Advisor (m/f/d) on Global Textiles Transparency Project

One of the greatest potential drivers for sustainability in global value chains is increased transparency in the social and environmental impacts occurring at each stage of the value chain (the whole supply chain and beyond). In fact, that information is essential for customers, corporate buyers, investors and policy makers to take decisions that incentivise sustainable production and products, and so drive a transition to an environmentally and socially sustainable global economy.

A set of new legislation in the EU and beyond, and changing market preferences are driving demand for transparency on impacts of production and consumption in global value chains. The technology to deliver that data exists, many pioneering initiatives have developed specific solutions for transparency and traceability.

What is lacking is a framework which creates the trust and incentives needed for people all along the value-chain of products (from smallholders in developing countries, to western consumers and recyclers) to provide good quality information indicating the social and environmental impacts.

Your job would be to run the operations of a new project facilitating global stakeholders to co-design the rules, practices and incentives for providing data which would maximise transparency and traceability in global textiles value chains. It is a lighthouse project, being run collaboratively with the major initiatives in textiles transparency, which if successful, could produce frameworks essential for sustainable transition in the textiles value chains, and a model replicable in other product value chains.

The role would be based at the GIZ International Services office in central Berlin, with very occasional travel, most likely to UN agencies in Geneva.

Your tasks would be to run the operations of the collaborative initiative, under the guidance of a project lead (who gives 50% full-time equivalent to this project). The core of the project is the management of multi-stakeholder processes. That process will source and discuss the needs of representative stakeholders all along the textile value-chain. It will particularly source perspectives and needs from the less-resourced and disadvantaged actors in the textiles supply chains (e.g. civil society organisations, and small holder co-operatives in developing countries) whose voices are not sufficiently heard in some transparency and traceability initiatives. The needs of value chain actors will be matched to specific expertise on transparency, traceability, incentive design and participatory governance, to prototype and pilot a set of principles, process and practices for data provision which works for all actors in the value chain.

Your key tasks will be:

• Support the planning and implementation of the multi-stakeholder process
• Manage relationships and information flow with the participating stakeholders
• Act as the ‘secretariat’ of the initiative, with support from other participating initiatives
• Gather, process and exchange information between the stakeholders
• Liaison with related internal GIZ projects, on textiles, digital and data, and transparency (social and environmental) in other value chains
• Liaison with the leading global public and private initiatives working on traceability and transparency (mainly in textiles, but also beyond)
• Input into the strategic direction of the project
• Play a key role in drafting the outcomes of discussions and design of outputs
• Support the project lead in all aspects of making the project successful

Professional Experience

• Several years of experience in engagement and community-building with diverse actors in global development and/or product supply chains;
• Strong project management skills (preferably for multi-month, multi-national, multi-stakeholder projects);
• Vast knowledge or application of the economics of market design;
• Extensive knowledge or application of data-sharing initiatives or governance of distributed data;
• Transparency and traceability in value-chains.
• Environmental and social sustainability for products originating in developing countries (particularly in the textiles sector);
• Textiles sector (private or public sector) or working on global agricultural value-chains;
• Very high quality of written and spoken English.

This position is suited to a full (100%) or a part-time position (80%).

The project is expected to start earliest in May 2023.

The contract period for this position is 12 to 14 months. The project is intended to initiate a longer multistakeholder process.

Please understand that we can accept and process applications in principle only, via our E-recruiting system. Following the confirmation of your successful application, kindly check your spam / junk mail folder on a regular basis, since some providers classify emails from our recruiting system as spam.

GIZ would like to increase the proportion of employees with disabilities, both in Germany and abroad. Applications from persons with disabilities are most welcome.

Please send us an updated CV in EuropeAid format in English.

Everyone has the same opportunities in our company, regardless of gender, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or physical disability. We recruit based on specialist expertise and social skills. Transparency and fair opportunities for career advancement are just as much a matter of course for us as gender not being a barrier to taking up a management position., We are a provider of international cooperation services for sustainable development and work to build a future worth living around the world. We support projects in over 130 countries to achieve goals sustainably together with our partners., Extensive check-ups and preventive measures (e.g. on appointment, before the outward journey, during the stay in a country of assignment, in an emergency) are provided to our staff and the family members accompanying them as a matter of course., You will receive various additional benefits during your stay abroad that will depend on your country of assignment., We reward staff who achieve their agreed annual targets with a variable remuneration component.

Your professional and personal development is important to us. At GIZ, you will be offered global work opportunities and an atmosphere that is characterised by diversity, respect and genuine equal opportunities. Gender equality promotion is a matter of course for us. Our benefits are also impressive in terms of work-life balance and family friendliness. Flexible working hours that fit your life situation, comprehensive onboarding and internal health management are an integral part of our corporate culture, along with the opportunity to use childcare facilities and parent/child offices.

GIZ is a signatory of the Diversity Charter. Recognition, appreciation and inclusion of diversity in the company are important to us. All employees shall be valued - regardless of gender and gender identity, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, social background, age or sexual orientation.

GIZ would like to increase the proportion of employees with disability, both in Germany and abroad. Applications from persons with disabilities are most welcome.

Eugenia  Onesti
+ 32 2 229 27 97