Are you passionate about human rights and want to be part of a global movement of human rights defenders? Do you want to work in an international environment with colleagues all over the world?

We are now seeking a Legal Adviser who will be responsible for our anti‑discrimination activities in Sweden, as well as the organisation’s efforts to protect and strengthen the rights of minorities and the indigenous rights of the Sami people. 

About the role

Civil Rights Defenders works to counter hate crime and discrimination and is one of Sweden’s 18 anti‑discrimination bureaus. In your role as Legal Adviser you will provide individuals with legal advice, engage in advocacy efforts, and represent individuals in legal proceedings concerning discrimination, as well as coordinating the organisation’s work related to the situation of the Sami people.

As a Legal Adviser you will work in a team of eight Legal Advisers and Programme Officers in our Legal Department and will report to the Legal Director.

The role offers great variety, including work tasks such as:

• Legal analysis based on Swedish law and international human rights standards.
• Strategic litigation, with a primary focus on discrimination and the rights of minorities.
• Coordinate and develop Civil Rights Defenders’ legal advice service.
• Advocacy work, including drafting external reports and statements, organising seminars and meetings with decision‑makers and other stakeholders, as well as contributing to communication and media initiatives.
• Develop and deliver lectures and training sessions for civil society organisations, affected communities, and decision‑makers.
• Collaborate with the other anti‑discrimination bureaus and civil society organisations.
• Coordinating the work with Civil Rights Defenders’ Sami expert group.
• Develop strategies for legal and advocacy work
• Identify funding opportunities and develop project applications.
• Project management, including budget responsibility.
• Provide support to the Legal Department and the organisation in other thematic areas.

About you

As a person, you are analytical and a strategist who identifies problems and develops workable solutions by extracting key information and evaluating the context using multiple perspectives. It is important for you to maintain and uphold high ethical standards and to take clear ethical stands.

You like to plan, organise, and prioritize your work in an efficient way to keep time frames and deliver results according to organisational goals and quality standards. If you also have the interest and ability to collaborate with and relate to other people in a responsive and smooth way, we are sure that you will thrive in this role.

Furthermore, you have shown proof of seeking out new challenges, assignments and responsibilities and wish to use these strengths to promote Civil Rights Defenders’ cause in our work and challenges ahead.

We assume that you share our values.

To be suitable for this role you have:

• Juristexamen (Master of Laws; LL.M.) from a Swedish university, with documented knowledge of Swedish law.
• At least two year´s experience in litigation in civil law cases.
• At least two year’s experience in working with issues related to discrimination.
• At least one year experience providing legal advice to individuals.
• Very good knowledge of the Swedish Discrimination Act.
• Good knowledge of the European Convention on Human Rights and the EU legal framework against discrimination.
• Good knowledge of the UN legal framework against discrimination.
• Good knowledge of the Swedish legislative process and Swedish public administration system.
• Professional proficiency in Swedish and English (C2), spoken and written.
• Good proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Teams, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word).

It is meritorious, if you have

• Experience working with the rights of ethnic minorities or Indigenous peoples, or with issues related to hate crime or working in other human rights–related fields.
• Experience of litigation before regional or international monitoring bodies or courts.
• Experience in project management, including budget responsibility.
• Experience in advocacy work, such as drafting consultation responses, report writing, meetings with decision‑makers, or engagement with the media.
• Experience in working with donors and drafting project funding applications.

About the employment

This is a full-time permanent employment with 6 months probationary employment, start date is mid August or according to agreement. As an organisation, we strive for diversity and we see your background, experience and personality as a contribution to the organisation.

You will be based in Stockholm at our headquarters. We offer you a pleasant and modern workplace that values flexibility when it comes to working hours and hybrid work set-up, combining office-based and remote work. We apply Collective Agreement with Fremia.

Please apply as soon as possible, as we recruit on an ongoing basis. Last day of application is May 21, 2026.

For more information about the position, please contact recruiting manager John Stauffer john.stauffer@crd.org

Local union representative: daria.zheleznova@crd.org (Unionen).

About us 

Civil Rights Defenders is a politically and religiously independent international human rights organisation. We defend people’s civil and political rights in some of the world’s most repressive regions. We partner with and support human rights defenders in more than 300 organisations in 50 countries on four continents. Together with our partners, we hold those in power accountable when people’s civil or political rights are violated. We also act as Sweden’s civil rights watchdog.

Civil Rights Defenders has around 70 staff members working in various functions towards our vision – a world of democratic societies in which we all enjoy our civil and political rights. Our headquarter is located in Stockholm, and we have eight branch offices around the world. Learn more about our work at crd.org.