UNPAID VOLUNTEER - Director of Legal Research

Overview

Unpaid volunteer role for a Director of Legal Research (1 position), supporting the organization’s legal research activities.

• Role type: Unpaid volunteer
• Division: Research Division III – Legal Research
• Location: Home-based / Remote
• Reporting to: Director-General

This is an unpaid volunteer position.

Responsibilities

The Director of Legal Research will:

• Lead the organization’s legal research agenda across technology law, climate law, environmental governance, and related areas.
• Supervise Legal Research Officers and provide academic, technical, and strategic guidance on research projects.
• Develop and oversee high-quality legal research and research outputs, including publications, policy papers, briefing notes, and other deliverables.
• Identify priority research questions at the intersection of emerging digital technologies, climate policy, and sustainable development.
• Develop strategic research and knowledge partnerships with universities, research institutions, governments, international organizations, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Review and approve legal research outputs to ensure academic quality, accuracy, and policy relevance.
• Lead or contribute to multidisciplinary research projects across the organization.
• Translate complex legal research into practical insights for policymakers, legislators, climate negotiators, and non-specialist audiences.
• Contribute research expertise to conferences, webinars, policy forums, executive briefings, and external engagements.
• Support the development of funded research proposals and strategic research initiatives.
• Contribute to senior-level research planning and institutional strategy.
• Monitor research progress, resource requirements, and delivery against agreed priorities.

Requirements

Candidates should demonstrate:

• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Exceptional academic legal research and analytical skills.
• A strong record of scholarly writing, editing, and publication.
• Strong strategic and intellectual leadership capability.
• Excellent critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to identify important and emerging legal research questions.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Ability to manage large-scale and long-term research programs.
• Ability to lead, mentor, and develop highly qualified researchers.
• Strong professional judgment and research integrity.
• Ability to integrate different disciplines and areas of expertise into coherent research programs.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and relationship-management skills.
• Ability to communicate complex legal and academic concepts clearly to policymakers and non-specialist audiences.
• Strong presentation and public-speaking skills.
• Ability to develop and maintain strategic research collaborations.
• Ability to work independently and provide leadership within a remote and internationally distributed organization.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, budgets, and research deadlines.
• A collaborative, credible, and intellectually rigorous leadership style.

General and specialist knowledge

Candidates should demonstrate strong knowledge or research expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• Technology law and digital regulation
• Artificial intelligence law and governance
• Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology law
• Climate change law and policy
• Environmental law and governance
• Carbon market law and regulation
• Climate finance regulation
• Renewable energy law and policy
• Natural resource governance
• Data protection, digital governance, and technology policy
• International environmental law
• Public international law relevant to climate and sustainable development
• Legal frameworks supporting responsible emerging-technology adoption
• Academic legal research methodologies
• Comparative and interdisciplinary legal research

Candidates are not expected to be specialists in every area of climate and technology law, but should demonstrate substantial expertise in at least one relevant field and the ability to lead multidisciplinary legal research.

Knowledge of international climate processes, including the UNFCCC and related policy frameworks, would be advantageous.

Tools

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and relevant legal research, reference-management, and academic research tools is expected.

Education and Experience

Education

• Preferably a PhD in Law or another closely related discipline with a strong legal research component.
• Equivalent advanced academic qualifications with an exceptional record of substantive legal research and publication may also be considered.

Specialist expertise or academic training in areas such as technology law, climate or environmental law, international law, digital governance, artificial intelligence regulation, blockchain or financial technology law, and sustainability/environmental policy would be advantageous.

Experience

Candidates should demonstrate:

• Significant experience developing and managing academic legal research projects.
• A strong, demonstrable track record of peer-reviewed publications, books, book chapters, research reports, or other substantial legal research outputs.
• Experience designing, planning, and delivering independent legal research.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary or cross-disciplinary research initiatives.
• Experience supervising, mentoring, or managing researchers.
• Experience developing and maintaining academic or institutional research collaborations.
• Experience translating academic research into policy-relevant outputs.
• Experience engaging policymakers, legislators, international organizations, or other senior institutional stakeholders.
• Experience developing research proposals and, ideally, securing or managing research funding.
• Experience contributing to strategic and operational research planning.
• Experience managing research resources, priorities, and deliverables.
• Experience presenting research findings at conferences, seminars, policy forums, or comparable external engagements.

Internationally recognized research leadership or a sustained record of contributing to influential legal or policy research would be highly advantageous.

Experience within a university, research institution, think tank, international organization, nonprofit organization, or comparable research environment would also be advantageous.

Preferred Qualifications

• A demonstrable record of publishing substantive legal research.
• Experience translating academic legal research into practical policy insights, briefings, and recommendations.
• Knowledge of international climate processes, including the UNFCCC and related policy frameworks.
• Knowledge of Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, or another international language.

Compensation & Benefits

• Compensation: Unpaid volunteer position.

While the role is unpaid, volunteering provides opportunities to:

• Lead an international programme of academic and policy-oriented legal research.
• Shape the organization’s legal research agenda on climate, emerging technologies, and sustainable development.
• Publish and contribute to substantive legal research, policy papers, and institutional publications.
• Lead and mentor an international team of legal researchers.
• Develop research partnerships with academic institutions, governments, and international organizations.
• Engage policymakers, legislators, and other senior stakeholders on emerging legal and regulatory issues.
• Work at the intersection of law, artificial intelligence, blockchain, climate action, and sustainable development.
• Strengthen international academic and professional networks.
• Participate in relevant conferences, policy forums, webinars, and institutional engagements.
• Contribute directly to research leadership, policy influence, and institutional development.

Location

• Home-based / Remote

Selection Process

The selection process will normally include:

• Application screening
• Written or research assessment
• Interview and/or technical discussion for shortlisted candidates
• Final selection and onboarding

Shortlisted candidates may be requested to provide examples of published legal research, academic publications, or other substantive research outputs.

Important Notice

This is an unpaid volunteer position.