Strategic Litigation Lead (Europe)

SCHC Advisors Limited
Job Title

Luminate – Strategic Litigation Lead (Europe)

Department: Europe

Location: London, UK; Paris, France; Brussels, Belgium

Job level: Manager

Reports to: Head of Strategic Litigation

Role Purpose

At Luminate, we see strategic litigation as a powerful tool to challenge the outsized and unchecked power of Big Tech companies as well as inappropriate and harmful use of technology by governments. The law and its smart implementation can help rebalance power, shed light on harms, give a voice to affected communities, and ultimately push for systemic change.

The Strategic Litigation Lead is responsible for driving Luminate’s mission by identifying and funding litigation strategies on technology and human rights issues in Europe. The role requires a great deal of creative thinking and imagination to pave the way for meaningful accountability for tech harms through litigation, using any legal tool available in the toolbox.

You will identify and support a wide portfolio of grants and contracts, from litigating organisations to specific litigation opportunities, both in court and with public regulators. The role may include managing one or two members of the team. A key part of the role is to build relationships and collaborations to foster a stronger ecosystem for litigation work and a bigger community of philanthropists ready to take the risk and fund litigation too.

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities

• Develop and support vibrant tech litigation ecosystem in Europe (35%)
  • Strategically convene and connect civil society organisations and other stakeholders in the ecosystem.
  • Represent Luminate in the philanthropic and civil society communities.
  • Build connections with peer funders, networks, and stakeholders to explore co funding and collective action.
• Strategic Litigation portfolio development and grant making (35%)
  • In collaboration with the strategic litigation team and external stakeholders, identify and co design litigation strategies in line with Luminate’s objectives.
  • Build and maintain a strong pipeline of partners, grantees and cases in the region.
  • Identify and engage potential partners and grantees through research, conversations, outreach, networking, and ecosystem mapping.
  • Monitor litigation/legal developments in the region, and where appropriate outside Europe.
• Grantee Support & Management (30%)
  • Lead on processing grants and contracts – including the due diligence process for prospective grantees, packaging grants, refining scope in collaboration with relevant teams within Luminate.
  • Liaise with grantees and lawyers to manage grants and contracts, including high level strategic oversight of litigation.
  • Regularly check in with grantees, review reports, celebrate successes, and help connect partners with Luminate’s non financial support and represent their needs internally.

Day to Day Responsibilities

A typical week might include:

• Network: Meeting grantees and relevant stakeholders (incl. lawyers, law firms, harmed communities, philanthropies) in the litigation ecosystem to discuss cases.
• Strategic convenings: Organising and bringing together experts, key actors working on;
• Proposal review: Reading a concept note or proposal and providing constructive feedback to strengthen it.
• Monitoring litigation developments in Europe – including on procedural aspects such as collective redress, standing for NGOs, or cost of litigation.
• Due diligence coordination: Working with Finance and Legal colleagues to review documents such as budgets, policies, and financial statements, ensuring all requirements are met.
• Internal meetings: Preparing and presenting funding proposals for a regional portfolio review meeting, addressing questions and gathering feedback.
• Grantee support: Checking in with an existing grantee to review progress, provide guidance, and connect them to additional support.
• Process administration: Updating the grant management system, tracking progress, and documenting learnings from funded projects.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• One or more law degrees in Europe.
• Substantial experience in legal practice and conducting litigation in the EU and demonstrating understanding of strategic litigation and litigation strategies.
• Creative thinking and imagination.
• Strong knowledge of EU law and general knowledge of the various legal tools and frameworks available to implement Luminate’s strategy, including but not limited to data and digital rights, human rights, consumer protection and collective redress.
• Analytical skills to assess proposals, budgets, and organisational capacity.
• Excellent relationship management, organisational and communication skills, with strong organisational and project management skills; able to manage multiple priorities.
• Integrity, good judgement, and commitment to accountability.
• Understanding of the region’s civil society landscape and context.
• Experience of working in or with civil society organisations / non-governmental organisations.
• Experience in philanthropic organisations or funding collaboratives.
• European languages other than English.

Mental Models / Leadership Competencies We Value

• Strategic and systems thinking: seeing how grants contribute to broader societal change. You think about both immediate and longer term field effects of strategic litigation and help others anticipate political, social, and legal consequences of this work.
• Collaborative partnership: building respectful, trust based relationships with
• Adaptability and learning mindset: open to change, feedback, and
• Integrity and accountability: upholding high ethical standards and delivering on