks.
• Legal Research. Carry out legal research to support clients’ cases and ensure compliance with criminal legal procedures and practices and government policies.
• Feedback & Accountability Structures: Create structured feedback and accountability mechanisms between inmates and duty bearers to reduce case delays and improve system responsiveness.

• Professional mastery of English
• Working fluency in Lusoga (for Jinja)
• Working fluency in Luganda (for Jinja and Kalangala)

• Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree
• Post-Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre (LDC)
• Enrolled Advocate of the High Court of Uganda with a valid, current practicing certificate