The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) is offering an exciting opportunity to work in a fast-paced environment, supporting a global team to achieve its ambitions in combatting contemporary forms of human slavery and ending human rights abuses in the Commonwealth. You will be part of a small team, providing flexible support to our projects and programmes, gaining exposure to a range of interesting and demanding areas of work.

About CHRI

CHRI is an independent, international non-governmental organisation working for the practical realisation of human rights through research, advocacy, and mobilisation since 1987. We have offices in London, New Delhi and Accra.

CHRI focuses on the intersection of human rights, transparency, and good governance, with programmes on access to justice, access to information, eradicating contemporary forms of slavery and human trafficking, freedom of expression, and building the capacity of small States to access UN human rights mechanisms. CHRI’s London office leads research and advocacy work focusing on the eradication of contemporary forms of slavery and human trafficking (SDG Target 8.7). CHRI London founded the Commonwealth 8.7 Network a global network of 70+ civil society organisations that share a common vision to eradicate contemporary forms of slavery and human trafficking.

The Post

This position would suit someone who has a wide variety of skills with plenty of energy, enthusiasm and a desire to help shape the direction of the organisation and who is committed to improving the rights of those who are most marginalised.

This is an exciting opportunity to work in a dynamic and highly motivated team, and in a friendly and flexible work environment. If you are interested in the post and believe you meet our requirements, we look forward to hearing from you.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

The post holder will demonstrate excellent organisation and flexibility, and will be expected to support the design and delivery of project and programmes, in particular our programme on eradicating contemporary forms of slavery, and lead the overall coordination of the Commonwealth 8.7 Network. This will include the following responsibilities:

1. Lead the overall coordination of the Commonwealth 8.7 Network on behalf of CHRI, which performs a Secretariat role to the network.
2. Provide support to the Network’s Management Committee and the 8.7 Network Working Groups that drive the operations of the Network.
3. Lead the Network’s outreach programmes including identifying and engaging  potential partners and networks whose work aligns with the Network’s vision and mission.
4. Support Network membership engagement, including the receipt, review and due diligence related to membership applications, reaching out to potential new members, and regularly updating the Network’s membership database.
5. Lead the  development and implementation of a social media/communication strategy for the Network working with the  Communications and Capacity Building Working Group, and oversee social media communications, web design and website management using Wix.
6. Support and coordinate Network’s information/knowledge management.
7. Lead on the compilation and dissemination of The 8.7  Quarterly Newsletter, working with the Advocacy and Awareness Raising Working Group.  
8. Facilitate and promote learning and collaboration between members, design and delivery of capacity building workshops and webinars, including organisation of virtual webinars.
9. Coordinate logistical support such as booking flights and hotels for travel, processing payments, booking rooms and organising meetings etc, for in person workshops, as needed.
10. Contribute to the drafting of research reports, advocacy statements and submissions for the UN and other stakeholders by liaising with and collating data from 8.7 Network members.

Support advocacy and campaign related activities including coordinating Network members’ inputs and contributions to UN human rights mechanisms and advocacy on key international dates.

11. Organise, attend and participate in the Network’s Management Committee, Working Groups and Annual General meetings, and oversee the drafting of minutes as required.
12. Support business development and fundraising to support the Network’s activities, including drafting of project proposals and budgets.
13. Research and write reports and correspondence, including reports to the CHRI Executive Committee.
14. Co-ordinate the recruitment, selection and induction of CHRI interns, and manage interns from time to time.
15. Provide office administration and operational support, including managing post and email correspondence, and overseeing our contractual relationship with partners.
16. Develop and update office policies and guidelines, as required.
17. Organise, attend and participate in team meetings, including chairing of meetings.
18. Maintain the Network’s manuals, computerised records and databases including mailings lists, in line with GDPR regulation.
19. Provide general support to the office and other general duties as required – we are a small team and flexibility is needed!

Position in Organisation:

• Reports to the Director of CHRI London

• Works closely with all team members

Person Specification

With impeccable organisational skills, you will be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, will be flexible in your approach and willing to get involved in a variety of different tasks on a daily basis.

Essential:

Experience:

• At least three years of solid experience providing support to a fast-paced global team, in the area of human rights or development
• Demonstrated experience building membership networks and proven relationship management experience, including member engagement
• Demonstrated understanding of contemporary forms of slavery and human trafficking issues
• Coordinating and strengthening civil society networks/coalitions
• Some project management experience
• Maintaining document management systems
• Experience of monitoring and evaluation and measuring results
• Acting as the first point of contact for an organisation
• Scheduling meetings and/or event management, including using digital platforms (Google Calendar, Zoom)
• Organisation of events and travel
•  Experience working as part of an international, cross-cultural team

Skills:

• Digital communication skills, including writing content, and use of social media to promote messages
• Excellent communications skills, including written and spoken fluency in English
• Strong inter-cultural understanding and experience working with those of different backgrounds, cultures and experiences
• A flair for learning new skills and quickly adapting to new ways of working
• Ability to work methodically and independently while knowing when to report upwards
• Ability to organise, prioritise, and deliver to a high standard under time constraints and pressure
• Able to manage interns and empower individuals
• Solution-focused with an ability to exercise judgement to solve problems

Desirable:

Education:

• A degree in human rights, international development or related area
• Working knowledge of other languages would be an advantage

Experience:

• Some campaigning experience
• Knowledge of GDPR regulation useful

We welcome candidates who are currently eligible to reside and work in the UK.

Contract: One year, with anticipated extension

Days: 4-5 days per week. Flexible working hour options will be considered.

Location:  London, UK. Mostly home based.

To Apply: To apply for this position, please forward a one page covering letter and your resume (CV) to London@humanrightsinitiative.org by 16 October 2022.. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to reply well before the deadline.

Please include in your covering letter:

• a summary of your education and professional qualifications,
• the number of years of work experience you have,
• how you meet the requirements of this post and
• why you are interested in this position.

Please write ‘Application: ‘Partnerships and Engagement Coordinator’ in the subject line of your email.

Due to the number of applications we expect to receive, only those who are shortlisted will be contacted. We thank you in advance for your application.