Senior Manager, Social Protection

Fairtrade is the most recognized and trusted sustainability label, working to make trade fairer for people and planet.
For more than three decades, Fairtrade has been making an impact on the way trade works. We believe that every farmer and worker should have access to a better way of doing business, and a better way of living.
Fairtrade International is an independent non-profit organisation representing more than two million small-scale farmers and workers worldwide. It owns the FAIRTRADE Mark, a registered trademark that appears on more than 37,000 products. Beyond certification, Fairtrade International and its member organisations (three producer networks and 19 national Fairtrade organisations) partner with producers and businesses, engage consumers, and advocate for a fair and sustainable future.

Core responsibilities:

• Serve as the rights-based subject matter expert to reduce vulnerability and increase benefits to persons in or at risk of being in child labour, forced labour and gender-based violence.
• Lead the development of strategy and objectives of social compliance in relevant Fairtrade standards and project/programmatic responses involving vulnerable groups and provide technical advice and support Fairtrade members and Fairtrade producer Networks in the implementation.
• Maintain a global overview/mapping of all Fairtrade social compliance interventions (policies, frameworks, projects, etc.) as well as status of historical and ongoing cases.    
• Establish and Lead the Operational Committee on case management, comprised of three Producer Network Social Compliance Managers and organize quarterly shared learning sessions.
• Lead in the management and response of all social compliance cases directed to FI, working closely with the Act to Protect Executive Committee, Social Compliance officers across the system and FLOCERT, as guided by the Act to Protect policy. 
• Hold quarterly review meetings and consolidate quarterly case reports from Producer Networks to be reported to the Act to Protect Executive Committee and the Fairtrade International Board, as appropriate and prepare other ad hoc reports as required by stakeholders.
• Maintain the operational guidelines supporting the Act to Protect Policy; manage the roll-out of the implementation of the Act to Protect policy across the membership and facilitate training of members. This includes coordinating with other Fairtrade International units the development and rollout of system-wide reporting frameworks for social compliance cases arising from various contexts (in projects/programs, within research, etc.), taking into account existing frameworks already developed and the Act to Protect Policy. 
• Act as the link with the Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence Centre of Excellence to ensure alignment of policies and practices in the markets and with producers.
• Work closely with the External Relations Unit to facilitate communications to stakeholders, and to set up an efficient business flow of issues and cases from the system to the Act to Protect Executive Committee.
• Develop with Fairtrade Units, PNs and NFOs a portfolio of projects and capacity building programs to respond to concerns involving affected groups in value chains with a keen focus on gender, child rights, Youth and Inclusive Communities.
• Draft policy positions and support advocacy work that reflect Fairtrade's vision and objectives in our work with vulnerable groups.
• Keep up to date with relevant international and regional legislations and initiatives from the UN, governments, businesses and civil society organizations.
• Define a budget and a work plan with concrete deliverables and provide quarterly reports to the GCEO.

Professional experience:

• University degree in human rights, law or comparable qualifications.
• At least 5 years of relevant professional field experience in the legal knowledge and management of protection cases related to farm level human rights challenges, design and implementation of social sustainability strategies and programmes targeting smallholder producers and workers in countries of the global South;
• Demonstrated experience in programme or project management in agricultural commodity value chains, preferably in Fairtrade's core commodities and for vulnerable groups.
• Comprehensive work experience in diverse multi-stakeholder environments
• Demonstrated experience working with vulnerable groups in value chains from a rights based, inclusive perspective

 
Professional and personal competencies:

• Analytical and objective thinking - ability to maintain an objective overview in the face of operational complexity.
• Solution driven mindset - ability to bring practical solutions to solve existing challenges and build business models for implementation.
• Negotiation and advocacy skills; Facilitation of participatory processes within multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary settings - ability to inspire and build actionable common ground.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to interact with different environments and cultures, ranging from rural producers to officials representing government institutions.
• Alignment with Fairtrade values - Accountability, Respect, Integrity, Partnership.
• Fluent English, both spoken and written. Other languages are an additional advantage.

 

 

• Please consult www.fairtrade.net for more information on Fairtrade International and the Fairtrade system.
• We are actively recruiting for this role and reserve the right to close this advertisement at any time."

Please note that Fairtrade International is strict on compliance with the required qualification criteria mentioned above, and only those candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.