Human Rights and Responsible Sourcing Advisor

Who are we?

Proforest is a mission-driven organisation that provides a consultancy service working throughout agricultural supply chains supporting the production and sourcing of agricultural and forest commodities that deliver positive environmental and social outcomes for People, Nature and Climate. These cover issues such as protecting and restoring forests and natural ecosystems, respecting worker’s rights, advancing gender equality, and engaging with communities and indigenous people. 

What will you do?

The role sits in the Human Rights and Livelihoods (HR&L) technical team, and will mainly support the Responsible Sourcing Team, but also support on-going work including sector collaboration and taking action at landscape or jurisdictional level.

You’ll have the opportunity make an impact on a range of projects on how to implement human rights and livelihoods commitments in practice, and support companies to achieve positive impacts for people in their supply bases and supply chains. This will be achieved via working with colleagues to support companies in the implementation of human rights due diligence, including  policy commitments, human rights risk assessments, and actions within and beyond supply chains to address issues such as forced labour, child labour, OHS risks, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) land rights issues.

Key responsibilities include:

• Manage the day-to-day implementation and delivery of major client projects and/or workstreams to include budget, planning and project administration, as well as monitoring of deliverables in line with project requirements
• Provide technical support on human rights topics
• Support and deliver training and capacity building (internal and external) on key topics and practices in human rights and livelihoods and their application to responsible production and sourcing
• Represent Proforest in relevant international meetings and forums
• Maintain a clear understanding of the current HREDD legislative context, stakeholder pressures and best-practices relating to the sustainable management and sourcing of agricultural and forestry commodities, including industry collaboration groups (e.g., Consumer Good Forum, ISEAL, Palm Oil Collaborative Group, Soft Commodities Forum…) 

What is your profile?

We are looking for people who are passionate about taking on challenges at a global scale, someone who is self-motivated and committed to continuous improvement for themselves and the team in which they work. To be successful in the role you will have:

Essential:

• A relevant Masters’ level qualification or equivalent
• Knowledge of human rights issues in agricultural production and supply chains
• Knowledge of and/or applied experience of the implementation of the UNGPs’ Human Rights Due Diligence framework
• Good knowledge of the relevant international frameworks, conventions, and guidelines; and voluntary standards/certification schemes designed to address human rights relevant to agricultural commodity production
• Have relevant professional experience in a similar consultancy role, sustainability initiative,  private sector, or delivery-focused NGO working in, or closely with, large corporate buyers and international agricultural commodity supply chains
• Have strong project management skills
• The ability and willingness to travel for training, field work and meetings.

Desirable:

• Knowledge and experience of mandatory human rights due diligence legislation
• Experience and skills at developing and delivering training – on-line and in person
• Training and experience of gender equality mainstreaming, and/or building gender sensitivity into field work or programmes
• Knowledge and/or experience of the production practices of at least one of the commodities Proforest works on (palm oil, cocoa, sugar, beef, soy, rubber)
• Fluency in another relevant language: French, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malay, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin
• Experience of working within multi-stakeholder processes and/or facilitation of meetings and collaborative processes
• Experience of living and working in regions where Proforest has a strong presence (Latin America, West Africa and Southeast Asia).

Why should you work for us?

• Be part of a global organisation with a shared vision, working in offices across 8 countries with staff from more than 17 countries, speaking more than 40 languages?
• We care about work-life balance and offer 25 days plus public holidays (with an extra 2 days the following year should you take your well earnt holiday within the year)?
• We contribute to your pension (up to 8%)
• We support learning and development with a dedicated team to help you achieve your goals; we provide access to training for technical knowledge and competency skills?
• Access to an employee assistance programme?and other benefits
• Free fruit, tea and coffee in the office
• Life insurance and income protection insurance
• we organize regular in-person team gatherings, regional and international knowledge exchanges and social events.

Key information

• Location: Oxford, UK or Leiden, The Netherlands
• Salary: £38,000 - £44,000 or €43,000 - €50,000 depending on skills and experience 
• Requires eligibility to work in EU or UK
• Closing date: 11th of February (although please note we may close the advert early if we find our preferred candidate)

*Hybrid working: Proforest operates on a hybrid basis both in our Oxford and Leiden offices. We encourage staff to attend the office as often as possible to maximise interactions with colleagues but also appreciate individual circumstances and preferences. We ask that staff attend the office at least once a week and are happy to explore flexible working options.

We are committed to supporting diversity throughout Proforest globally, and ensuring an inclusive environment where all individuals can thrive and welcome applications from all.

To apply for the Oxford office please click here

To apply for the Leiden office please click here