Advisor
Effective Date: January 2024
Type of Employment: Full-time employee
Starting Salary Range:
London £55,500 – £67,000
Amsterdam €59,000 – €72,000 (annual gross, inclusive of holiday allowance)
New York $86,000 – $96,000
Exact compensation will vary based on skills, experience, and location.
Location: With a preference for the UK or the Netherlands, Shift will consider candidates located in the UK, Netherlands, or US with existing permission to work in the relevant location. All Shift team members work remotely, with occasional in-person engagement.
About Shift
Shift is the leading center of expertise on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Shift’s global team of experts works across all continents and sectors to challenge assumptions, push boundaries and redefine corporate practice in order to build a world where business gets done with respect for people’s dignity. Shift is a non-profit, mission-driven organization headquartered in New York City. Visit shiftproject.org and shift-project to learn more about our work.
The Role
Playing an essential role in our small, dynamic team, these positions will be responsible for carrying out human rights work with project partners from business, financial institutions, standard setters and civil society. As an Advisor, you will work closely with colleagues throughout the organization on engagements that will span the breadth of our work, with a focus on engaging business and financial institutions to advance meaningful implementation of the UN Guiding Principles.
We will rely on you to be curious, proactive and confident. You will be able to identify and act on strategic opportunities to strengthen Shift’s impact within project relationships and beyond, to push the boundaries of practice in implementing the UNGPs and to drive better outcomes for affected stakeholders.
What You Will Do
Following an initial onboarding period of about 6-9 months, focused on deepening your knowledge of the UN Guiding Principles and Shift’s methods, tools and resources, and working in a support role to other advisory team members, you will:
- Act as the lead and/or in a support role on a range of initiatives to advance implementation of the UN Guiding Principles with diverse partners, including governments, companies, investors and civil society organizations
- Lead and/or support the delivery of tailored workshops, including capacity-building workshops, with project partners and other stakeholders on applying the concepts in the UN Guiding Principles
- Design, support and/or undertake engagements to build the capacity of businesses & financial institutions to implement the responsibility to respect human rights
- Facilitate gap analysis evaluation processes with business and financial institutions including reviewing internal systems and diagnosing areas for enhanced alignment with the UNGPs
- Draft project reports and other outputs tailored to different audiences
- Project manage individual partnerships or projects to help ensure they are delivered on time, on budget and to a high quality with maximum impact
- Conduct tailored research in support of a range of initiatives
- Be a brand ambassador for Shift in a variety of business and human rights relationships
- Work collaboratively with the rest of the Shift team to drive the overall impact of our work
- Travel, as needed, to conduct engagements in a wide range of settings
What You Bring to the Team
Required:
- 7+ years of professional experience, including 5+ years working for or engaging with companies, financial institutions, investors, and/or policymakers on human rights-related issues in an applied context
- Experience engaging in business, policy-making and standard-setting processes and an understanding of how to influence them effectively through multistakeholder, consensus-building conversations
- Experience working with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in an applied context
- Confidence and maturity in engaging with business and/or financial practitioners specifically
- Comfort presenting to groups, speaking in public and facilitating workshops and an ability to adapt communication style to different audiences
- Strong research skills and analytical ability combined with the ability to synthesize and explain information clearly and compellingly
- Strong organizational skills, attention to detail and demonstrated project management experience, including managing project budgets, developing and delivering on time-bound plans and managing the involvement of colleagues and external partners
- Ability to work independently and also collaboratively with a small team, and comfort with adapting to changing situations
- High level of self-awareness in a professional setting and an openness to feedback
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
- Existing permission to work in the UK, Netherlands, or US
- The appetite and ability for international travel
Desirable:
- Experience training or facilitating learning processes with companies and/or other entities, particularly on topics related to human rights
- Experience working for or with a financial institution
- Language skills in addition to English, especially Spanish and/or French
What Shift Can Offer You
This position offers a competitive nonprofit salary and benefits package pegged to the location of the successful candidate.
Benefits Include:
- Health care: Coverage in line with UK or Dutch law for UK- or Netherlands-based employees; full individual coverage for US-based employees through Shift’s healthcare plan
- Paid Leave: 4 weeks per year for all full-time employees plus official national holidays in the candidate’s location and a two-week office closure at the end of each year
- Paid sick leave and parental leave
- Retirement account: employer contribution of 5% p/a
- Remote work support package, including support for co-working space
How to Apply
Please submit a 1-page (maximum) letter of interest and CV for consideration. Short-list candidates will be asked to provide a relevant writing sample; finalists will be asked to provide three professional references.
Deadline for Applications: COB October 20, 2023 Eastern Time
Initial interviews are expected to be carried out the week of October 30.
At Shift, we believe we can most effectively accomplish our goals with a team that brings a variety of skills, expertise, and life experiences to the work we do every day. We aim to foster a welcoming environment that respects each person’s perspective and values each person for who they are.
Shift encourages and will consider applications from all qualified candidates without regard to age, disability status, gender expression, gender identity, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status or any characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
Shift is committed to maintaining a respectful workplace that is free from all forms of harassment, including in all engagements conducted on behalf of Shift.
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