Consultant, Business and Human Rights

Purpose and Background

For a period of 20 working days the assignment is to act as an advisor/analyst on the application of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (BHR) to Amnesty International’s work to push back on overly vague and broad national security legislation and closing civic space in Hong Kong.

All work shall be carried out in full consultation with relevant stakeholders, and any public-facing outputs will be drafted in full compliance with the Amnesty International style guide and respect the appropriate quality assurance procedures.

In their day-to-day work, the consultant will maintain contact with the relevant researcher but will ultimately be accountable to the Deputy Regional Director, Greater China, in the East Asia Southeast Asia and the Pacific Regional Office (ESEAPRO), of the International Secretariat (IS).

At the direction of the relevant researcher and Deputy Regional Director, the consultant shall be responsible for the desk research (including market analysis, data gathering, fact-checking, etc), strategizing, planning, implementing and drafting outputs as indicated in generic terms below. They will also be responsible for scanning/tracking media and other relevant current events, in addition to outreach to external stakeholders as deemed necessary in partnership with the researcher or other staff.

Consultancy start and end date: This consultancy is expected to run from January 2025 through to May 2025, requiring 20 days of work throughout this period.

Please note that the scheduling of consultancy days over the 5-month period will be flexible and can be discussed during the interview process.

Location: Global, dependent upon the suitable consultant’s location.

Rate: £350 per day, or equivalent.

**Please note that we will not be accepting agency candidates for this role**

Objectives and deliverables

A defined scope of work will be discussed with shortlisted consultant at the interview stage, but the consultant shall be responsible for:

• Researching and producing a sectoral analysis and stakeholder mapping of business exposure to human rights risks in Hong Kong.
• Providing detailed, written analysis about the extent to which current Hong Kong laws could impact business operations and create/elevate human rights risks.
• Supporting Amnesty International in identifying, monitoring, seizing and evaluating the impact of specific advocacy opportunities and interventions where the above research could be deployed in furtherance of Amnesty’s human rights aims with respect to Hong Kong.
• Advising the IS on the overall strategy as to BHR in Hong Kong.
• If and as relevant, it is necessary to provide necessary monitoring and analysis to the IS with respect to individual cases or incidents that may illustrate the concrete human rights impacts of this legislation on business responsibility to respect human rights.

Essential Requirements

• Proven experience in a human rights research role directly related to BHR.
• Specialist knowledge, expertise and in-depth understanding in the field of BHR.
• Experience and confidence in representing complex and strategic concepts and organizational concerns, positions and priorities.
• Ability to understand and express ideas in English in a fluent, clear and concise way, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to deal in a sensitive and understanding manner with diverse colleagues, both management and peers and to exercise good political judgment.
• Experience in balancing autonomous/self-led research work with working in a team and understanding the importance of efficient communication for the coordination and effective functioning of teams.
• Experience of managing conflicting demands, meeting deadlines and adjusting priorities.

Preferred Requirements

• In-depth understanding and knowledge of Hong Kong, including its legal, political, social, financial, business and cultural conditions and developments.
• Ability to understand and express ideas in Chinese (including traditional and simplified Chinese, as well as Putonghua and Cantonese) in a fluent, clear and concise way, both orally and in writing.

Please refer to the Terms of Reference attached for more information on this consultancy opportunity.

Selection Process:

There will be a one-stage interview process for shortlisted applicants, to take place via Microsoft teams during the week commencing 13th January 2025.

Application instructions

To apply for this work, please submit the following via our recruitment system, eArcu. Please upload all relevant documents to the CV section of the application portal.

• A cover letter explaining your suitability for the consultancy assignment.
• A CV highlighting your most recent relevant experience.

Applications must be in PDF, Word, PowerPoint or Excel format.

As standard, payments are made by Amnesty International 30 days after receipt of a valid invoice for the agreed work milestone completed.