Partnership Manager – Labour Rights At The Better Cotton Initiative

Starting Date: ASAP/Mid-Month December/January 2024/25

Contract type: Full-time and open-ended

Salary: GBP 57’400/year if in London; CHF 95’450/year if in Geneva, INR 3’042’400/year if in Delhi or PKR 6’773’600/year if in Lahore, commensurate with relevant experience and skills

Location: London, Delhi, Lahore or for Swiss residents only: Geneva, Switzerland

Application closing date: 11 November 2024 at 23:59 UK time

Please note that the applications to be reviewed on a rolling basis and recruitment will be closed when the suitable candidate is identified. We encourage interested candidates to apply ASAP.

Reports to: Director of Farm Programmes and Partnerships

About the Job

Better Cotton is a voluntary sustainability standard organisation, but we are more than just a standard. Our role is also to build the capacity of farming communities worldwide by promoting socially and environmentally sustainable cotton growing practices. A significant part of this involves meeting and exceeding the Decent Work requirements of our Better Cotton Standard. Today, over 2 million farmers participate in Better Cotton’s programmes globally.

In this role, you will be part of the Global Programmes & Partnerships team, supporting our programme partners to achieve this ambitious objective and helping Better Cotton producers improve their labour practices. As part of the global partnership team, you will work closely with country teams to translate Better Cotton Standard requirements into context-appropriate action plans and set producers on the path towards continuous improvement.

More specifically, this role involves:

• Leading capacity-building initiatives, provide technical guidance, and support programmatic alignment at both global and country levels.

Responsibilities

We are seeking a motivated Partnerships Manager – Labour Rights to join our Global Programmes & Partnerships team. In this role, you will:

Standard Implementation Support

• Provide technical support to country teams and programme partners to ensure the effective implementation of the Decent Work Principle of the Better Cotton Standard (Principles & Criteria) aiming at improving the working conditions of workers and farmers across smallholder, medium and large farm contexts.
• Collaborate with country teams and programme partners to ensure a shared understanding of the Decent Work Principle of the Better Cotton Standard.
• Provide technical assistance on local adaptation of the Better Cotton Standard through tailored capacity-strengthening strategies such as trainings, workshops, and webinars.
• Guide the design and alignment of capacity strengthening strategies on decent work at the global and country levels.
• Develop and test implementation guidance materials through consultations, pilots, and engagement with experts and partners.
• Ensure cross-functional coordination and organisational learning related to decent work and capacity-strengthening efforts.
• Develop frameworks for monitoring and evaluating decent work initiatives.
• Coordinate regular reporting and ensure that organisational learning informs programmatic improvements.

Country Programmes Support

• Support country teams with implementing decent work components, addressing labour issues, and integrating gender as a cross-cutting theme.
• Build relationships with programme partners to assess needs, strengthen capacity, and develop shared solutions.
• Assist in operationalising the “assess and address” approach to labour monitoring, scaling best practices across diverse country contexts.
• Conduct needs assessments and develop country-level strategies/roadmaps to enhance decent work.
• Align fundraising objectives with country programme needs and decent work challenges.
• Explore new opportunities to enhance the implementation of the Better Cotton Standard, including innovations to improve working conditions and livelihoods.
• Provide technical input for funding proposals and contribute to project management for secured grants.
• Responsible for integrating labour rights considerations into policies and operational strategies, working closely with Better Cotton’s global programmes & partnerships team members to support new country start-up processes, revision of partnership agreements as well as definition of exit strategies.

Partner Due Diligence and Performance Management

• Assess the capacities of programme partners to meet Better Cotton’s due diligence requirements with regards to ensuring adequate working conditions of their employees, especially field staff and creating capacity strengthening action plans to address any gaps identified.
• Ensure an understanding of these issues and the need to take ownership for effectively addressing them at the organisational level, assisting in establishing or improving their organisational systems to address potential rights violations faced by their staff and external community members affected by their business operations through effective grievance mechanisms;
• Assist in partners’ due diligence from a labour rights perspective, ensuring gaps are addressed with corrective actions.
• Support programme partners in implementing labour rights recommendations, including by providing training and technical guidance. Oversee their progress in line with defined deliverables.
• Ensure that programme partnership agreements reflect commitments to human and labour rights protection. Would add in supporting with the development of partnership management tools including partnership agreements and relevant annexes to ensure that labour rights requirements are appropriately incorporated.

