Senior FAIR Value Chains and WEE Advisor

About Us

Oxfam is a global movement of people working together to end the injustice of poverty. Together we save, protect and rebuild lives. And we won’t stop until every person on the planet can defeat poverty or any type of inequality or discrimination. We are an international confederation of 21 organisations (affiliates) working together with partners and local communities in the areas of humanitarian, development, and campaigning, in more than 90 countries. All our work is led by three core values: Empowerment, Accountability, Inclusiveness.

General Information

Duty station:

The Hague, The Netherlands

Working hours:

36 hours per week

Salary scale:

710

Reports to:

Fair Value Chains & Food Systems Manager

Application deadline:

3 June 2022

Description of the Unit
The Goal Unit Fair: Fair Value Chains & Food Systems is part of the Programs Department. The purpose of the Programs Department is to achieve impact by shaping policies, designing thematic strategies, supporting, managing and implementing our programs/projects and global, regional and national level campaigns that help achieve our 10 year vision (Manifesto 2030). The Fair Value Chains & Food Systems Unit is responsible for our work on pressuring the Dutch and international private and financial sector to ensure that power and profits are shared fairly between financiers, companies, traders, and the people who produce or consume; that compliance to business, human rights and sustainability standards is the norm. We need to ensure a living income, decent work, and secure rights for small holders and workers who are key in feeding the world. We will work towards a radical shift of the share of power, profits, and value in food systems & value chains in favour of (women) small-scale food producers, workers and their communities. To achieve this, we will take a systemic approach addressing actors in these chains, and generate expertise around key topics like living wage, living income, land rights, gender, and alternative business models. The Unit provides thought leadership on what fair food systems look like, and how to build a human economy through a fairer global food system.

Description of the role

In this role, you will lead program activities on behalf of Oxfam Novib, in the Netherlands and in global spaces, on transformative women’s economic empowerment in agricultural value chains, business and human rights as these relate to fairer food systems and agricultural value chains, and in promoting the rights and interests of workers and small-scale producers. You will also provide support to and collaborate with Oxfam country offices on their work on these themes. In this role you will lead on WEE work within the team, both in terms of ensuring strong programme delivery, and in spearheading thought leadership. The Senior Value Chains Advisor will both directly engaging the private sector in evidence-based advocacy, and also supporting various Oxfam programmes with expertise on inclusive business practices, transformative women’s economic empowerment, and in advancing the rights of workers and small-scale producers in value chains. Human rights, due diligence, social and environmental standards, private sector compliance, and engaging in changing business models towards a more human economy, are all themes you will tackle on in this role. You will engage with a range of companies, multistakeholder initiatives (MSIs), producer groups, civil society partners, and governmental representatives on this agenda. Your work will have two primary objectives. Firstly, advancing business compliance with international human rights, environmental standards, and regulations (eg: UNGPs, the OECD Guidelines, due diligence regulations, but also industry norms), and secondly, advance an agenda in which alternative business practices and models deliver a more (gender) inclusive and human economy. Transformative economic empowerment of women is central to all your work. Contributing to programme quality, fundraising and new program development for projects will also be part of your remit.

A large partnership program with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs “FAIR FOR ALL, Improving Value Chains at Scale”, will constitute a significant part of your work. Here you will focus on promoting more just and inclusive agricultural value chains in which a greater share of value is accrued by women, small scale producers and workers, and in which businesses respect human rights. You will undertake research for evidence-based advocacy, and directly engage MSIs and other stakeholders on due diligence, grievance mechanisms, alternative business models, and a more human economy, as well as supporting country programmers in promoting alternative business practices. Lastly in this role you will be asked to support, or lead, on smaller projects focusing on partnerships with business for more (socially) sustainable palm oil value chains, alongside other just and sustainable business models in agricultural value chains. The FAIR company-community partnership’s will be part of your portfolio. Half of your time will be delivering to a second significant Oxfam programme, GRAISEA 2 (Gender Transformative and Responsible Agribusiness Investments in Southeast Asia). For this programme you will advise and coordinate WEE work on behalf on the program. This entails supporting transformational WEE within a market systems development approach, and leading overall programme strategy in relation to WEE. The focus being engaging producer groups, and companies (rice millers/ exporters, shrimp processors/ exporters and international buyers), SMEs and multistakeholder initiatives on WEE, coordinating WEE activities across the programme, and providing capacity building and implementation support when needed in the program.

