About IHRB'S Work On Climate
The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) is the leading global think tank working to ensure corporate activity respects the rights of workers and communities. IHRB’s mission is to shape policy, advance practice, and strengthen accountability in order to make respect for human rights part of everyday business. IHRB’s focus areas are diverse and reflect some of the most important and emerging human rights issues facing business.
IHRB is entering new and strategically important territory. The intersection of climate change and labour migration is one of the most consequential - and least addressed - frontiers in both the climate and human rights fields. This consultancy sits at the heart of that gap.
IHRB's new initiative, Resilience by Design, Not by Afterthought, is built on a clear premise: climate adaptation is failing to deliver systemic resilience because it excludes the workers and communities most exposed to its risks. Migrant workers - representing 1 in 20 workers globally, and concentrated in climate-exposed sectors such as agriculture, construction, and logistics - face compounding vulnerabilities: heat stress, displacement, precarious employment, and limited access to legal protections or safety nets.
Yet labour mobility, if made safer and more climate-informed, can itself be a powerful driver of resilience. Global remittances (~$685 billion in 2024) already vastly exceed international aid flows. The economic and adaptive potential of migrant workers is immense - and almost entirely untapped by climate policy.
IHRB brings deep expertise in responsible recruitment, supply chain accountability, and labour rights, but the climate/labour nexus is new ground for the organisation. This consultancy is therefore not just about producing a framework: it is about helping IHRB develop its thinking, positioning, and voice at this intersection. We are looking for a thought partner as much as a deliverable lead.
Role Overview
The consultant’s primary responsibility is the design and delivery of a Climate-Resilient Labour Mobility Framework for Business. A tool intended to help businesses across front-line sectors from a climate perspective ensure their adaptation investments and solutions are inclusive of their workforce affected by those same climate risks, many of whom will be migrant workers who have left their home countries due to climate stresses.
The Consultant will work as part of a cross-collaborative workstream between IHRB’s Migration and Just Transition teams. They will be embedded within the Migration team while also reporting to, and working closely with, the Head of Just Transition and Just Transition colleagues. The role will contribute to corridor research, stakeholder engagement, and outreach in coordination with colleagues across both teams. IHRB's internal team brings deep regional networks across all three corridors; the Consultant is expected to draw on and work through those networks, while bringing their own regional expertise and relationships to bear.
As the climate/labour nexus is new ground for IHRB - an emerging area within our Migration Programme - the Consultant is also expected to be a genuine thought partner, helping the organisation develop its analytical approach and positioning at this intersection.
Africa is the consultant's primary area of geographic expertise, and their knowledge base and networks should be strongest in the African context, engaging directly on the Africa-Gulf corridor as a subject-matter expert. However, the Framework itself has a global remit, and the Consultant will work closely with IHRB colleagues across all three corridors: Africa-Gulf, South Asia, and the Americas, maximising the team's collective regional expertise throughout.
Key Deliverables
This role requires deep expertise on the African continent, while the work itself will have a global remit. The consultant will work closely with IHRB colleagues leading work across the South Asia and Americas corridors, and their Africa-focused expertise should both complement and connect with this broader body of work. The three deliverables outlined below reflect that wider scope:
1. Climate Risk and Labour Mobility Analysis
The Consultant will establish the analytical foundation for the framework through a focused desk review of existing knowledge at the climate/labour migration nexus - producing a detailed risk mapping that includes:
- Mapping how climate change is reshaping migration patterns, labour risks, and worker vulnerability across key sectors and corridors, while also identifying areas where worker vulnerability and business exposure intersect: recognising that understanding both dimensions of risk is essential to developing grounded, practical, and effective recommendations.
- Identifying gaps, emerging practices, and the conditions under which climate-resilient labour mobility has or has not been achieved - particularly in agriculture, construction, logistics, and other climate-exposed industries.
- Synthesising findings into a clear analytical prioritisation that sets out the case for the framework, a structured argument about where business intervention is needed and why.
- Delivering a synthesis report: first draft by mid-September 2026; revised draft incorporating IHRB feedback by end of October 2026.
2. Climate-Resilient Labour Mobility Framework for Business
The Consultant will design a draft Climate-Resilient Labour Mobility (CRLM) ramework for Business - the defining output of this project. This involves:
- Conducting a deep assessment of IHRB's foundational migration framework - the Dhaka Principles for Migration with Dignity - and a gap analysis of those Principles from a climate context - as the first step in grounding the CRLM Framework in IHRB's existing standards.
- Developing the overall architecture of the framework: organised around business adaptation processes and high-climate-risk sectors, connecting climate risk to labour mobility outcomes in ways that are actionable for global brands, recruitment agencies, and employers.
- Defining the framework's principles, indicators, and enabling conditions - establishing what good practice looks like for businesses operating in climate-exposed sectors, structured by sector and operational context.
- Leading on Africa corridor inputs specifically, drawing on the Consultant's own expertise and networks - while integrating corridor-specific research and worker insights from IHRB's South Asia and Americas teams as they are generated.
- Ensuring the framework is structured for adoption by different industry practitioner types - with entry points organised around business processes and high-risk sectors, so that a recruitment agency, global employer, sector-specific global brand, or investor can immediately identify what is relevant to their operations.
The goal is to present the climate risk and labour mobility analysis alongside a draft Climate-Resilient Labour Mobility Framework for Business on or ahead of International Migrant Workers' Day in December 2026 - with the final CRLM Framework launched at IHRB's Global Forum on Responsible Recruitment (GFRR) in Q3 2027, possibly in East Africa.
