Legal Director, Food and Nutrition Program

About Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is the leading advocacy organization working to reduce tobacco use and its deadly consequences in the United States and around the world. Through our Global Health Advocacy Incubator, we tackle other critical public health challenges across the globe – including food and nutrition policy, injury and overdose prevention, and building resilient and equitable health systems.

Our vision is a healthier and more equitable future for all.

Summary Description:

The Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), an initiative of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), draws on decades of work on tobacco control campaigns and its growing experience on other public health issues to drive policy change campaigns around the globe to improve health. To date, these issues have included road safety, food and nutrition policy, cardiovascular health, drowning prevention, civil registration & vital statistics, preventing epidemics, and maternal and reproductive health, among others.

The Food and Nutrition Policy Program works across 25 countries to advance policy advocacy campaigns to create healthy, sustainable food systems and defend everyone’s right to nutritious food. The program builds movements to reduce the demand for unhealthy, ultra processed products and to increase access to nutritious food. The program brings together experts in advocacy, communications, research, industry accountability, and legal strategy to drive meaningful policy change around the world.

The Opportunity:

The Legal Director will oversee all the food and nutrition legal work and supervise legal staff and consultants in close collaboration and alignment with the Food and Nutrition Program leads. They will provide leadership, strategic planning, and technical advice to the food and nutrition legal and program teams to support in country advocacy campaigns and strategic litigation through review of legal contexts for policy reform; drafting and review of pending legislation or regulations; and providing guidance for strategic litigation that advances the program goals. This includes working with food and nutrition program leadership, the lawyers and program teams, and collaborate with local and global partners.

The Legal Director will provide leadership, management, and mentoring to the food and nutrition legal team and facilitate coordination on legal issues and approaches across the program as necessary and helpful. The Legal Director will also provide guidance in developing high quality, tailored training and technical assistance frameworks to strengthen the capacity of lawyers on staff and at local partner organizations.

Reporting to the Vice President of Food & Nutrition, the Legal Director will serve on the Food & Nutrition Leadership Team and will lead a team of five attorneys and consultants working across Washington, DC, Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Key Responsibilities:

As head of the food and nutrition Legal Team, the Legal Director will have overall responsibility for the Legal Team’s efforts, providing strategic direction and supervision of the legal team, most of whom are assigned full-time to specific Food and Nutrition Program and have content expertise in those program areas. The Legal Director will work with legal staff, consultants, and partners/grantees to develop and implement legal strategies as an integrated part of the program teams’ overall advocacy strategies. This includes:

Legal analysis and legislative reviews:

• Provide strategic guidance to the legal team to ensure high quality legal analyses of legislation, regulations, and other initiatives at the global, national and/or subnational level to ensure that they reflect best public health and legal practice.
• Identify gaps in legislation to inform the setting of policy change priorities on public health and safety issues.
• Assist with the drafting of legislation or regulations and providing continuing assistance as the draft is modified or changed by the government.
• Support development and maintenance of legislative drafting tools for those considering legislation for the first time or for comparing weaknesses in specific provisions.
• Work with global tobacco legal team to develop appropriate synergies and to learn from the decades of work advanced there.
• Provide oversight for Food and Nutrition legal team’s development of resource materials and tools relevant to advancing policy.

Food and Nutrition Management:

The Legal Director will serve on the Food and Nutrition Leadership Team to contribute to the management and strategic direction of the Program, including plans for growth and ensure high quality legal support for the program. S/he will work to increase the Food and Nutrition Program visibility of legal efforts in the policy areas where we work. This will include:

• Develop overall strategic vision for the Food and Nutrition legal work and promote links with international and in country legal partners.
• Contribute to strategic advocacy planning and ensuring that legal efforts are an integrated part of policy change campaigns.
• Supervise and support food and nutrition lawyers and work with them to develop appropriate professional development and other capacity building opportunities.
• Capture best practices and document success stories resulting from the work of the legal team and partners.
• Represent the legal team and its work to current and potential funders.
• Conceptualize and pursue opportunities for organizational growth.

Litigation:

When strategic or necessary, offensive and defensive litigation may be part of advocacy efforts – defending laws/regulations, efforts to affect government or corporate action/inaction, etc. The Legal Director will provide oversight and guidance to the legal team and these efforts, including the following:

• Review legal context in priority countries to determine what litigation approaches might further overall program efforts.
• Work closely with staff attorneys and local legal counsel to manage caseload of pending legal actions.
• Support the development of work products of local counsel as needed, which could include providing feedback to pleadings and briefs, discovery and motion practice, and documents for evidentiary hearings and oral arguments.
• Identify and work with outside lawyers and litigation counsels to support legal efforts.
• Provide technical assistance and expert legal advice to cooperating attorneys.

Key Qualifications:

This is a unique opportunity for a senior legal leader to shape the legal strategy of a growing global public health movement. The ideal candidate will bring expertise in public interest law, advocacy, international legal systems, and collaborative leadership, using legal strategy, policy analysis, and strategic litigation to advance impactful food and nutrition policy worldwide. As leader of a high-performing team of public health lawyers, they will drive legal initiatives that support lifesaving policy change and global advocacy efforts.

Strong candidates will offer: 

• Juris Doctor Degree (or equivalent) or LL.M required.
• 10+ years of relevant legal, legislative, and litigation experience working on public health or broader development issues, on a global basis.
• 5+ years of experience providing leadership, management, and mentoring to legal staff and building a team.
• International experience is required particularly in developing countries.
• Proven track record and 10+ years of experience managing multi-faceted and complex projects related to policy change in global health, including ability to lead teams, mentor staff, solve problems, balance competing priorities and provide strategic direction.
• Experience with developing training seminars and programs for government lawyers and local advocates on public health legal issues.
• Excellent analytical skills and legal writing and research ability.
• Demonstrated excellence in communication and in working with peoples from diverse cultures and countries, strong interpersonal and diplomatic skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment while juggling and coordinating multiple projects and deadlines.
• Ability to take initiative and work independently with only minimal supervision.
• Ability to travel internationally up to 25%

Highly desired skills: 

• Experience in legal analysis of public health issues, particularly in the areas of nutrition and non-communicable diseases.
• Experience in related areas such as consumer protection, corporate accountability, human rights, and transparency in government.
• Professional fluency in English (written and spoken); foreign language proficiency in French or Portuguese.
• Experience working in Africa and Asia. 
• Experience in food and nutrition legal related work. 

Compensation and Benefits:

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $150,000 - $180,000 and offers an excellent benefits package that includes: comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plan for employees and dependents, 403b plan participation (with 9% company contribution), 12 paid company holidays, 15 vacation days, 10 sick days, and 5 personal days (on an accrual basis each calendar year).

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe our programs are strengthened when they are developed and supported by individuals with diverse life experiences, whose understanding of social and cultural issues can help make The Campaign's work more inclusive. We encourage qualified applicants of all ages, racial, economic, social, cultural, sexual orientation, ability and gender expressions, national origins, and veteran statuses to apply.

Contact

DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Trisha Sutrisno and Shelby Woods. Submit a compelling cover letter and resume by filling out our Talent Profile. All inquiries are strictly confidential.

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About DSG | Koya

DSG | Koya, a DSG Global company, is the nation’s premier search firm dedicated to mission-driven leadership. Since its founding in 2004, DSG | Koya has had an exclusive focus on mission-driven clients and was founded on the belief that the right leader can transform an organization and have a deep and measurable impact on our world. DSG | Koya works with nonprofits & NGOs, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.

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Learn more about DSG | Koya via the firm's website.