Position:                            Human Rights Officer

Reporting to:                    Compliance Manager

About ICoCA:

The International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers’ Association (ICoCA), founded in September 2013, is a multi-stakeholder initiative created to promote, govern and oversee the implementation of the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (‘the Code’). ICoCA focuses on the activities of companies performing security services – including when operating in complex and otherwise high risk, unstable or fragile environments, where there is a greater risk of human rights abuses, violations of international humanitarian law and civilian harm. ICoCA’s mission is to raise private security industry standards and practices that respect human rights and international humanitarian law and to engage with key stakeholders to achieve widespread adherence to its Code globally.

Purpose of the role:

The role of the Human Rights Officer position is to improve the respect for human rights in private security. This is accomplished through two broad areas:

• Guidance, Tools & Training: The human rights officer operationalises their expertise of human rights and International Humanitarian Law to provide guidance, tools and training to private security companies.
• Monitoring: The human rights officer oversees private security companies’ adherence to the International Code of Conduct, and monitors for human rights abuses in the sector.

The candidate will be highly motivated and have experience in areas that will help to advance the work of the respect for human rights in private security (see experience, below). Working for a relatively young organisation, the ideal candidate is someone who can integrate into a small and dynamic team. They must be able to maintain a positive and creative work environment, have a strong work ethic and abide by ICoCA values.

Responsibilities:  

Primary responsibilities of the Human Rights Officer include:

Guidance, Tools & Training

• Developing tools and guidance for the private security sector to support the respect for human rights.
• Providing input to help develop training material, including training material for an online training platform.

Monitoring

• Maintaining and further developing indicators and other data collection tools to assess private security company adherence to the International Code of Conduct.
• Leading the drafting of the annual company self-assessment tool and review submissions.
• Remote monitoring. Supervising interns/assistants as they collect information and put together a weekly news roundup.
• Supporting project development and implementation, specifically with reference to monitoring activities.

Key skills/qualifications

Required

• At least three years’ work experience in human rights/business and human rights.
• Expertise in human rights and International Humanitarian Law.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field (such as human rights, business and human rights, etc…).
• Be able to turn human rights/IHL expertise into guidance for the private security industry.
• English to C1 level.

Preferred

• Master’s degree in a related field (such as human rights, business and human rights, etc…).
• Demonstrated experience in providing guidance on human rights/IHL to the private sector.
• Knowledge of the private security industry.
• An interest in travel, including to areas considered high risk (although not required).
• Languages: French and/or Spanish to C1 level is a strong asset. Additional language proficiency is an asset, specifically Arabic, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Mandarin, Somali, & Swahili. This will be checked during the interview process.

Location:

Principal location of work is at the ICoCA’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Compensation:

Compensation will be commensurate with experience, and is competitive with public interest and not-for-profit pay scales.

ICoCA is committed to create an inclusive and diverse work environment that values individual differences in the workforce and ensures that everyone feels welcome and safe.

Start Date:

Ideally, 1^st of May 2022

Individuals interested in this opportunity should submit a CV (max. two pages) and a motivation letter to: secretariat@icoca.ch

The deadline for applications is March 22, 2023.

For more information on ICoCA, please visit www.icoca.ch.