Position description

Details:

• Salary: starting from £29,000 pro-rata; commensurate with experience
• Location: London or Berlin preferred, other Europe-based candidates may be considered
• Contract type: One year, fixed-term contract 3 days/ 21 hours per week (Monday-Wednesday, fixed)
• Closing date: 5pm BST Monday, 19 April

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, an international non-profit organisation tracking the human rights impacts of over 19,000 companies worldwide, is seeking a Weekly Update Editor with excellent writing skills, sharp news sense and keen prioritisation capabilities to join our growing team.

The Weekly Update is the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre’s flagship weekly news bulletin distributed to 15,000+ opinion leaders worldwide, including people in the media, business, investment firms, the United Nations and other international organisations, governments and NGOs. We seek an editor to be responsible for the collection and curation of the editorial content, which includes liaison with our global team to understand and prioritise content related to the organisation’s strategic priorities. We seek a keen copy writer who will streamline our processes, maximise the impact of our work and keep improving the Weekly Update so it delivers delight to our committed and diverse audiences.

The successful candidate must have a commitment to human rights plus an understanding of the human rights and business field. They will bring enthusiasm, relevant knowledge and excellent teamworking experience to the role. The position sits within our global communications team and reports to the Head of Communications. We are a small, high-performing team supporting the communication of the work of our global team and partners fighting to achieve justice and remedies for victims of abuse. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre is a diverse, global organisation. We are committed to providing equal opportunities and particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian, Latinx and other minorities, people with disabilities, and people who identify as LGBTQ+.

About the organisation

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre works with partners to put human rights at the core of companies’ business models; 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 facilitate these outcomes. We are a global organisation committed to cooperation with diverse actors in our movement. We have more than 60 members of our global team based around the world who work with a wide network of human rights advocates.

With our global network of allies, our primary global approaches to deliver this vision are:

• Working to achieve equality of power in negotiations which further human rights between workers and communities, with business and governments;
• Use the evidence and data we generate to positively influence decision-makers including business, investors and national and regional governments
• Strengthen corporate accountability, due diligence and effective remedy for abuse;
• Build transparency of the advances, challenges and abuse of human rights in business.

Responsibilities

• Liaising with Resource Centre global team members and external partners to develop compelling and timely Weekly Update content.
• Drafting, editing and publishing the Weekly Update, including: identifying and prioritising important stories; making editorial decisions about content; proofreading and redrafting language for clarity and coherence; formatting and designing the Update for ease of readability; gaining sign-off from a director; and tracking content over time to ensure broad and representative coverage.
• Carry out initial design and collection for the Spanish Weekly Update (Spanish skills desired but not required).
• Monitoring readership, open and click-through figures to identify trends and opportunities to improve engagement.
• Providing regular feedback to Weekly Update contributors; responding to questions and comments about the Update; and working to continually improve the consistency and quality of inputs.
• Contributing to ongoing thinking about the design and format of the Weekly Update, how to maximise its utility to readers, and how to raise less covered stories from around the world
• Receiving and posting listings for events and jobs related to business and human rights on our website
• Posting articles concerning business and human rights issues on our website to create content for our Weekly Update.
• Other responsibilities: Take on other responsibilities as necessary within the communications team for the success and continued development of the organisation.

Qualifications

Skills/Qualifications

Required:

• The right to work in the United Kingdom/ Germany (must have this before applying)
• A minimum of 3 years’ work experience in an office setting
• Fluent in English: reading/writing/speaking and excellent spelling, punctuation and grammar
• Excellent attention to detail
• Experience editing written publications, ideally online
• Basic knowledge of global human rights issues, and a willingness to support the aims of the organisation
• Computer proficiency in Microsoft Office software (Microsoft Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, Sharepoint);
• Ability to undertake own initiative, and work independently within agreed framework and to deadlines
• Ability and willingness to work collaboratively as part of an international team, and ensure effective communication across geographical distances and language differences

The following are desirable, but not essential:

• Familiarity with Mailchimp and developing web content
• Knowledge of languages other than English; Spanish, French or German particularly welcome
• Previous work or volunteer experience in an NGO/non-profit that works on business and human rights
• Advanced IT skills, including experience working with web development or other online tools

Application instructions

To apply: Please follow the link to our jobs portal where you will download, complete, and submit the application form. Any questions on this appointment should be sent to [email protected]

Kindly note that the application form is required; we cannot accept CVs.