Attorney - Arid Lands Programme

Attorney – Arid Lands Programme

Hashtag Nonprofit NPC

• Deadline : 30 November 2025
• Region : Cape Town
• Type of employment : Full time

Job Description

We are looking for an attorney to join our Arid Lands programme in our Cape Town office. The Succulent Karoo and Nama Karoo biomes, spanning southwestern South Africa into southern Namibia, are global biodiversity hotspots and the world’s richest succulent flora region, with hundreds of plant species found nowhere else. Despite their global ecological importance and the livelihoods these areas sustain, they face escalating threats from prospecting and mining, particularly in and around protected areas, as well as a surge in the development of renewable energy infrastructure and associated impacts. With the quest for critical minerals driving this pressure, the Biodiversity Law Centre’s Arid Lands Programme seeks to support communities in opposing harmful applications and address underlying drivers using strategic litigation and advocacy tools, ensuring the Succulent Karoo and Nama Karoo’s biodiversity is safeguarded for present and future generations. This exciting position is for an admitted attorney with 2 to 5 years’ litigation and legal advocacy experience, post admission. The successful candidate will have a particular interest in using the law to protect and restore biodiversity within Southern Africa, and will have experience in engaging with environmental impact assessment and other reports of a technical nature. This role is ideal for an individual who is eager to be part of a young and growing start‑up organisation, and who is willing to undertake a diverse range of tasks to support the Executive Director in striving to implement the Centre’s mission and vision. The position is a contract position for a fixed 2 or 3‑year term (renewal subject to funding), starting January 2026 . The salary for the position will be market related and dependent on factors that include the qualifications, level of expertise, and experience of the successful candidate.

Roles and Responsibilities

Preparing and submitting comments on various administrative approval processes as part of mining applications and lodging administrative appeals where necessary (in terms of NEMA, MPRDA, National Water Act, and various land use planning legislation).

Research prospecting and mining activities proposed and underway in the Succulent and Nama Karoo with a view to understanding broad trends and spatial distribution of target minerals.

Providing expert input into draft environmental, social, governance and related policies and legislation relating to biodiversity, mining and renewable energy, and making submissions in Parliament and in other key forums.

Building relationships with local communities in the Arid Lands to gather information on social and environmental practices and impacts linked to mining operations, and documenting community testimonies.

Providing support to the Executive Director in compiling and coordinating grant and funding proposals, as well as participating in achieving, and monitoring steps towards achieving, deliverables as set out in donor agreements and reporting to donors.

Qualifications And Requirements

How to apply

Please send the following documents to by 30 November 2025 with the email subject line : “ BLC Arid Lands Attorney – your name ” :

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Shortlisted candidates may be required to complete relevant tests or an assignment to demonstrate competency.

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