Global Theme Lead Forced Labor

The Rainforest Alliance is an international nonprofit organization working to build a future in which nature is protected and biodiversity flourishes, where farmers, workers, and communities prosper, and where sustainable land use and responsible business practices are the norm. We envision a world where people and nature thrive in harmony. In January 2018, the Rainforest Alliance merged with UTZ, a global program and label for sustainable farming.

Position summary

The objective of the Global Theme Lead Forced Labor is to advise on forced labor and related labor issues to develop and implement policies, tools and systems to tackle these. It is the Global Theme Lead Forced Labor’s goal to support the organization in creating a world where farming communities, supportive governments and companies protect workers from work that is coercive and harmful. Vulnerable workers (e.g. women, migrants and temporary) should have access to training opportunities, grievance mechanisms and to decent work including good working conditions and fair recruitment. Farming families should be empowered to address poverty and (gender) inequality and safeguard natural resources for future generations. Vulnerable workers should be empowered to defend their labor rights.

The Global Themes Lead Forced labor will be part of the Global Themes and Partnerships department.

Responsibilities

• Actively engage in thought leadership, advocacy, strategy development, global engagement and leadership;
• Ensure strategic ambitions are embedded in sector, regional and advocacy strategies and that they are consistently applied across the organization;
• Support of the regions with regional strategy, project development and implementation and developing technical capacity on priority themes;
• Together with the Markets team (tailored programs), engage and support companies in the development and implementation of thematic strategies;
• Provide technical advice, evidence and lessons learned and feed back across the organization to regions, supply chains, markets, re-imaging certification and communications;
• Provide input and guidance to donor and partnerships development;
• Ensure continuous learning, knowledge management, coordination of communities of practices, awareness raising and technical capacity building across the organization;
• In coordination with advocacy and partnerships teams, represent the organization at events and conferences.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or PhD in social studies or international development;
• 5-10 years of experience related to promoting adherence to core international labor standards or defending human rights through research and projects, preferably in a developing country;
• Experience in advocating with governments, companies and/or civil society on issues related to labor standards;
• Fluency in English, both verbal and written. Additional languages are an asset.

What we offer

Employment is based upon 32-40 hours/week for a period of 1 year. Preferred location is Amsterdam or New York City. This position is open to applicants of all nationalities, however, we can only consider candidates who have, may get or do not need a work and residency permit for the respective location. Starting date is foreseen as soon as possible.

How to apply?

Please send your application (max. 1-page motivation, max 2-page resume) no later than 21 October 2018 to hr@utz.org mentioning ‘Global Theme Lead Forced Labor’ in the subject line. For questions about this position, please contact Ginette Spinhoven via hr@utz.org.