BLOG: Considering applying for our Legal Support Officer vacancy?
Here are some additional insights into the day-to-day reality of life in the PILS office.
PILS appreciate that reading a job description and personal specification can be a slightly artificial exercise.
The Legal Support Officer Recruitment Pack sets out the skills and experiences we are looking for, as well as an outline of the role’s main duties. While we have included as much information as possible (including a ‘why?’ column explaining our reasoning behind asking for each of the essential and desirable criteria), the PILS team know that is only part of the picture.
In reality, the emotion and creativity involved in any job can’t be distilled into a bullet point list. Life happens in 3D, not on a flat sheet of paper.
If you are considering applying for our latest vacancy, here are some additional insights into the day-to-day reality of life in the PILS office.
You’ll love the Legal Support Officer role if you can imagine yourself saying one or more of the following things:
I don’t know… but I want to find out.
One of the joys – and challenges – of working at PILS is the sheer variety of legal issues that our membership network share with us.
Over the summer, PILS have spoken to our members about everything from gold mining inquiries and healthcare provision in rural communities to the legislation governing birth registrations following IVF.
We’re a small and mighty staff team and we aren’t immediate experts in all areas of human rights or equality law. One of the key traits our Legal Support Officer will have is a curiosity to dive into researching unexpected areas of law.
Who else can we talk to?
Building public interest litigation is a team sport. The most effective legal challenges tackle barriers that are identified by local communities, are bolstered by an evidence base from human rights organisations, and are argued by lawyers who take a creative collaborative approach.
A regular question that we ask ourselves as PILS provide support to one member organisation is ‘who else can we talk to about this?’. As a membership organisation, PILS exist to create connections between our members and build their collective capacity to use legal tools.
Part of building that supportive environment for public interest litigation involves asking who is already included in conversations about a potential human rights breach, who might previously have been excluded, and who we can invite to share their expertise.
Is law actually the answer?
The word ‘litigation’ might be in our name but PILS approach every query from our membership with an open mind. Taking legal action can be a powerful way to advance equality. It’s also potentially draining – both emotionally and financially.
PILS were founded to help human rights defenders tackle those barriers but that doesn’t mean we pursue court challenges at any cost.
PILS firmly believe that taking legal action is a complementary strategy.
Our Legal Support Officer will enjoy considering how law sits alongside grassroots campaigning, advocacy efforts, the promotion of better laws, and structural changes to the legal system. Ultimately, they’ll be comfortable suggesting that legal action isn’t the best way for campaigners to achieve their desired outcomes.
If you are an enthusiastic researcher, who takes an inclusive, collaborative approach to work projects, then we would love to hear from you.
- Closing date: Monday 21 September 2026
- Recruitment pack and application form