British Institute of Human Rights offers summer internship programme

3 March 2017

The British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR), whose offices are based at QMUL Law School, is now accepting applications for the 2017 QMUL summer internship.

The British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) is a national independent human rights charity that is committed to bringing human rights to life in the UK. Founded over 40 years ago, we work to:

• Support people and organisations to know about human rights.
• Help civil society groups and public sector organisations to put them into practice in everyday life beyond the courtrooms.
• Encourage respect for human rights laws and systems, communicating our evidence of human rights in action in the UK to inform national law and policy change.

About the Queen Mary Summer Internship Scheme

Since 2011 BIHR's offices have been located in QMUL's Law School and each summer we run an internship scheme exclusively for QM law students.  The placement offers students a unique opportunity to gain experience and insight into the workings of a charity at the forefront of human rights issues in the UK.

Interns are asked to commit 2 days per week over the summer vacation period (June-August). The internship will be based at BIHR’s offices on campus.

BIHR is proud to pay interns the London Living Wage

As part of the internship scheme, interns will be provided with opportunities to attend BIHR’s trainings and events, to accompany staff to external meetings and to shadow the Director and Senior Staff as part of their overall learning experience.

Internship description

Interns will help support BIHR’s research, policy, education and communications work, as well as provide practical and administrative support for some of our flagship projects. Typically, our interns will gain experience in some - or all - of the following areas:

Legal and policy research to support our project work and current priorities

This will include:

• current debates about the Human Rights Act and the British Bill of Rights.
• promoting human rights in the health and social care sector.
• developing the training and educational materials which support community based groups to use human rights to protect the rights of marginalised groups in the UK.

Assisting with outreach and training, including for our current major project: A Human Rights Approach for Advocacy

This will include:

• helping with research and preparing materials and packs for training.
• logistical research and data capture and analysis.
• communications and marketing.

Person Specification

Essential

• An understanding of UK Human Rights Law and who are interested in the application of these laws to practice
• Good research and IT skills, including the ability to use legal databases e.g. Westlaw, Lexis Nexis, etc.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint
• Willingness to carry out administrative tasks
• Good organisational skills with accuracy and attention to detail
• Ability to work on own initiative and to deadlines
• Excellent oral and written communication skills – including fluency in English.
  • Verbal skills include a confident telephone manner, and negotiation and influencing skills.
  • Written skills include a clear concise written style with the ability to use plain English.
• Interest in domestic human rights and their value for people in the UK, including a basic knowledge of the Human Rights Act and/or European Convention on Human Rights

Desirable

• Knowledge of using social media to communicate with people, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
• Experience of maintaining and updating websites.

Application Process

Applicants should complete the attached Internship Application Form [Word] [DOC 223KB] and Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form [Word] [DOC 144KB]. Please note CVs and covering letters will not be considered. Applications should be sent to Jasmine Powell by email to jpowell@bihr.org.uk or in hardcopy to the Jasmine Powell, British Institute of Human Rights, School of Law, Queen Mary University, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS. The deadline for receiving applications is 5pm on Friday 31 March. Interviews will take place during the week commencing 24th April (revision week). The expected starting date will be the week of 19 June.

Disabled Applicants  

BIHR operates a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role. This requires meeting 70% of the person specification essential criteria. For further information about our policy on this please contact Jasmine Powell on jpowell@bihr.org.uk or 0207 882 5850.