3. Secure Three Pilot Commitments - one per IHRB corridor
- Lead on identifying and engaging business actors in the Africa corridor willing to pilot the CRLM Framework - shaping what piloting involves in practice and what commitments businesses would be expected to make. IHRB colleagues will lead equivalent engagements in South Asia and the Americas.
- Deliver a final, publication-ready framework document, an accompanying practitioner guidance note, and an accessible summary by Q2 2027.
- Participate in IHRB's dissemination and Forum engagement activities as agreed, including the GFRR in Q3 2027.
AUDIENCE (in order of priority):
- Global brands with facilities and infrastructure at risk from climate extremes and with a high % of migrant worker labour
- Recruitment agencies in key sending and receiving locations
- Employment agencies in key sending and receiving locations
- Government regulators from the sending and receiving country perspective
- Migrant workers networks, advocates, and experts engaging the above actors to improve the work experience
- Investors and ESG stakeholders seeking to better understand climate-related labour and migration risks, including through a short briefing accompanying the final framework
About You
Essential Experience & Knowledge
- 7+ years working at the intersection of labour migration and climate, whether in research, policy, or practice, with a demonstrable focus on the climate/labour nexus specifically.
- Deep knowledge of African labour context, including how climate pressures are playing out in key African source and transit countries, and familiarity with relevant regional and bilateral governance frameworks.
- Existing relationships or recognised standing with African policymakers, regional bodies, or corridor governance actors able to engage as a credible voice, not just a researcher.
- Ability to situate Africa-specific insights within a global framework, understanding how the Africa-Gulf corridor connects to and differs from South Asia-Gulf and Americas dynamics, and what a framework needs to hold across all three.
- Proven experience designing analytical frameworks, policy tools, or standards specifically for business audiences, able to translate complex evidence into structured, actionable outputs that land with sustainability, procurement, and supply chain teams inside large corporates. You should be able to point to prior examples of framework design, not just research or policy writing.
- Demonstrated experience engaging global brands or large employers operating in climate-exposed sectors - agriculture, construction, logistics, or comparable industries - with the standing to bring senior business actors into piloting or adopting new standards.
- Exceptional written and spoken English - able to produce publication-quality analytical outputs for practitioner and policy audiences without heavy editorial support.
- Experience navigating politically complex or contested environments - including where climate displacement, employer interests, and worker rights are in tension.
** This is a specialised role. The criteria above are necessary requirements. If you don't meet them, then this is not the right opportunity for you, but we'd encourage you to follow IHRB's work as it develops and to look out for future opportunities.
Desirable Experience & Knowledge
- Familiarity with IHRB's work on responsible recruitment, supply chains, and just transition.
- Experience with at least one additional corridor beyond Africa - South Asia, Gulf, or the Americas.
- Existing connections to climate/migration researchers, practitioners, or civil society organisations working on this nexus.
- Experience supporting or shaping pilot engagement processes with businesses - designing what pilot commitments look like in practice.
Attitude
- Intellectually entrepreneurial - comfortable developing new thinking in an emerging field where established precedent is limited, and confident working at the frontier rather than just synthesising what already exists.
- Collaborative and responsive - willing to work as a genuine thought partner with a small team, adapting the analytical approach as fieldwork inputs and corridor findings develop.
- Rigorous and accessible - committed to producing work that is both analytically credible and practically usable, without sacrificing one for the other.
- Self-directing - able to manage a complex, multi-stage deliverable independently, with clear communication about progress, risks, and dependencies.
Timeframe & Contracting
Expected start date and timeframe:
- As soon as possible, with a proposed start date of August 2026. The consultant will be contracted through September 2027 inclusive, with a one-month notice period.
Location:
- This is a home-based role and open to candidates globally - but with a strong preference for those based in Africa and with strong African networks. To support effective collaboration, we are only able to accommodate candidates who are able to maintain working hours that substantially overlap with East Africa Time (EAT) and India Standard Time (IST).
- Candidates must already have the legal right to work in their country of residence, provide their own laptop, and have reliable internet connectivity.
- Hours:
- 2.5 days per week across a ~14-month contract running until 30th Sept 2027 (inclusive).
Compensation:
The total budget for this consultancy is £32,000 (all-inclusive) covering the period from the proposed start date through to September 2027. The consultancy is expected to average approximately 2.5 days per week over an estimated 14 month period, equivalent to roughly £2,286 per month.
While the total budget envelope is fixed, the rate and duration may be discussed with particularly strong candidates, including the possibility of a slightly higher rate over a shorter implementation period.
Contracting:
The successful candidate will be engaged through a consultancy agreement subject to UK law. They will need to be registered as self-employed and will be responsible for managing their own taxes, insurance, and any other legal or financial obligations. This consultancy is open to individuals and organisations. A consultancy offer will be subject to receipt of two satisfactory references.
Application Process
To apply, please click the "Apply Now" button and respond to the application questions.
- Deadline for applications: 26 July 2026 at 11:59pm BST
- Interviews: Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an initial 30-45 minute video interview. via TeamTailor. First round interviews will take place on 11 & 12 August between 9am-12pm BST. Second interviews will take place on 18 & 19 August and scheduled closer to the time.
Applications from unsuccessful applicant/s will be held on file for 6 months after the end of the recruitment process.
