Closing Date:

Jan 1, 2016

Salary:

Unpaid

How to Apply:

To apply, please send resume, cover letter, and a short writing sample (excerpts from longer papers are acceptable) to recruits@sa-intl.org. Please insert “Winter/Spring 2016 Internship” in the email subject line. This is an unpaid internship, but we work with interns to receive school credit where applicable. Applications due December 11th. The Intern will be selected by the beginning of January.

No phone calls please. Only selected candidates will be contacted for interviews.

The position is at SAI Headquarters in New York City. SAI is an equal opportunity employer.

Job Description:

Social Accountability International (SAI) advances human rights at work, driven by diverse perspectives to navigate evolving labour issues. We design and implement innovative processes that empower and inspire stakeholders and facilitate partnerships.

SAI’s shared vision is of decent work everywhere – sustained by widespread understanding that decent work can benefit business while securing basic human rights.

SAI is a leader in implementation: documenting social accountability standards, delivering practical tools, and building the capacity for organizations to implement such standards. SAI develops partnerships to train and empower workers, facility and supply chain managers, auditors, government agency staff, and NGOs, using key tools such as the SA8000® Standard, Social Fingerprint®, TenSquared, handbooks for implementation of the UN and IFC principles, Signatory Membership, professional development training courses, and capacity building projects.

SAI Signatory Members include HP, The Walt Disney Company, Tata Steel, VF (Timberland, Wrangler, Lee, North Face & other brands), Tchibo, and Eileen Fisher. SAI’s work is funded by US, Dutch, German and UK government agencies, by fees for training courses and member services, and by foundations and individuals.

Position Description

The intern will assist in the measuring, tracking, and coordinating of key aspects of the integrated SA8000-Social Fingerprint certification system, one of SAI’s flagship programs.

Reports to: Tracie Ninh, Project Manager, Standards & Assurance

SA8000 Background

The SA8000 Standard is SAI’s flagship product. It is a voluntary, certifiable international labour standard that is a key part of the organization’s mission and the foundation for nearly all our products, services, and projects. Currently, over 2 million workers are employed in the 3,400+ organizations certified to SA8000, ranging from large multinationals to small cooperatives, in over 60 countries.

Social Fingerprint® Background

Social Fingerprint is an online assessment that measures the maturity of organizations’ management systems to identify areas for improvement. In order to ensure sustained compliance with SA8000, organizations must implement a functional management system. A management system is the mechanism by which an organisation demonstrates its commitment to the Standard, creates a plan for implementing the Standard, trains staff to implement it on a daily basis, and continually improves its systems to maintain compliance. Thus, the management system is the operational map that the organization must follow to achieve full, sustained, and continually-improving compliance with SA8000. In recognition of the centrality of management systems to SA8000 compliance, SAI has integrated its Social Fingerprint tool for measuring and improving management systems into SA8000:2014.

SAI Online Learning Management System Background Social Fingerprint tools are housed in Absorb, the online learning management system SAI uses to administer training courses and assessments. The intern will become proficient in the back-end of Absorb.

Position Responsibilities

  • Assist in setting up the SA8000-Social Fingerprint system to execute a system for measuring, evaluating, and analyzing SA8000 and SF data for the purpose of:

    • Reporting

      • Impact analysis

      • Case studies

      • Annual reports

      • Advisory Board reports

      • Stakeholder reports

    • Product development

      • Training material

      • Educational and guidance material

      • Communications material

      • Development proposals

      • Stakeholder engagement

    • Marketing and communications

      • Business case for SA8000

      • Events and presentations

  • Track incoming certification data and respond to technical issues for users as needed; initiate the creation of instructional and training material on SF in order to improve the user experience

  • Ensure that the data in the SF platform is current and accurate

  • There will be opportunities to work with other projects and programs across the organization (such as Training & Capacity Building, Corporate Programs, TenSquared, Global Living Wage Coalition, marketing/communication materials, and other strategic projects as needed).

Qualifications and Core Competencies

Experience and Education

  • Pursuing a degree in relevant field; recent graduates may also apply

  • Demonstrable experience in:

    • Project management and coordination

    • Demonstrable data analysis

    • Use of databases, ideally with auto-generated emails

    • Familiarity with database structure

Demonstrable Skills and Capabilities

  • Prioritize and communicate challenges in order to meet deadlines

  • Balance short and long term objectives in order to maintain quality while working towards organizational growth

  • Understand technology and provide first-level technical support

  • Communicate with technical teams in a clear, direct, understandable manner

Characteristics

  • Creative, willing to experiment, hands-on, take initiative, flexible, resourceful, team-oriented, able to balance analysis and action, results-oriented, entrepreneurial

  • Resourcefulness, with an orientation to measurable results

  • Committed to SAI’s mission