Overview 

RISE (Reimagining Industry to Support Equality) is a new collaborative initiative, founded by BSR’s HERproject, CARE, ILO-IFC Better Work, and Gap Inc’s P.A.C.E program, focused on accelerating and expanding gender equality and women’s empowerment across global supply chains, through the delivery of proven interventions and greater cross-sector collaboration. Its mission is to empower women workers, embed gender equality in business practice and catalyze systems change with an initial focus on the apparel, footwear and home textile sectors.  

RISE is founded by BSR’s HERproject, CARE, ILO-IFC Better Work, and Gap Inc’s P.A.C.E program and is hosted by BSR.

Position Overview 

To be considered for this opportunity, please submit your application by February 26, 2024.

The Associate Director/Director will be part of RISE’s leadership team, reporting into the Executive Director and will lead on the initiative’s programmatic performance working closely with the Executive Director to drive and achieve the overall impact and scale ambition. The Associate Director/Director, will play an important and active role in RISE’s fundraising efforts. The Associate Director/Director, will have oversight over the RISE program team. The Associate Director/Director is expected to balance having the global oversight whilst taking full responsibility for the leadership of specific RISE priorities. The Associate Director/Director, will display a strong commitment to and belief in the importance of women’s empowerment and broader gender equality across global supply chains. The Associate Director/Director will work closely with the Executive Director and other RISE Associate Directors/Directors in developing thought leadership, resource mobilization, refining strategy, and overall team culture and performance.

The position will be offered at an Associate Director or Director cohort level, based on the qualifications of the successful candidate.

Location: UK(London based); Bangladesh(Dhaka based);Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh based);Cambodia (Phnom Penh based); India (Delhi/Bangalore based)

Specific responsibilities include:

• Program Leadership: Overall responsibility of delivery of RISE’s programmatic work. The Associate Director/Director will provide oversight—and often hands-on support—for the delivery of best-in-class projects and programs working closely with grant makers and companies. The Associate Director/Director will typically oversee 7-10 ongoing projects at any one time, working actively with project teams, and providing thought partnership to project managers. 
• Driving and achieving impact: Lead on continuous improvement of RISE’s programs and propose and implement changes to deepen and scale impact. This includes working with the Executive Director to set out and implement new approaches to scale up. The Associate Director/Director is expected to support MEAL efforts. 
• Business Development: Actively develop and pursue funding opportunities, in particular from institutional and philanthropic funders, including leading on proposal development. This will involve working closely with dedicated grant development lead(s). Develop strong relationships with existing and potential funders. 
• External Representation: The Associate Director/Director will represent RISE to external audiences in by presenting at relevant conferences; demonstrating thought leadership through writing and publishing blogs, reports, etc.; forming beneficial external relationships and partnerships; and proactively working to create opportunities to raise the profile of RISE more broadly. 
• Organization and Team: Act as career manager for Managers with program technical responsibility and country leads. The Associate Director/Director is expected to work effectively across all teams. As part of the leadership team, the Associate Director/Director will contribute to building and maintaining and strong team culture and overall high performing team. The Associate Director/Director will deputize for Executive Director internally and externally as needed.

Compensation

At BSR we have implemented a transparent total compensation framework with an emphasis on internal equity. Compensation to be determined based on location.

Qualifications 

• Minimum of 10 years international experience with a strong track record in relevant positions
• Demonstrated experience in designing and overseeing the scaled deployment of women’s empowerment and social impact programs on a global scale, with a focus on operating programs in emerging markets.
• Experience in designing and leading initiatives and programs that focus on workers employed in global supply chains.
• Demonstrated experience in resource mobilization and grant oversight and with a strong knowledge of the funder landscape.
• Highly organized, with the proven ability to work independently and remotely, prioritize and complete multiple projects, meet deadlines, and maintain consistent attention to detail.
• An exceptional communicator with interpersonal skills that allows you to work collaboratively with partners from across the private, public, and non-profit sectors.
• Experience in start-ups or new initiatives and leading the development and set up of systems and processes.
• Team management experience across cultures and time zones.
• Evidence of strong delivery against ambitious targets and objectives.
• High ethical standards and commitment to BSR core values of Leadership, Respect, and Integrity.
• Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a background investigation.