Meet our Award winners: Vicki Prais (Freelancer of Year Award)

Over the next few weeks, we are bringing you interviews with each of the winners from our Work Avenue Business Awards – highlighting their achievements, insights and the support they have received from Work Avenue.

This week, we continue the series with our Freelancer of the Year, human rights lawyer and consultant Vicki Prais.

Can you tell us a bit more about what you do?

I call myself a ‘lawyer plus’. I’m an international human rights lawyer, academic, independent human rights consultant, human rights career coach and sometime speechwriter with particular expertise in prisoners’ rights, prison reform, dignity behind bars and torture prevention.

I have 28 years’ experience in the human rights sector and a professional background in International Organizations. My international experience has taken me to Japan, Canada, Thailand, Georgia, Kosovo, Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, Bangladesh and Ethiopia. I like to say that ‘London is home but the world is my workplace.’

What is a typical day like for you?

As an independent human rights consultant, my work is very varied and no one day is the same. It can be exciting and unpredictable in equal measure!

A typical day may include delivering training (for example I delivered human rights training to approximately 70 healthcare professionals in Bangladesh in 2022), speechwriting, report writing, delivering career coaching to my clients or giving a presentation at a career panel.

I also spend a lot of my time meeting professional contacts and building relationships with new clients both in person and online (I’m a huge fan of LinkedIn).

Why are human rights so important to you? 

Human rights are about dignity, respect and equality and centring these values in our everyday lives. Human rights are afforded to everyone – even those people who we may not think deserve them.

Sadly, we live in a world where many people have been subjected to human rights violations at the hands of governments or other actors.

From my early days at university as a volunteer at a prison creche and thereafter, I knew that a career of service was where my heart lay.

This work can be hard, emotionally and physically challenging and deeply distressing; at the end of the day we bear witness to harrowing testimonies we’d rather not hear including of torture, sexual violence, abuse, female genital mutilation.

But this is what drives me to do the work that I do and to make a contribution towards building a more equitable society.

Would I, or could I, do another line of work? I think deeply about this when I feel overwhelmed or mentally exhausted by my work. I think the answer has to be a resounding no. The desire to help those who really need it is too big for me to ignore.

How did you feel when winning the Work Avenue Business Award?

I was absolutely thrilled and a little bit speechless to be honest! It is such an honour to have the work that I do recognised by Work Avenue. I am keen to make a tangible contribution to my sector through my practice which is not always easy; our work as human rights lawyers is often an uphill battle and we may only secure small wins.

The award from Work Avenue has spurred me on to continue the work that I am doing in the human rights space. I know that I am valued and appreciated.

Why do you think Work Avenue is so important to the Jewish community?

I believe that Work Avenue provides a vitally important service to job seekers and job returners in the Jewish community by providing them with the essential skills they need to build a sustainable career in their chosen sector.

For many, it provides a vital lifeline and support which they may not otherwise be able to access.

Similarly, Work Avenue provides much-needed practical support to businesses and freelancers in the community – including one-to-one coaching and advice. I have received some very useful practical advice from the business team.

That we have an organisation offering all this for free is something our community should be very proud of.

How has Work Avenue’s support helped you?

The support I received has really helped me to think about how I can build, grow and sustain my business going forward. I am often too focused on the substantive side of my practice to think about the ‘back office’ and general operational side of my business.

Work Avenue helped to focus my mind on these areas and I shall be putting their advice into practice at the earliest opportunity.