Natural Resources Researcher At Business and Human Rights Resource Centre

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre is seeking an experienced researcher to contribute to our work on human rights along the renewable energy value chain and support our work on contributing to a just and equitable energy transition.

Details

Reports to: Programme Manager, Natural Resources

Salary: GBP 30,000-35,000 depending on experience and location, plus 5% pension

Closing date: 20 February 2022

Interview Dates: 1-2 March

Location: Remote Europe, MENA or Africa. Location in London or Berlin an advantage.

Contract type: Full time, open-ended

Annual leave: 24 days/year

Start: April 2022

About the organization

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre works with diverse allies and partners to put human rights at the core of companies’ business models and end abuse; to empower communities and workers to secure their rights and gain accountability for abuse; and to encourage governments to create the right regulation and incentives to uphold human rights in business. We are a global organization that is rooted in five continental regions. We have a diverse Global Team of 80, based in 20 locations around the world. The Global Team members work with a rich network of human rights advocates in ten languages. Our work covers the full gamut of human rights in business, with three thematic programmes: responsible natural resource use and a just transition; accountable digital technologies; and workers’ rights in global supply chains. These are strengthened by three cross cutting approaches: civic freedoms and human rights defenders; corporate legal accountability; and racial and gender justice.

We place strong emphasis on our alliances with grassroots organizations facing often profound inequalities of power in protecting their rights; alongside our ability to influence responsible business, investors, and governments for transformative change.

This post is in the responsible natural resource use and a just transition team. Our programme is focused on supporting a fast and fair transition to clean energy and zero carbon economies. We seek to promote human rights across the renewable energy value chain. We are focused on transition minerals, and the installation of renewable energy where the fast transition is increasingly endangered by companies’ poor human rights record, the lack of investor due diligence, and the absence of adequate regulation.

About the position

The successful candidate will lead and support strategic research and analysis on the renewable energy value chain, investors, and asset owners. This will include generating new insights and propositions for a more just transition through the analysis of structural causes of corporate abuse in these supply chains.

As Natural Resources Researcher, you will have excellent analysis and communications skills, a strong understanding of and personal commitment to working on a just energy transition, with emphasis on key rights, and a track-record of working with networks and building close relationships.

Responsibilities

The Natural Resources Researcher will have a particular focus on investors, across the renewable energy value chain, from transition minerals to renewable energy and end use. Responsibilities will include:

· Conduct research: design and deliver high impact research and analyses that assess company abuses, policy, and practice in renewable energy sectors, particularly through our guide for renewable energy investors and our Renewable Energy and Human Rights Benchmark. Lead in further advances in research along the renewable energy value chain, including research on transition minerals, supply chains, and scoping potential work on climate justice for the theme.

· Conduct outreach and engage constructively with companies and investors: take up allegations of abuse with company HQs to seek responses to allegations of human rights abuse, conduct follow-up outreach for remedy and build relationships to enhance human rights due diligence; engage with companies and investors on the salient risks of the sector and coordinate workshops, roundtables, and knowledge sharing spaces, bringing together various stakeholders.

· Build transparency and accountability with partners: support regional researchers and our global network of external partners to strengthen our research process, and to strategically identify allegations of abuse for deeper-dive investigations and coordinated advocacy.

· Contribute to organisational and natural resource strategies: ­­ With allies and colleagues, build strategies for own areas of responsibility and support the Natural Resources team to implement our strategy across all our programmes and regions.

· Develop high quality written and digital materials: Write compelling content for our website and outreach, including case summaries, blog posts, briefing notes and papers, and articles to be submitted to relevant media outlets.

Essential skills and experience

· Natural Resources commitment and expertise: Strong experience working on the broad natural resource sector and/or environmental justice issues with experience including renewable energy supply chain expertise and/or investor engagement highly desirable. At least three years’ experience in project delivery, policy research, campaigning, or advocacy in this area. A clear understanding, vision, and strategic insight on human rights in business and the global economy. Global South experience is an advantage.

· Research & analytical skills: Strong experience in researching and writing briefings preferably in the field of renewable energy or natural resources. Skill and enthusiasm to deliver compelling evidence and analysis, handle big data sets, and design rigorous methodologies regarding human rights issues. Able to search and identify relevant information online and offline; adept at undertaking systematic data collection to a high level of detail and accuracy; ability to generate compelling and feasible propositions for change in policy and practice that drive systematic change

· Communications: proven effective communication to a broad range of audiences, through a range of channels (briefings, benchmarks, blogs, dashboards, etc.), especially on digital platforms.

· Partnership: Commitment to, and at least three years’ experience in working with diverse international partners. Experience working with Indigenous communities or Human Rights Defenders in the natural resource /environment and land context highly desirable.

· Strategic thinking: A strong understanding of natural resources and human rights in a global context is essential. The ability to grasp, analyse, summarise, and present complex information coherently to external audiences is required. Demonstrated experience thinking critically about impact is required.

· Values: Strong, demonstrated commitment to natural resources and human rights, and a just transition. Sharing the values and ethos of the Resource Centre.

· Team player: Experience of working in high performing multi-cultural and international teams, working with colleagues to deliver high impact programs. Experience with remote, inter-disciplinary, and culturally diverse teams.

· Organisation and initiative: Able to work efficiently and methodically to support achievement of deliverables; strong prioritization skills; self-motivated and comfortable working independently within agreed framework while maintaining communication with a global team in different time zones and geographies.

· Communication Skills: Excellent English language skills. Strong speaking skills and experience representing organisations to external audiences. Powerful writing skills and ability to synthesise research and data for effective communication. French or Spanish desirable.

The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre is a diverse, global team. We are committed to providing equal opportunities for everyone regardless of their background and we acknowledge that people from certain backgrounds are under-represented in this area of work and seek to directly address that through our hiring practices. We particularly encourage applications from women, BAME applicants, people with disabilities, and people who identify as LGTBQ+.