Legal Officer (x2)

To minimise the risk of unconscious bias, we ask that applicants remove certain identifying elements from their CVs. Further information is provided below but please note that, if you do not remove these details, we reserve the right to withdraw your application from review.

About us

Established in 2021, Opportunity Green is a fast-growing not-for-profit organisation that helps to identify and unlock opportunities to tackle climate change. We build ambitious coalitions, support climate vulnerable countries in international negotiations and find innovative legal pathways to fight climate change.

Our legal team works on a range of legal actions to drive decarbonisation in key demand-side sectors such as aviation, shipping, agriculture, finance, steel and medium-heavy duty vehicles in the UK, EU, and internationally. We provide strategic legal analysis to support decarbonisation in these sectors; undertake legal interventions, including legal challenges and litigation; and engage in legal advocacy, including submissions to international courts, states, and United Nations bodies.

Our team is growing, and we are now looking for additional Legal Officers to support our team across various projects. We are open to UK and Belgium-based applicants; while the majority of our legal team is UK-based, we have a small but growing presence in Brussels and EU-qualified candidates are particularly welcomed here.

What’s the role?

The role involves supporting the implementation of strategic legal actions in the UK, EU and internationally. You will work closely with the Legal Manager(s) leading our work in key demand-side sectors to develop and implement legal actions that have systemic impact. The role will involve undertaking legal research, drafting legal briefings and analyses, supporting court and regulatory actions, working with external partners including other NGOs and external counsel, and representing Opportunity Green in external meetings.

You will report to one of the team’s Legal Managers, working as part of a team of nine legal experts. Opportunity Green takes an inter-disciplinary approach to tackling climate change and your work will also intersect with our climate diplomacy, advocacy, and analytics teams.

Our legal team is already achieving outsized impact with a great team spirit. The candidates we are looking for will be analytical and organised, with great communication skills, a collaborative approach and a passion for fighting climate change with high levels of self-motivation. Opportunity Green is a growing organisation so you will also be involved in supporting other aspects of work, such as contributing to funding proposals, developing campaign strategy, providing legal input into communications, and taking part in our committees.

This is not an entry level role and is not suitable for recent law graduates without any relevant work experience. You do not, however, need to have experience of the specific sectors Opportunity Green currently works in; it is your legal skills that we are interested in.

About the candidate

We are looking for a candidate with:

• A passion for using their legal skills to tackle climate change, with the law as a lever for systemic change.

• A law degree or equivalent experience, and knowledge of climate/environmental law. You will have relevant working experience to date and the ability to demonstrate transferable skills.

Desirable skills and experience:

We do not expect any candidate to have all skills listed below but rather we look for transferable skills and potential as well as past experience.

• Ability to write high-quality legal analysis and reports with excellent attention to detail.

• Ability to work independently and manage workload effectively.

• Committed to collaboration, curiosity and continuous learning.

• Demonstrates good judgement and takes responsibility for delivering outcomes within their area of work, escalating issues where appropriate.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to build and manage relationships with stakeholders.

• Ability to set and meet deadlines and communicate on project progress with other team members and external stakeholders where appropriate.

Diversity and inclusion

Diversity and inclusion are important principles at Opportunity Green. We believe that diversity and inclusion make teams stronger and more effective. We are committed to fair and equitable employment practices, and we are striving to ensure that a variety of voices and experiences are included in our organisation. Our commitment to diversity and our parental leave policy are available to view on our website, here.

We will consider all applicants who meet most or all of the essential competencies regardless of their identity or background. That said, we know that diverse candidates may be reluctant to apply for jobs where they don’t meet 100% of the criteria outlined in the job description. We encourage anyone to apply who can demonstrate the variety of skills and experiences relevant to meeting the requirements of this role.

We recognise that many diverse experiences and perspectives are not represented in our current workforce, and are seriously underrepresented across the non-profit sector in general, and as such, we particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities, non-white people, people from marginalised backgrounds, and members of the LGBTQIA+ communities.

