Call to Action: Become a Student Researcher with Systemic Justice (compensation at €18 per hour)
Across Europe and around the world, communities continue to face deeply entrenched racial, social, and economic injustices.
These inequities are supported and maintained by systems that often fail the very people they are meant to protect. In this landscape, the law can serve as a powerful tool for liberation—but only when the voices of affected communities are placed at the center of change.
Systemic Justice, a pioneering NGO reshaping the role of strategic litigation in justice movements, is calling on committed and visionary students to join its mission.
If you are passionate about dismantling oppressive structures, interested in research that fuels real-world transformation, and eager to be part of a youth-inclusive, justice-oriented movement, this is your chance to make a tangible impact.
Why This Opportunity Matters
Legal systems across Europe often remain inaccessible to the communities most harmed by discrimination, exclusion, inequality, and state violence. Strategic litigation—when used collaboratively, ethically, and in partnership with affected groups—can help shift power, expose structural barriers, and catalyze long-term policy change. Yet, this tool is still underutilized in racial, social, and economic justice movements.
Systemic Justice is working to change that dynamic. Through a model rooted in anti-oppression, intersectionality, and community-centered collaboration, the organisation supports movements in exploring, shaping, and pursuing litigation that can dismantle systemic harms.
As a Student Researcher, you will directly support this mission by contributing high-quality research that informs litigation strategies, strengthens advocacy, and helps movements better navigate complex legal landscapes. This is not just an academic exercise—it is a chance to contribute to work that seeks to rebalance power structures and broaden access to justice.
What You Will Work On
Student Researchers will collaborate closely with Systemic Justice’s legal and research teams on tasks that include:
- Mapping opportunities and barriers for pursuing strategic litigation in racial, social, and economic justice across Europe.
- Analysing jurisprudence, regulations, and national legal frameworks that may influence litigation strategies.
- Reviewing case management systems and proposing practical, community-centered solutions.
- Summarizing effective models of movement lawyering and community-led legal organising.
- Contributing to the early architecture of long-term litigation strategies co-designed with affected communities.
Your work will feed directly into Systemic Justice’s consultations, strategy-building, and long-term goal of transforming how European legal systems respond to injustice.
Who Should Apply
This role is ideal for students who are:
- Passionate about systemic change and committed to justice movements.
- Strong in research, analysis, and writing.
- Familiar with European legal systems and the concept of strategic litigation (or eager to learn).
- Knowledgeable about racial, social, and economic justice issues.
- Confident communicating in English (additional European languages are an asset).
- Comfortable working remotely in a multicultural, youth-led environment.
- Located in CET ± 2 hours (preferred, but not required).
Systemic Justice encourages applicants with lived experience of oppression—racialised communities, migrants, queer and trans communities, people with disabilities, working-class backgrounds, and others disproportionately harmed by structural violence and exclusion—to apply. Applicants without such lived experience are encouraged to reflect on their role, positionality, and motivations before applying.
What You Gain
- The opportunity to work on real-world strategic litigation research.
- Hands-on experience with a groundbreaking movement-centered legal NGO.
- Mentorship from experts working at the intersection of law, justice, and social change.
- Flexible, remote work that respects your schedule and wellbeing.
- Compensation at €18 per hour under a 3-month consultancy arrangement (extendable).
This is more than a student position—it is a meaningful entry point into transnational justice work and a chance to contribute to a new model of legal empowerment in Europe.
How to Apply
Applications are reviewed quarterly (October, January, April, July), and there is no fixed deadline. You can apply at any time.
Your application must include:
- Your CV
- One example of work you are proud to have contributed to
- A short written response addressing three reflection questions on justice, strategic litigation, and the case H. and Others v. Slovakia
Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a brief 30-minute conversation.
Take Action Today
If you are driven by justice, grounded in humility, and ready to use your research skills to support movements building a more equitable world, then Systemic Justice wants to hear from you.
Now is the time to step forward.
Now is the time to use your voice.
Now is the time to help transform how the law works—for everyone.
Apply today and become part of the movement for systemic change.
