Executive Director
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Sales & Business Development
GBP 85k-85k / year
Posted on Jun 2, 2025
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (the Resource Centre) seeks a creative, strategic and inspiring leader ready to drive the next generation of progress in strengthening human rights in business. For more than two decades the Resource Centre has sought to amplify the voices of rightsholders and work collaboratively with allies and partners to strengthen corporate practices and support smart regulation to deliver a just economy, address the climate crisis and counter abuse.
In the face of rising authoritarianism, it is more important than ever to ensure respect for and protection of human rights, including by private actors. We are seeking a leader who understands the threats – and opportunities – present in today’s dynamic and complex context. The ideal candidate will bring energy and insights to the Resource Centre’s vision of transformational change, which is built on community-led action and enhanced by global partnership. The Executive Director will have a strong understanding of international human rights, labour, environmental and climate frameworks as they relate to business–and how to make change happen through those frameworks. They will be able to work effectively with people and organisations at many levels, including grassroots leaders, government representatives, funders, corporate executives and investors.
As new challenges face the field of human rights, the Resource Centre is poised to continue its high-impact programming and partnerships. The new Executive Director will join a Global Team with a strong culture of cooperation and mutual respect working remotely in over 30 locations. They will lead a financially sound organisation that has recently approved an ambitious 5-year strategic plan. The Executive Director will provide empathetic and confident leadership to the organisation during a turbulent period in our world, playing a pivotal role in delivering the strategic plan, identifying where to place particular emphasis at different times during the plan period, and deciding how to balance offensive and defensive strategies to accomplish our goals.
The Resource Centre has four worldwide programmes focused on promoting: the rights of communities seeking responsible natural resource use and a just transition; the rights of workers in global supply chains; the rights of people for accountable digital technologies; and the rights of human rights defenders. Our cross-cutting themes are access to corporate legal accountability and promotion of gender and racial justice.
THE ROLE
The Executive Director will lead our global team of 80 across 30 locations, operating with a budget of US$6 million and working in diverse alliances and partnerships worldwide. They will manage the Resource Centre as the head of a collaborative Senior Management Team supporting programmes, finance, and fundraising. They will line-manage five staff: two Programme Directors (for regional teams and international teams), the Fundraising Director, the Chief Operating Officer, and the Head of Communications.
The Executive Director will represent the organisation at the highest levels with governments, companies, investors, and our allies in civil society. The ideal candidate must be able to build strategic partnerships, attract new funders, and optimize the organisation’s use of limited resources. They will excel in multicultural settings, enjoy being a part of a minimally hierarchical global team, and enable staff at all levels to shine.
The Resource Centre values collective leadership and expects the organisation’s leadership to work in deep partnership with colleagues and partners. The Resource Centre has several mechanisms to maintain a decentralized approach that empowers team members: the Global Team Association, a representative body that fosters staff participation and input into key organisational policies and issues, and the Organisational Leadership Group, which engages Regional International Programme and Functional leads in decision-making alongside the Senior Management Team.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Leadership
In close partnership with the Global Team and an engaged Board of Directors, the Executive Director (“ED”) will deliver on the Resource Centre’s strategic mission to put human rights at the heart of business – in pursuit of a just economy, climate justice, and ending abuse. Framed by the organisation’s ambitious, recently approved 5-year strategic plan, the ED will lead in light of today’s fast-evolving power shifts to identify, with partners, the best ways to achieve the changes we seek.
Management and Organisational Culture
The ED will lead our high-performing Global Team, further developing this diverse team of expert researchers, project managers and regional representatives. The ED will guide the Resource Centre in fulfilling its commitment to achieving external impact while nurturing a coherent and shared global vision and focus, mutual trust, equity and parity, empowerment with accountability, and shared responsibility for well-being and security. With the Management Team, the ED will drive continued organisational evolution in order to sustain and enhance our relevance in the fast-changing context of Business and Human Rights.
Thought and Field Leadership
Working closely with two programme directors, the ED will lead the Resource Centre in effective change-making, with partners and allies, through fair and objective research, alliance-building, powerful communications, influencing governments, investors and companies, and other strategies. As an opinion-former, the ED will represent the organisation as a spokesperson at the highest levels, including frequently speaking on and writing for influential media channels, as well as via BHRRC’s own channels with, for instance written, video and audio content. Informed by our partners, the ED will shape the organisation’s approach to building powerful alliances and tactical collaborations with a range of actors in our diverse movement.
Resource Mobilization, Budget Oversight and Finance:
In partnership with a talented Development Director and team, the ED will work creatively and entrepreneurially to retain and attract funding. This includes maintaining and building long-term partnerships with a diverse set of funders ranging from governments to foundations to individual philanthropists. With the Chief Operating Officer and leadership team, the ED will be accountable for effective financial management and operational systems for human resources, knowledge-sharing, and other organisational facets key to global effectiveness in today’s environment.
