[Upd-discuss] Job Announcement: Essential Action Access to Medicines Project

[robert weissman]

JOB AVAILABILITY

ESSENTIAL ACTION'S ACCESS TO MEDICINE PROJECT
PROJECT ATTORNEY

The last eight years have seen tremendous progress in the global 
campaign for access to essential medicines, to an extent that would have 
been hard to imagine in 1998.

Major challenges remain, however. Among the most critical: the failure 
of countries to exercise their rights to issue compulsory licenses; the 
legal barriers to speeded-up generic competition included in bilateral 
and regional free trade agreements, most of them involving the United 
States; and the problem of authorizing cost-effective exports of new 
medicines.

Essential Action's Access to Medicines Project aims to help address 
these problems, through provision of technical assistance to NGOs and 
governments in developing countries, and by helping educate the public 
on the hazards of TRIPS-plus features in bilateral and regional free 
trade agreements. For more on our work on access to medicines, see 
<www.essentialaction.org/access>. For an overview of our overall work 
program, see <essentialaction.org>.

We are now seeking an attorney to advance the Access to Medicines 
Project objectives.

JOB OVERVIEW

The project attorney will be supervised by Essential Action's director. 
This is a travel-heavy position. Much of the attorney's time will be 
devoted to on-the-ground provision of technical assistance in developing 
countries.

To facilitate country exercise of the flexibilities included in the 
TRIPS agreement, the attorney in association with Essential Action's 
director will:

* Prepare easy-to-use fact sheets and short briefs that explain TRIPS 
flexibilities, details best practices in TRIPS implementation on 
relevant issues, and articulate how to file for and advocate for 
compulsory licenses.

* Provide technical assistance for government officials on issues 
related to compulsory licensing.

* Prioritize the provision of technical assistance, through meetings and 
ongoing communications, to NGOs that aim to educate and advocate for 
compulsory licenses to be issued.

To help address the problem of TRIPS-plus measures in trade agreements, 
the attorney in association with Essential Action's director will:

* Prepare short fact sheets and mini-briefings that provide a simple and 
quick explanation of the problems with TRIPS-plus provisions.

* Continue to prepare timely analyses of emerging issues in FTAs.

* Develop materials on best practices in implementation strategies for 
TRIPS-plus FTAs.

* Provide technical assistance to governments and NGOs in the area of 
understanding TRIPS-plus provisions, the cost-sharing approach to 
regulatory data, and best public health practices in implementation of 
TRIPS-plus provisions.

QUALIFICATIONS

Applicants must be passionate about advancing global public health 
efforts and corporate accountability. They should be hard-working, 
energetic and strategic minded. They must possess a law degree; 
experience in intellectual property law is desirable, but not required.

We are looking for applicants who are:

* Willing and able to undertake extensive international travel;
* Comfortable and effective working in a variety of contexts -- from 
formal meetings with governmental representatives to informal settings 
in poor countries;
* Able to work independently, with low levels of supervision;
* Ready to creatively experiment with new advocacy approaches.
* Highly organized
* Effective advocates
* Able to write and communicate effectively -- able to communicate 
effectively in technical legal jargon, and to translate technical 
matters into easy-to-understand materials for the public

Ability to speak and write fluently -- including related to technical, 
legal matters -- in Spanish or other second (or multiple) languages is 
desirable, but not required

To apply:

E-mail cover letter, resumé including references, and short (up to 5 
pages) writing sample to Robert Weissman (rob@essential.org). 
Applications will be considered as received. The position will remain 
open until filled. Follow-up inquiries by e-mail only please.

Posted: September 25, 2006