Development Operations Officer at Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) London Offce is offering an exciting opportunity to work in a fast-paced environment, supporting our operations and contributing to our business development processes to increase funding revenue for our office and programmes, including our programme on contemporary forms of human slavery and human trafficking and our international advocacy work. You will be part of a small team, taking the lead on our day to day operations management, developing and strengthening our internal processes and procedures, supporting our team and networks, and increasing our operational efficiency, as well as supporting our fundraising efforts.

About CHRI

CHRI is an international, independent, non-governmental organisation working towards the practical realisation of human rights through research, advocacy, capacity building, and network engagement. We believe that the promotion and protection of human rights is the responsibility of governments but that the active informed participation of civil society is also vital to ensuring rule of law and the realisation of human rights.

CHRI has offices in London, Ghana, and New Delhi. Our global work focuses on the intersection of human rights, transparency and good governance. CHRI’s long established programmes in India where it is headquartered have evolved around Access to Justice (Police and Prison reforms) and Access to Information (Right to Information) with a new programme on media freedom.

CHRI’s work on Eradicating Contemporary Forms of Slavery and Human Trafficking is led by CHRI’s London office, which also founded and acts as the Secretariat for the Commonwealth 8.7 Network – a group of 60+ local civil society organisations from across the globe who share a common vision to eradicate contemporary forms of slavery and human trafficking.

To learn more about the work of CHRI London see our website. For more information on the Commonwealth 8.7 Network, see the network website.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

The post holder will be responsible for managing and optimising operations and organisational development processes. The desired professional will interface with key stakeholders such as the CHRI London Director, the London team, Commonwealth 8.7 Network management committee and members, donors, partners, and advisors.

The post holder will demonstrate excellent organisation skills and flexibility, and will be expected to provide general support to the office and our programme areas of work, including the following responsibilities:

1. Provide office operational support and oversee our contractual relationship with partners.
2. Support the Commonwealth 8.7 Network, and its Management Committee and working groups, as required. This can include providing support to development of communications tools (newsletters, website content), arranging activities and meetings.
3. Organise online and in-person events, including capacity building webinars, workshops and dialogues.
4. Contribute to the development of the organisational strategy and workplan, as required – both CHRI UK and CHRI global.
5. Support business development and fundraising activities, including drafting of project proposals and budgets.
6. Manage grants from institutional and private donors, including some budget monitoring and financial reporting.
7. Support the recruitment and induction of team members and interns.
8. Support the organisation of CHRI UK Executive Committee meetings, including the preparation of reports and documents.
9. Lead reporting and filing of accounts to the Charity Commission and Companies House as well as reporting processes to all other relevant institutions.
10. Review and respond to communications to general CHRI UK inboxes in a professional and timely way.
11. Support knowledge management for the 8.7 Network and for CHRI, including maintaining an organised document management system.
12. Maintain manual and computerised records & databases including mailings lists, in line with GDPR regulation.
13. Oversee the work of interns, as required, in the completion of the above.
14. Other general and operational support related to the successful development, delivery and assessment of CHRI UK’s workplan and programmes, as required – we are a small team and flexibility is needed!

Position in Organisation

• Reports to the Director of CHRI London
• Work closely with all team members

Person Specification

We are looking for a candidate with the following specifications and skills:

Essential:

• At least two to three years experience in nonprofit support and operations, including project administration and fundraising experience.
• Experience in the NGO or international sector or related field will be an added advantage.
• Highly organised with high attention to detail.
• Must be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, be flexible in your approach to work, and willing to get involved in a variety of different tasks related to your mandate.
• Experience in managing donor funds and ensuring compliance with donor requirements including budget preparation, monitoring and financial reporting, including experience managing relationships with institutional donors.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain effective and efficient acknowledgement management systems.
• Excellent communications skills, including writing and oral presentation skills in English.
• 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.
• Solution-focused with an ability to exercise judgement to solve problems.

Desirable:

• Experience working as part of an international, cross-cultural team
• Knowledge of GDPR regulation

Information for Applicants

Contract: One year, with anticipation of extension.

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

Location: London, UK. Mostly home based.