CANDIDATE PROFILE
We encourage candidates who are from or based in the Global South / Global Majority. We recognize that no single candidate will possess every qualification. If you are interested in the role and hold many of the qualifications, we encourage you to apply.
Visionary leadership: the ability to inspire and lead a diverse global team with purpose, focused on transformational change towards respect for human rights in business and investors, alongside government regulation.
Broad expertise in human rights and business: clear understanding of global human rights opportunities and challenges, especially in relation to business, and the wider economic justice and sustainability landscape. Lived experience or professional background in working closely with rightsholders, grassroots communities and/or workers is a major asset.
Success in fundraising and financial leadership: extensive experience in building strategic partnerships with diverse funding sources, from foundations to governments and individuals, along with the organisational insight to oversee and sustain the financial health of the organisation.
Coalition and network builder: demonstrable leadership in supporting and nurturing movements and networks at senior levels, providing leadership and followership to build the voice of allies and grassroots.
Strategic change-maker with a global lens: strategist and advocate able to identify key opportunities and threats and inspire colleagues and allies to make change happen. Insight on international and regional landscapes and adaptable to our rapidly changing context. Multi-cultural awareness is required; fluency in multiple languages is desired.
A compelling communicator: equally at home representing the Resource Centre in a media interview, crafting a powerful blog or opinion piece with the support of our Comms Team, and recognising the essential role of audience-led, incisive communications in disseminating our work around the world.
Commitment to inclusion, diversity and well-being: deep understanding of and commitment to racial and gender equality and implementing fair practices and organisational culture. Experience in leading diverse international teams and fostering the well-being, inclusion and growth of team members. Astute in risk and crisis management, and well-versed in best practices with respect to safety and security.
WHAT WE OFFER
The key leadership role in a unique organisation making a significant impact on practices and policies related to human rights and business worldwide. This includes:
- a collaborative, flexible and supportive work environment with a team of experts and passionate professionals worldwide;
- a competitive non-profit salary and benefits package with many opportunities for personal and professional growth;
- an effective, engaged and collegial Board of Directors who are committed to the organisational mission and the well-being of the Resource Centre’s team; and
- a global stage from which to drive thought leadership on business and human rights.
LOCATION AND COMPENSATION
The successful candidate can work in our offices in London, New York, Berlin, or Bogota, or remotely (home-based) anywhere there is strong and continuous internet access. Our team members are based all over the world, and most of our meetings take place during GMT hours to cover Asia and Latin America. The candidate must be committed to working across time zones, be flexible with respect to participating in early and late calls as needed, and able to work at least four hours that overlap with 09:00 - 17:00 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
The role requires frequent travel to all regions of the world (~35%) in order to connect in-person with Global Team members, partners, local communities, board members and funders, and to represent the Resource Centre at global events.
The Resource Centre is committed to providing competitive, equitable and transparent compensation for staff. Our values compel us to maintain a reasonable ratio between the organisation’s highest and lowest salaries. We strive for our salary ranges to be competitive in the non-profit sector among organisations with comparative budgets and staff based in similar locations globally.
The salary for this role is in the range of GBP 85,000 for London-based candidates and will be adjusted for geographic cost of living in accordance with our compensation framework. By way of examples, salary reference points for other Resource Centre office locations are: US $168,000 for New York and EUR 98,000 for Berlin. We welcome candidates based in the Global South and offer equivalent salaries based on our compensation framework.
We will provide compensation information for other locations upon request.
Resource Centre staff are provided health benefits commensurate with their location. All Global Team members have 24 days annual leave plus bank holidays (determined by location). There are five additional days of leave for office closure (three in December and two in August).
HOW TO APPLY
This search is being led by consultant Jenna Capeci, in partnership with the board and staff of the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre.
Timeline
Applications are due by Friday, June 13th, 2025. Selected applicants will begin to be contacted for interviews by July 2025. Interviews will be conducted from July through early September. Tentative timing for rounds of interviews are: July 14 - 18, August 13 - 22 and September 3 - 16. Finalists will be asked to create and make a brief presentation.
Anticipated start date is October/November 2025. Applications may be reviewed over time, so please be patient if you do not hear from us immediately. Applicants not invited for interviews will be notified by the end of August.
Prospect of applying as a Co-Executive Director pair. We primarily envision the Executive Director position as one role with a full-time workload. In exceptional circumstances, we will consider candidacies following a Co-Executive Director model shared by two applicants who bring a relevant track record of joint leadership. If you are interested in applying with another applicant as part of a co-ED pair, please email Capecij@business-humanrights.org for further instructions on how to link your applications.