Expectations of the Advisor on FAIR value Chains

You will work closely with Oxfam Southern Affiliates and Country Offices in Latin America, Asia and Africa supporting, coordinating, and providing technical advice on above mentioned themes in joint programs and projects. The candidate has a track-record in women’s economic empowerment, and where needed has the capacity to mentor and champion this work with others. We expect someone who is exceptional in supporting transformational WEE within a market systems development approach, and with a demonstrable reputation in this area. The person has expertise in business and human rights, and in advancing business models for more inclusive international value chains. You are comfortable engaging social enterprises, the financial sector, and private sector in delivering positive social impact. The candidate has the capacity to engage value chain actors to innovate and promote scalable alternative business models. You are familiar with progressive business initiatives and are confident to advocate for women’s rights and human rights within MSIs and other multi-stakeholder settings. You are comfortable with evidence-based advocacy and direct critical engagement of the private sector, standard-setting bodies, government representatives, trade unions and small-scale producers. Lastly, you can implement programmes for transformative WEE partnerships and are experienced in the full programme cycle of donor reporting, fundraising, budgeting, and MEAL. You have experience working with local partner organisations in the global South. SE Asia being the focus region for GRAISEA presupposes good experience in this region, and being open to extensive travel as needed.

Main tasks

Support Oxfam country teams, and local partner organisations, to advance transformational WEE in value chains, and taking a market systems approach to WEE. This involves a range of activities including mentoring and advice, extended in-country support, accompaniment, WEE related programme assessments, and reviewing business plans as part of the GRAISEA programme.

Support programme quality in value chain interventions which advance the interests of women, small-scale producers, and workers, in value chains, so that these are more socially inclusive and gender just. This includes supporting project management, planning, reporting, donor engagement, mentoring and capacity building, proposal writing and fundraising. This also includes exploring opportunities at regional/ country level for innovation, new interventions, and program growth.
Directly providing support, or coordinating consultants, on transformative WEE in value chains. Working with producer groups, SMEs, national MSIs, and undertaking advocacy.

Engaging standard setting bodies and MSIs to advocate for more inclusive standards, which promote WEE, protect the rights and advance the wellbeing of (women)small-scale producers and workers, address Human Rights abuses, and which are more aligned to a human economy.
Directly engage, and network with, companies to (i) advocate for Human rights compliance and WEE norms and standards and (ii), collaborate with social enterprises, front-running companies, MSIs and leading businesses, to adopt alternative models and invest in supply chain practices which proactively advance WEE and the rights and livelihoods of women, workers and small-scale producers. This includes promoting the adoption of just & sustainable business models such as the, FAIR company-community partnership model.
Advance policy dialogue in international value chains towards inclusive value chains which respect human rights, and actively promote transformative WEE, trough evidence-based advocacy and promoting thought leadership based on research and analysis.

Support Oxfam Southern Affiliates, country offices, and counterpart organisations to advance their private sector strategies and private sector engagement, particularly on transformational women's economic empowerment, and Business and Human rights. Ensure that relevant learnings are captured and shared across the Oxfam confederation through documentation of experiences and research, training, coaching and actively supporting programme implementation. WEE will be a primary focus for this part of the work, but other areas include; learning and capacity building, social certification and compliance, Human Rights due diligence, and just & sustainable business models as they contribute to a human economy.
For all of the above we expect a good understanding of actors and issues in shrimp/seafood, rice and, and palm oil value chains amongst others.

Requirements for the job

Education

An advanced university degree (e.g. Masters) in economics, international development, environmental studies, political science, governance or other related field is required.

Experience and Skills

At minimum of five (5) years’ experience, preferably 10, working on inclusive agricultural value chains, supporting the rights and interest of women, small-scale producers, and workers. Including WEE through a market systems development approach.
Significant experience providing technical leadership and coordination for large market systems development programs on women’s economic empowerment.
Experience working in rice, shrimp, and/or palm oil value chains is desirable.

Significant experience addressing issues of transformational WEE, such as gendered social norms, childcare and gendered control over income and production decisions.
Experience in influencing private sector companies and bringing about change within international multi-stakeholder initiatives, and ideally in relation to development cooperation and/or agricultural value chains in developing countries. Significant experience engaging the private sector to bring about changes in business policy that support business and human rights, and transformational WEE.

Deep understanding of (food) systems transformation and current debates in the human rights and business space, especially in relation to transformational WEE, and the changing role of business in a Human Economy.
Solid experience networking internally and externally and convening various stakeholders. Excellent communication and listening skills for policy influencing, and for wider industry outreach - including blogs and op-eds.
Experience managing grants and delivering multi-country programs on the thematic areas above. This includes project management, capacity building and coaching, learning, and fundraising.
A result-oriented approach.

Experience working in Southeast Asia, Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam are preferred

The ability and willingness to travel as needed.

Fluency in English. Knowledge of Dutch is preferred.

Level

The level of the position Senior FAIR Value Chains and WEE Advisor corresponds with Specialist Projects A and with grading scale 10 (€3320 - €5109 gross p.m). The applicable salary depends on relevant work experience.