Complaints Management

• Manage complaints related to labour rights violations submitted to Better Cotton, ensuring timely investigation and resolution in collaboration with Better Cotton’s Complaints Management focal points at global and country levels.
• Oversee investigations and follow up on corrective actions for responsible case closure.
• Ensure that appropriate learning takes place following the closure of investigations (including mapping locally available support services and external grievance mechanisms)
• Develop guidelines detailing appropriate follow up and response to different types of labour and human rights concerns depending on severity and other criteria.

Profile

This role requires a proactive, detail-oriented professional with a passion for advancing social sustainability and a proven track record of implementing human rights and labour standards in a development or agricultural context.

The selected candidate will have the following attributes, skills, knowledge, and experience:

Attributes

• Self-starter with ability to work with limited direction
• Excellent interpersonal skills, able to handle difficult interviews
• Excellent organisational skills, ability to think ahead and anticipate needs
• Ability to handle sensitive information confidentially
• Ability to lead and inspire others
• Ability to remain calm under pressure
• Willingness to travel internationally (15%) of time

Essential

• In-depth understanding of decent work and labour rights.
• University degree at a master’s level, or equivalent higher education qualification, in human rights, international development, sustainability or relevant field.
• At least eight years of progressive experience working on decent work or labour rights projects/programmes, preferably in farming or agriculture commodities supply chain.
• Familiarity with monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) frameworks related to social impact.
• Strong experience in managing multi-stakeholder projects, particularly across diverse geographic regions.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with programme partners and external stakeholders.
• Skilled in managing partner due diligence and corrective actions related to human and labour rights.
• Experience in handling complaints management and coordinating investigations into labour rights issues.
• Experience in supporting grant proposals and managing donor-funded projects. Understanding of global fundraising landscapes, including knowledge partnerships and innovation grants.
• Experience of working with people of diverse backgrounds and cultures.

Desirable

• Knowledge of the agricultural sector is desirable.
• French language skills highly desirable.

What we offer

• Competitive Salary
• Hybrid Working: Enjoy a flexible balance of office and home life with 2-3 days per week in our offices.
• Work from Anywhere: The option to work remotely from anywhere in the world for up to one month each year.
• Flexible Hours: Work around core hours of 10 am to 4 pm, giving you greater control over your schedule.
• Continuous Learning & Development: Opportunities for professional growth and skill enhancement through tailored learning programs.
• Pension Scheme: Secure your future with our comprehensive pension plan.
• Generous Annual Leave: 25 days paid leave, plus 8-9 bank holidays and an additional 3 discretionary days off during the Christmas/New Year period.
• Enhanced Parental Benefits: Supportive policies for those starting or expanding their families.
• Positive Workplace Culture: Be part of a warm, inclusive environment where your contributions are truly valued.
• Impactful Work: A chance to make a real difference and leave a lasting impact in your role.

Working arrangements

The position is full-time (40 hours per week). Better Cotton offers flexible working, with core hours being 10 am – 4 pm. The position will require international travel (15% of time or 8 -10 weeks in a year).

About Better Cotton

Better Cotton is the world’s largest cotton sustainability programme. Our 200+ colleagues of 37+ nationalities are united by a shared passion and commitment to achieving the Better Cotton mission: to help cotton communities survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment. Through our network of field-level partners a quarter of the world’s cotton is now grown under the Better Cotton Standard. We have united the industry’s stakeholders behind our efforts, from ginners and spinners to brand owners, civil society organisations and governments. Everyone who cares about cotton and its sustainable future can now be part of something better.

About our Values

The post holder will be expected to operate in line with our workplace values which are:

• Trustworthy (including honest, transparent, credible)
• As having Integrity (including responsible, authentic)
• Positive (including problem-solving, pragmatic)
• Engaging (including adaptable, inclusive, holistic)
• Daring (including courageous, innovative, game-changing)

Being you @ Better Cotton

Better Cotton is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to good practice and transparency in the management of natural, human, and financial resources.

We have a zero-tolerance approach to any attitudes or behaviours that put children or adults at risk of harm. Safeguarding incidents are acts of serious misconduct and are grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including, dismissal and referral to relevant authorities for criminal prosecution. Therefore, all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks.