Who is Natural Justice?

Natural Justice is an African non-profit organization specializing in environmental justice. Natural Justice uses the law to support communities participate in decisions that affect their land, culture, and environment. We are a close-knit and nurturing collective that places emphasis on facilitating opportunities for the professional and personal growth of its members.

Natural Justice has been working with communities, NGOs, and government agencies in Kenya since 2009. Together with our partners, we conduct comprehensive research on environmental and human rights law, use community legal empowerment approaches, including community paralegals, to support communities protect their access to lands, resources, and traditional knowledge, provide legal advice and training to project partners, comment on environmental impact assessments, and make submissions on law and policy. Our projects are carried out in Kenya under three programmatic streams: affirming community rights, defending community rights, and standing with communities. To learn more about the work of Natural Justice please refer to www.naturaljustice.org

What does the Environmental Justice Legal (EJ) Legal Fellowship offer?

The EJ Legal Fellowship offers an exciting opportunity to young, up and coming Kenyan professionals who are passionate about supporting communities in securing rights to their lands, resources, and knowledge. The legal fellows will be introduced to a broad spectrum of issues within environmental and human rights law and provide hands-on experience and training in research, legal empowerment, data collection and analysis, public interest litigation, analysis on laws and regulations, and advocacy. Over the duration of the Fellowship, the fellows will have the opportunity to spend time and work directly with communities, community-based organizations, and community paralegals. At the completion of the Fellowship, each fellow will submit a research report on a topic of interest within the environmental justice area.

The Fellowship will provide the successful applicants a stronger understanding of/in:

• The principles of environmental and human rights law and citizenry participation in environmental decision-making
• The realities of communities facing environmental injustices
• Community-centred legal empowerment methodologies
• The environmental decision-making processes of key institutions and bodies, such as the National Environmental Management Authority, Water Resources Authority, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service and County Governments
• Analysing and evaluating environmental and human rights laws, regulations, and policies
• Analysing and commenting on environmental impact assessments (EIA), environmental audits and strategic environmental impact assessments (SEA)
• Environmental justice litigation
• Evidence-based environmental justice advocacy and research
• The civil society organizations and individuals in Kenya working towards environmental justice

The Fellowship will be for a period of around 11 months, full-time. A modest salary will be offered. The successful applicants will be required to begin by November 2022.

Selection Criteria

Qualifications and Personal Profile:

• A Bachelor of Laws degree
• Ability to engage in research, draft reports, and legal documents
• Excellent writing skills with the ability to critically analyze relevant environmental laws and policy issues
• A passion for learning and a commitment to environmental justice
• Ability to work productively and to deadlines
• Reliability and attention to detail
• Ability to work both independently and as a team member
• A willingness to travel on a regular basis on short notice and sometimes for extended periods
• An awareness of and sensitivity to the needs and concerns of individuals from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and orientations
• Committed to continuous learning and to self-development with a focus on professionally promoting organizational interests, objectives, and values
• Fluency in English and Kiswahili
• Kenyan citizen or authorized to work in Kenya

How to Apply

Applications should be submitted via email to admin.nbo@naturaljustice.org with ‘EJ Legal Fellowship’ as the subject line

Applications must include:

1) A cover letter that indicates a) why you believe environmental justice is important in Kenya, and b) why you’re interested in the EJ Legal Fellowship.

2) A detailed CV with the names and contact of three references: and

3) One sample of your written work no longer than ten (10) pages (for example, articles or research reports) written by you (i.e., not jointly written or edited by other people)

Applications Deadline

All applications to be sent on or before Tuesday, 6th September 2022.

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted