ThaiNGO

ISSARA INSTITUTE

Job Title:                 Business & Human Rights Officer - Japan

Duration:                 1 year, with possibility of extension

Responsible to:      Regional Director

Duty Station:          Bangkok, Thailand or Japan

BACKGROUND

Issara Institute is an independent non-profit organization based in Southeast Asia and the United States tackling human trafficking and forced labour from the lens of business and human rights.  The Institute was established in 2014 by a team of anti-trafficking experts coming out of the United Nations who created an alliance of private sector, civil society, and government partners committed to transformational, sustainable, worker-driven approaches to labour issues, especially those occurring in global supply chains.  It is staffed by leading regional and international experts in labour rights, business and human rights, and research and technology.

We believe that, together, we can transform the lives of tens of millions of workers through worker voice, partnership, and innovation - those sustainable systems driving more ethical labour recruitment and working conditions are vital to the future of workers individually and collectively, to equity and fairness across supply chains, and to sustainable poverty alleviation efforts.

POSITION SUMMARY

This position focuses on engaging businesses in Japan to become more socially responsible and competitive through strengthened labour and recruitment practices.  Issara takes an innovative approach to working with companies, leveraging data, technology, and partnership with global brands and retailers to help strengthen recruitment and labour management practices across supply chains.  This is a unique, exciting opportunity to work with a range of suppliers - on site and remotely/virtually - that are part of global supply chains.

The ideal candidate will be able to balance maintaining a relationship with Japanese businesses while advancing the rights and voice of migrant workers, primarily hired through the TITP recruitment process. The candidate will be a native Japanese speaker and have a solid understanding of social/labor issues. The individual should be analytical, organized, and able to work both on teams and independently.  Program management and private sector experience is preferred, as is training and facilitation ability. The individual must be able to professionally present business and human rights information to a range of Japan-based stakeholders, and be comfortable using data while upholding and advancing the rights of workers and the standards of international buyers. 

SCOPE OF WORK

The BHR Officer will play an integral role on the Business & Human Rights Team, which carries out Issara’s supply chain improvement-oriented work. The Officer will have a rare opportunity to work with leading Japanese businesses, helping them to strengthen their ethical and responsible sourcing and recruitment. 

Specific aspects of the scope of work include:

1. Inclusive Labour Monitoring (ILM), primarily with businesses in Strategic Partner supply chains

• Build and maintain productive relationships with Japanese businesses and industries in Strategic Partner supply chains.
• Work on labour-related issues, risks, and remediation, providing technical support to strengthen grievance mechanisms, labour recruitment processes, and other business systems related to human resource and production management. This includes ongoing coordination with Japanese businesses on worker voice and corrective actions, and monitoring of progress on remediation.
• Collect and analyse business information, in coordination with other Issara teams.
• Ensure up to date and comprehensive entry of information – related to ongoing business response and remediation and also business profile/background – in the ILM internal data system.
• Support supply chain reporting to Strategic Partners, including contributing to field reports sharing key findings from business workplace visits.
• Conduct workplace assessment interviews with management and human resource departments (HR) of local businesses , and conduct analysis of business information in coordination with other Issara teams.
• Coordinate and manage the logistics of field visits with business partners, taking the lead on scheduling meetings and coordinating follow-up.
• Support Worker Satisfaction Surveys (WSS) – coordinate with businesses and other Issara teams on organization, conduct data collection with workers, and support analysis and reporting of results to businesses.

2. Ethical/Responsible Recruitment

• Project manage Responsible Recruitment work plans as a part of supplier engagement, ensuring timely scheduling of events and production of deliverables.
• Coordinate with Japanese businesses on ongoing recruitment of TITP workers and recruitment practice, and share updates and analysis with Issara teams in a documented and organized manner.
• As part of ongoing work with suppliers, closely tied to ILM - collect, analyze, and discuss ongoing recruitment practice with Japan businesses.  This includes supplier introductions, management interviews, and streamlined diagnostics with Japan businesses and recruitment agencies.
• Coordinate closely with other Issara teams on ethical recruitment information and work plans for suppliers and ongoing deliverables.
• Support Recruitment Assessment surveys – coordinate with businesses and other Issara teams on organization, conduct data collection with workers, and support analysis and reporting of results to businesses.

3. Supplier Engagement

• Organize a variety of supplier engagement activities, including workplace assessments, worker satisfaction surveys, recruitment systems surveys, tailored training, and coordination of outreach and training activities with workers and interpreters.
• Develop a clear work plan for the Issara Academy and all training and resource development for capacity building of Japan businesses, and ensure deliverables against that work plan.
• Coordinate the creation of new training material for the Issara Academy, including facilitators guides.
• Conduct training on business and human rights for company management, HR staff, line managers, supervisors, and others.
• Support the creation of resource materials for local business partners, including written and online products covering relevant legal and policy information, analysis of ongoing trends, and summaries of main Issara products and analysis.
• Conduct webinars for multi-stakeholder audiences, including business, government, industry associations, CSOs, etc.

4. Analysis, Reporting and Coordination

• Coordinate with working level Japanese government officers on an ongoing basis, confirmation of government policies, and practical coordination on remediation cases.
• Participate in relevant external events on BHR issues, across  sectors, and provide relevant information, analysis and translation to all Issara teams.
• Ensure knowledge management of all relevant business and industry information, including translations of main government policies and other relevant analysis, and industry trends.
• Support ongoing analysis of business information, both publicly available and through Issara’s ILM data system, and development of external analysis and research products.

REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERTISE

We have a lean, dynamic, seasoned team that is committed to change, innovation, and impact.  We are conscientious, hold a high standard of care for the people we serve, and understand that we have to be able to work effectively with partners spanning the largest multinational corporations to the smallest grassroots CBOs. Our work ecosystem is multicultural, respectful, and energetic, whether we are working on tasks in teams, or working alone from home. The Business & Human Rights Officer should have:

• Minimum 6-8 years of working experience from either the private sector, government, and/or international or national organizations (NGOs).
• Master’s degree in international development, business, area/social sciences, human rights, and/or law.
• Fluency in English with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Be a Japanese native speaker.
• Strong account management and project management.
• Experience working in a professional, multicultural environment.
• Must be able to handle confidential data with discretion.
• Strong facilitation and training skills, be comfortable with presentation and public speaking and be committed to supporting both local businesses and their employees.
• Willing to travel within Japan and regionally.
• Desirable skills and experience include business and human rights; supply chain and ethical sourcing; sustainability; CSR; business management / consulting.

If you are interested in applying for this position, please send a CV, the names and contact details of three references, and a cover letter explaining your interest in the position and relevant expertise to admin@issarainstitute.org.

Please note a cover letter specific to motivation and relevance for this position is required for consideration.