Human Rights & Ethical Trading Manager
£35,000 to £45,000 plus benefits (Work Level 6A)
Manchester city centre, with some travel to visit both national and international suppliers
We’re now working in a hybrid way, with colleagues dividing their time between home/remote working and the office. You can find out more about our hybrid working policy at colleagues.coop.co.uk/hybrid-working-policy

As part of your application for this role, please submit a cover letter outlining why you're suitable for the role, and what makes you passionate about working for the Co-op.

We’re looking for a passionate ethical trade professional to join us at Co-op and help us with the delivery of our human rights strategy and policies. As the UK’s largest convenience retailer and fair-trade pioneer, we're committed to providing high-quality at great prices to our millions of customers and members, while making sure we source and produce our products in an ethical and sustainable way.

In this role, you’ll work with suppliers in your category areas to make sure people and businesses in our global supply chain are treated fairly. We’ll look to you to provide them with practical guidance and support on driving sustainable improvements to working conditions. It’ll also be up to you to promote an ethical mind-set across our Co-op, while maintaining a strong commercial focus. If you can bring the experience and passion for food that we're after, we can offer you a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference with a business that puts people at the heart of its strategy.

What you’ll do

•    work across defined product categories to identify and mitigate human rights risks, working with a wide range of partners to manage sensitive issues.
•    build and develop positive relationships with key suppliers and category teams, and convene cross-functional strategic reviews to assess supplier performance
•    provide practical guidance and training for suppliers and colleagues on driving sustainable improvements to working conditions throughout our global supply chains
•    support our senior human rights and ethical trading manager in the development of a long-term human rights strategy
•    lead on the delivery of defined projects and supply chain programmes to drive improvement within our supply base.
•    keep up to date with emerging issues, industry activity and competitor analysis, sharing insights on issues and trends, and protecting the business' reputation
•    manage and build interactions with key human rights and ethical trade stakeholders, effectively representing Co-op’s position to industry bodies and on collaborative projects to address systemic human rights issues

This role would suit people who have

•    significant experience in an ethical trade, human rights, or responsible sourcing role, ideally within the food industry
•    a strong understanding of ethical trade standards, monitoring systems and human rights issues
•    a commercial approach, with experience of working with suppliers to improve working conditions globally
•    a problem-solving approach to tasks and the ability understand complex systems
•    the ability to analyse data and translate it into actionable and meaningful insight
•    great communication and presentation skills, with the ability to inspire others with your passion for ethics and human rights
•    a talent for building meaningful relationships with a wide range of partners, and experience working with external stakeholders on collaborative initiatives

Why Co-op?

Here you’ll do work that matters. We’re a commercial organisation with a purpose beyond profit, you’ll have an opportunity to help us build a stronger Co-op and stronger communities. You’ll also get a package that includes:

•    competitive salary
•    car allowance or company car (WL4)
•    individual (WL5) / private healthcare (WL4)
•    coaching, training and support to help you develop
•    pension with up to 10% employer contributions
•    annual incentive scheme 
•    28 days holiday (rising to 32 in line with service)
•    discounts on Co-op products and services

Building an inclusive work environment

We’re actively building diverse teams and welcome applications from everyone. But simply having a diverse workforce is not enough. We aim to build an inclusive environment, where everyone can contribute their best work and develop to their full potential. We celebrate our differences and recognise the importance of teams reflecting the communities they serve.

We can make reasonable adjustments to our interview process according to your needs. And we offer a flexible working environment, so you can adjust your hours to suit your personal circumstances. You can find out more about Co-op people policies at colleagues.coop.co.uk.

As part of your application you’ll need to complete an online assessment. It will take you around 12 minutes to complete this test.