About us

We are the Equality and Human Rights Commission. We are Great Britain’s national equality body and a United Nations accredited National Human Rights Institution. We were established by the Equality Act 2006 and our role is to protect and promote equality and human rights across England, Scotland and Wales. As a statutory non-departmental public body, we are funded by HM Treasury via the Cabinet Office, but we operate independently of governments.

We pride ourselves on being a flexible and inclusive employer. We celebrate difference, embrace diversity and support all our people to thrive at work. If this sounds interesting - apply to join us!

Our Vacancy

We are recruiting for the role of Principal, Human Rights Monitoring to join us in a leadership position.

It’s an exciting time to join the Human Rights Monitoring team, which is at the heart of some of the Commission’s most visible and challenging work in driving high-impact engagement with the international human rights system.

Our highly-respected policy reports and sector-leading Human Rights Tracker provide comprehensive evidence on the human rights context in Britain today, and – working with stakeholders internationally and at home – suggest vital ways that rights can be better respected and protected.

The team plays a crucial role in maintaining our reputation, as Britain’s National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), for high-quality and independent work and helping set international best practice. If you are looking for a challenge, enjoy working in a flexible and supportive team, and want a role where you can work on the most important human rights issues of our time – then this may be the vacancy for you.

Key Responsibilities

Reporting to the Director of Policy and Human Rights Monitoring, you will:

• Contribute to the strategic impact of the Commission by implementing a highly effective and responsive human rights monitoring strategy, and ensuring the integration of international human rights standards into the organisation’s work.

• Ensure delivery of high-quality, evidence-based analysis of the UK and Welsh governments’ performance against their international human rights obligations, including through robust and clear reports and policy recommendations.

• Improve accountability for progress against international human rights obligations through direct influencing to governments, engagement with civil society groups and the other UK NHRIs, and by maintaining and promoting the Human Rights Tracker.  This includes by supporting partners to use international human rights law in their own work.

• Effectively lead a high-performing team ensuring high-quality programme planning, team leadership and budget and risk management.  

  *Please note - this an overview of the role and is not exhaustive list of the all the great things you will be involved in.

The Principal will operate flexibly and collaboratively, display a high degree of accountability and autonomy, and at all times demonstrate our values of fairness, dignity, and respect.

Some travel will be required in the role.

What we are looking for

To be successful in this role you will need:

• The ability to lead and manage a high-performing team, and to contribute to cross-Commission projects and initiatives.

• Strategic expertise in human rights law and policy.

• The capacity to bring together a range of information and evidence and use it to develop clear, robust and influential policy positions and recommendations.

• The skills to develop and lead strategies to influence Government, Parliament, partner organisations, internal EHRC leadership and other decision-makers.

• Experience of identifying and working in partnership with a variety of different stakeholders at a strategic level.

• Experience of overseeing complex projects, and of budget management.

You will be assessed against our core skills (Leadership, Delivery Management and Stakeholder Engagement) and the knowledge, skills and experience required for the role in the application form. Please provide evidence and examples from your work history or other aspects of your life to demonstrate how you meet the criteria required. Full criteria details can be found in the candidate pack.

You’ll join a team in which collaboration counts, and your contribution and ideas matter. You will be encouraged to work flexibly, think critically, learn fast and be creative to help strengthen the skills and capabilities of the team and wider workforce.

Important Information

Currently we are trialling hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their EHRC office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business need. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for this role or for yourself, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.

Benefits

In addition to a competitive salary, we offer a range of benefits including flexible working patterns, 30 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays (full time FTE), access to the Civil Service Pension Scheme and partnership pension schemes, and enhanced parental leave benefits. More information can be found in the candidate pack.

How to apply

If this sounds like the role for you, please review the attached Candidate Pack for more information and submit your application today!

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an accredited Disability Confident Leader and operates a Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS) for candidates with a disability.

Should you wish to apply under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme or request a reasonable adjustment, please indicate this in your application.  

If you require an alternative accessible version of the application form or wish to discuss your application or reasonable adjustment  – please contact us by email at recruitment@equalityhumanrights.com or by telephone on 0161 829 8100.

Diversity in our workforce

At the Commission, we are proud of our inclusive workplace where we celebrate difference, value everyone’s contribution and where people of all backgrounds can thrive.  We do not accept discrimination or harassment, and all our recruitment decisions are based on fair and open competition, with appointment on merit. We are committed to further growing our workplace by making sure that the talent pipelines for our most senior roles are as diverse and inclusive as they can be. We welcome applications from everyone and encourage disabled people and people from an ethnic minority background to apply. This is to ensure we are taking positive action in order to achieve our legitimate aim of a balanced representation in our workforce at senior grades.