About us

The Sunrise Project

Driven by a passion to achieve climate justice, The Sunrise Project is a team of experienced changemakers with a mission to scale social movements to drive the global transition beyond fossil fuels. With programs and staff in Australia, and affiliated programs and staff in Europe, and the US, we have developed a unique model of grant making and campaigning that supports networks of organisations to drive powerful change towards our mission.

We have a dynamic and nimble organisational culture and we’re serious about supporting our people to thrive. We move fast and lean into the urgency of the climate challenge.

FILE

Founded in 2018, the Stichting Foundation for International Law for the Environment (FILE) is the major philanthropic initiative working to tackle climate change by scaling up environmental legal action globally.

Driven by the urgent global transition to a zero-carbon society, FILE funds world-leading global partners to deliver pioneering legal and shareholder actions with the aim of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees. Our grant portfolio includes workstreams that cut across the natural systems including: Just Energy Transition; Land Use; Sustainable Finance; Future of Environmental Law; and Nature.

FILE supports the development of a strong, diverse and empowered ecosystem of partners, enabling the co-development of strategy to collectively make a meaningful impact on climate change and the protection of biodiversity. We seek to grow the field, while increasing diversity, and facilitate successful outcomes through access to key research, capacity building, knowledge sharing, strategic communications and campaign alignment and learning.

The Sunrise Project and FILE believe that a diversity of experiences and perspectives will help us build stronger strategies, teams and movements. We strongly encourage First Nations people, people of colour, people living outside of cities, and people living with a disability to apply.

About you

Your Head

You are a strategic and creative thinker with an unstoppable hunger for climate justice. You’re expert in planning, environment, energy, corporate, finance or human rights or administrative law. You have a deep knowledge of the Australian legal landscape and its key players and working knowledge of the legal NGO sector.

Your Heart

You are passionate about protecting people and the environment from the worsening impacts of the climate crisis by transitioning Australia beyond fossil fuels. You care deeply about social justice and the value of building effective working relationships with people from all walks of life and points of view. You are impatient with the slow pace of progress on climate, and you bring an open mind, level head, and creative energy for changing it.

Your Hands

You are skilled at navigating complex economic and political systems, identifying legal points of intervention and developing strategies that result in real world change. You are quick to translate complex legal information into clear and concise communications. You understand relationship dynamics and build trust-based relationships fast. You excel at drawing the best ideas from a diverse group of people, and spotting opportunities for people and organisations to collaborate to maximise their impact.

About the Role

You will be relied upon for strategy development and guidance on how to maximise the impact of legal interventions on Australia’s transition to a clean energy future. You will support FILE’s Head of Energy Transition Portfolio in developing a global strategy to address the climate and ecological emergencies, and an impactful grant portfolio focussed on protecting the environment through legal interventions in Australia. You will empower The Sunrise Project Australian coal, gas and energy program teams in using legal interventions as a tool to drive change.

You will build and maintain relationships with, as well as provide support and advice to, the Australian legal community of practice to help maximise their impact and make use of international best practice, through FILE’s global network. Your research and analysis skills and strong networks will enable you to support legal interventions to hasten the journey to a clean energy future.

Key responsibilities (Your Mission)

• Work in collaboration with The Sunrise Project’s coal, gas and energy teams, FILE’s legal and grant management teams, aligned funders and current/prospective grantees, to update and implement an Australian legal strategy, including defining strategic priorities and a strategic granting approach.

• Collaborate widely across the community of practice to enable strategic alignment and ensure knowledge-sharing, and, fostering innovative thinking that moves beyond litigation to law reform and commercial/financial legal instruments, as well as opening up new jurisdictions and sectors.

• Develop and direct the delivery of an evidence-based Australian grant making portfolio, including goals, metrics and reporting.

• Support the expansion of the Australian community of practitioners to reinforce legal capacity, generate innovation and learning, and proactively influence global legal action.

• Provide advice, specialist guidance, and support to colleagues to deepen knowledge about opportunities for legal interventions.

Skills, knowledge and experience

• Advanced post-qualification legal practice experience

• Postgraduate degree, ideally in environmental law, political science or policy is desirable

• Experience developing and delivering legal interventions related to climate change is highly desirable

• Experience building collaborative partnerships with a diverse range of stakeholders

• Experience managing high-performance virtual teams and networks, within a fast-paced environment, is desirable

• High level interpersonal, networking and strategic thinking skills

• Ability to work well under pressure with a high degree of rigour

• Self-motivated, flexible, and the ability to prioritise work

• Advanced English verbal and written communication and presentation skills

• Willingness to travel – domestic/international