Vacancy Announcement : Consultant - Business & Human Rights

Job title: Consultant – Business & Human Rights

Reports to: Associate Director

Location: India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand  (Home-based, with domestic travel)

Date: Ongoing

Country nationals are strongly preferred for this position

Overview 

Businesses are becoming more accountable for their influence and impact beyond their operations, and further into supply chains across borders and continents. As the global standards for human rights due diligence grow more stringent, international brands are seeking increasing transparency and improvement of processes in their global supply chains. Embode is supporting supply chain actors, particularly in Asia-Pacific, to improve the way they employ workers, provide working conditions and support sustainable methods of doing business. For this reason, Embode is seeking consultants on-the-ground who are adept at working with communities and supply chain actors of diverse backgrounds.

Scope of Work

Provide technical and research expertise to select projects supporting business communities to strengthen responsible practices across different countries in Asia and other regions of the world. Whilst human rights is the overarching area of work, key focus subjects relate to forced labour, labour migration, recruitment practices and social protection.

Type of projects  

Whilst each project will consist of different types of tasks, it is envisaged that this will include engaging with local businesses in your given country on subjects of labour standards and other human rights. This may involve engaging with manufacturing and agricultural businesses, plantations, farmers and workers. The diversity of supply chains means that supply chain actors can come from all backgrounds across gender, socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, nationals or migrant workers. It may involve attending to factories and manufacturing plants in urban areas, or farming communities in rural or remote parts. Consultants need to be able to sit down with communities, rights holders and supply chain actors, to understand their perspectives and collaboratively agree on actions plans for improvements. Consultants will also need to undertake research using pre-agreed tools, gathering data and report on this to share insights and recommendations.

The following technical skills and competencies provide an outline of what you will bring to Embode:

Minimum required skills
The following minimum skills are required:
 

1. Technical Expertise: Proven technical expertise and experience in business and human rights including areas such as labour rights, ethical recruitment and labour migration; workplace employment standards and general social sustainability requirements. This may also include areas such as gender equality, women’s empowerment, child protection and foreign employment.
2. Community Engagement: Experience and skills in being able to access and sit with rightsholders and other stakeholders in local communities, both urban and rural. These may include workers (formal, informal, men, women etc) as well as their families, local community members and duty bearers.
3. Supplier Engagement: Tangible experience interfacing with supply chain actors, such as manufacturing site managers and workers, or agricultural plantation managers, supervisors, or workers. This may also include interacting with farmers and other direct income earners in a supply chain.
4. Research and Field Data Gathering: Capacity to carry out research data gathering, both qualitative and quantitative, coordinate field work, analyse data, and write up findings.
5. Consultative and Collaboration Skills: Track record of having a consultative approach in working with participants in research and engagement. This may be a capacity to provide technical coaching or to be able to come up with a collaboratively agreed action plan.

Additional bonus skills
 

5. Project Management: Ability to manage and lead on client projects with minimal supervision
6. Coordinating Field Research: Ability to coordinate a field team to gather data.
7. Data Analysis and Report Write up: Credible experience in analysis of data and writing up reports. This includes the ability to distil volumes of data and information into succinct, well-organised and effective correspondence. Ability to present findings to diverse audience.
8. Presentation and speaking: Strong presentation skills, both online as well as in-person.
9. Training and Capacity Building: Being able to develop, translate and deliver training and capacity building to participants online or in-person. 
10. Technical Knowledge: Excellent knowledge of international standards related to business and human rights as well as labour rights, and progress in the global and local application of those standards.

Minimum Required Competencies and Qualifications:
 

• English skills: Excellent level of fluency in spoken and written English.
• National language: Fluency in the national language, both written and spoken, is essential. Familiarity with any other regional languages or dialects is considered a bonus.
• Communication: Proven will and capacity to communicate regularly through online channels in order to ensure smooth working processes in a fully-remote working environment.
• Technical experience: At least 3 years’ experience in a relevant social field of field of business and human rights, labour rights and/or social sustainability.
• Adaptive attitude: Willingness to work flexibility within a small team and being able to be adaptive, contributing and creative for each project.
• Reliability: Ability to deliver to deadlines, work to agreed timeframes and take accountability for deliverables. Maintain strong boundary relationships with clients and partners.
• Relevant qualifications: Understanding of areas such as social sustainability, supply chain management, labour and human rights, or other relevant field.
• Travel: Is able to travel domestically and internationally.

Application process

Interested applicants are requested to write to applications@embode.co.

The application should include the following: 

• A cover letter demonstrating how you meet the job profile and required competencies (no more than 2 pages)
• Curriculum Vitae (no more than 3 pages)
• Example of an unedited piece of writing
• At least three referees (these will not be contacted without prior consent)