To learn more about our application process and receive advice on how to prepare in such a way as to showcase your full potential, please find our Application Guide here.

What we offer - UK

The successful candidate will be offered an annual salary of £40,000 plus 10% employer-contributed pension. Please note that Opportunity Green has fixed salary scales, with the possibility of step increases with strong performance. When hiring we always hire at the bottom of a band and do not enter negotiations with new employees as negotiations have been historically shown to disadvantage women and minorities.

We take our team’s well-being and professional development seriously. In addition to a competitive salary, we offer:

• A commitment to work/life balance, with a 4-day work week at 28 hours.

• A generous holiday entitlement of 20 days’ holiday per year, plus bank holidays and office closure between Christmas and New Year’s that does not count towards your holiday entitlement (and expectation that you fully disconnect when taking time off).

• A market-leading pension of 10%.

• A progressive family leave policy, including 26 weeks’ paid leave for both parents, as well as other support.

• Lots of flexibility within a hybrid working arrangement, with regular opportunities to come together as a team.

• Support for your professional development as part of Opportunity Green, with a budget to support your learning & development plus opportunities to lead projects, publish content, learn from experts, work directly with policymakers and stakeholders, and take part in conferences and events.

However, it is important to note that while this role is permanent, employment is always reliant on Opportunity Green continuing to receive philanthropic support from our funders, which we expect every member of the team to play their part in working towards.

What we offer - Belgium

The successful candidate will be offered an annual salary of €48,000. Please note that Opportunity Green has fixed salary scales. When hiring we always hire at the bottom of a band and do not enter negotiations with new employees as negotiations have been historically shown to disadvantage women and minorities.

We take our team’s well-being and professional development seriously. In addition to a competitive salary, we offer:

• A commitment to work/life balance, with a 4-day work week at 28 hours.

• 8% employer-contributed group pension plan

• A generous holiday entitlement of 20 days’ holiday per year, including 4 extra-legal days, plus bank holidays (in Brussels) and office closure between Christmas and New Year’s that does not count towards your holiday entitlement (and expectation that you fully disconnect when taking time off).

• A progressive family leave policy, including 26 weeks’ paid leave for both parents, as well as other support.

• Lots of flexibility within a hybrid working arrangement, with regular opportunities to come together as a team.

• Support for your professional development as part of Opportunity Green, with a budget to support your learning & development plus opportunities to lead projects, publish content, learn from experts, work directly with policymakers and stakeholders, and take part in conferences and events.

However, it is important to note that while this role is permanent, employment is always reliant on Opportunity Green continuing to receive philanthropic support from our funders, which we expect every member of the team to play their part in working towards.

How to apply

To minimise the risk of unconscious bias, we ask that applicants remove certain identifying elements from their CVs. If you do not remove these details, we reserve the right to withdraw your application from review.

• Photos

• Name – if needed, please use ‘Applicant’

• Age

• Email and/or phone number

We also reserve the right to withdraw your application from review if you use AI tools such as Chat GPT to complete the sift questions / write your CV.

Unfortunately, if you do not already hold a permanent right to work in the UK or Belgium Opportunity Green will not be able to consider your application at this time.  

The closing date for applications is 16 February 2026 at 9am GMT.

We actively encourage applicants to reach out if there are any reasonable adjustments we can make to help them demonstrate their full potential in the hiring process. 

Please get in touch at recruitment@opportunitygreen.org and we can discuss how to best make the recruitment process as accessible and comfortable for you as possible.

You can read our application guide here.

What happens next?

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an online interview to discuss their experience and suitability for the role. After this, candidates that are most suitable for the vacancy will be invited for an in-person interview in our London/Brussels office, for which there may also be a short task. Travel will be reimbursed for non-London/Brussels-based applicants as well as any travel to London from Brussels.

Online interviews are likely to take place w/c 2 March. In person interviews will likely be shortly after this (w/c 9 March) in London.

We reserve the right to ask for references during the recruitment process.

If you have any questions, or you need any reasonable adjustments at the application stage, please contact recruitment@opportunitygreen.org.