Programme Manager for Natural Resources and Human Rights

May 16, 2020 | Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
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The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, an international non-profit organization tracking the human rights impacts of over 9000 companies worldwide, is seeking a Programme Manager to help implement and expand its work on responsible use of natural resources and climate justice. The successful candidate will lead on several groundbreaking projects to support a just transition to a low-carbon economy by advancing human rights in the renewable energy and broader natural resources sector.

Details:

Location: London, Berlin, Washington, DC, or New York

Salary: £41,000-£45,000, adjusted for location

Contract Type: Full-time, one-year contract (possibility of renewal, pending funding)

Closing Date: 01/06/2020

About the organization

The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre works to put human rights at the core of companies’ business models; to empower communities and workers to secure their rights and gain accountability for abuse; and to encourage governments to create the right regulation and incentives to facilitate these outcomes. We are a global organization committed to cooperation with diverse actors in our movement. We have more than 60 members of our Global Team based around the world who work with a wide network of human rights advocates.

Our three primary global approaches to deliver this vision are:

• Empowering human rights advocates in civil society, business, and governments to stimulate bold leadership for human rights in business;
• Strengthening corporate accountability, due diligence, and effective remedy for abuse;
• Building transparency of the advances, challenges, and abuse of human rights in business.

About the Position

The Programme Manager will lead the Resource Centre’s work on climate justice and human rights, with an emphasis on the renewable energy sector.

Our natural resources and climate justice programme aims to improve the human rights performance of extractive industries companies, while also supporting the urgently needed transition to a low-carbon economy in a way that respects human rights. As part of this programme, we have a strong emphasis on improving human rights in the renewable energy sector in order to ensure that our transition to a low-carbon economy is both fast and fair.

In order to achieve this, the programme aims to fulfill the following objectives:

• Empower civil society, in particular affected communities in the Global South, to hold renewable energy firms, mining companies (including those supplying renewable energy technology), and investors accountable to their human rights responsibilities and international standards.
• Encourage a race to the top among companies on human rights through development of tools and analysis that identify best and worst practice, and leaders and laggards among companies.
• Encourage investors to individually and collectively take action on improving these sectors’ approach to human rights

The Programme Manager will report to the Deputy Director & Head of the North America Office.

Specific Responsibilities

• Lead the implementation of our project focused on the human rights policies and performance of large renewable energy companies: The programme manager will lead in the dissemination and utilization of a benchmark that evaluates the human rights policy and performance of some of the largest global renewable energy companies to maximize its impact among companies, investors, governments, and civil society. This includes, but is not limited to, mapping out an impact strategy, developing messaging tools and products, organizing events (in person or online), giving presentations, and engaging with media.
• Develop our programme of work focused on renewable energy technology supply chains: The Resource Centre’s Transition Minerals Tracker monitors and analyses the human rights performance of companies producing the minerals most critical to the low-carbon transition. The Programme Manager will be responsible for developing the next phase of this work, including the expansion of the tracker and its utilization for impact.
• Manage our natural resources and climate portals, plus our extractives company dashboards: Our online resources are the go-to source of information about company human rights performance. The Programme Manager will support and advise our Regional Researchers in monitoring and posting the most critical global developments related to natural resources and human rights on our website, with a particular focus on the extractive industries, renewable energy, agriculture, and climate justice, and ensure our online content remains current, relevant, and well-organized. The Programme Manager may also develop and post content online as well.
• Supervise at least one Natural Resources Research Assistant: Oversee the work of a part-time research assistant responsible for data collection and analysis, website postings, and seeking company responses through our Company Response Mechanism.
• Actively participate in fundraising for the climate and natural resources programme: This includes working with the Development Team to identify and submit proposals to prospective funders; maintaining relationships with existing funders; and drafting required reporting for current project funders.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

Applicants must have:

• Human rights commitment and experience: Strong, demonstrable commitment to human rights. Minimum of three years of professional experience working to advance human rights or related social justice, including work specifically focused on the private sector.
• Knowledge of climate justice and/or natural resources and human rights: Professional experience specifically focused on natural resources or climate justice and human rights; experience related to renewable energy highly desirable.
• Strategic planning and analysis skills: Demonstrated experience developing and implementing a programme of work, and ability to demonstrate concrete outcome and impacts from that work.
• Representation skills: Able to foster productive, professional relationships with a broad range of contacts, including representatives of civil society, business and investors, and to represent the Resource Centre at high-level events and to external stakeholders, including funders.
• Research and analytical skills: Demonstrated experience conducting research and/or analysis of information, and presenting it in a compelling way, orally or in writing.
• Organisation and initiative: Able to work efficiently, and effectively to support the achievement of deliverables with high attention to detail; strong prioritization skills; highly self-motivated and comfortable working independently with strong empowerment and accountability, while maintaining communication with a global team in different time zones and geographies.

The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre is a diverse, global team. We are committed to providing equal opportunities for everyone regardless of their background and we acknowledge that people from certain backgrounds are under-represented in progressive movements. We particularly encourage applications from minority groups, people with disabilities, and people who identify as LGTBQ+.

To apply please click "Link to Job" below to download, complete and submit the application form. Kindly note that the application form is required; we cannot accept CVs.