ESCR-Net – International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is seeking an Executive Director.

ESCR-Net connects over 300 members – social movements, Indigenous Peoples, human rights organizations, feminist and environmental organizations, independent unions, and advocates -across 80 countries to build a global movement to make human rights and social justice a reality for all. Through ESCR-Net, members exchange information, build solidarity across regions, develop new tools and strategies, and advance collective actions to secure economic, social and climate justice through the human rights framework, with a special focus on economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR). 

From the launch of ESCR-Net in Thailand, in 2003, member-led, collective work has been guided by core principles of gender and regional balance in leadership and participation, feminist intersectional analysis, and social movement centrality. Our Common Charter for Collective Struggle provides a shared base of analysis of the conditions facing member communities around the world, as well as articulating points of unity between diverse struggles. The Common Charter was collectively drafted by social movement members and discussed and affirmed by the full membership in 2016, and then revised with the leadership of movement members in 2024, helping to guide a yearlong strategic process leading to Building Collective Power to Shape Our Futures: ESCR-Net Strategic and Institutional Development Plan 2025-2029. 

Guided by our Board, elected from and by members based on our core principles, ESCR-Net’s small cross-regional secretariat coordinates the collective action of members, primarily via member-led working groups, complemented by our System of Solidarity and member-guided campaign and strategic communications efforts.

The Executive Director (ED) has primary responsibility for ensuring that ESCR-Net is guided by its members and remains true to its mission and core principles. In line with member-led strategic priorities, the Executive Director works closely with the secretariat’s coordination team and with ESCR-Net’s Board to develop and allocate institutional capacity and financial resources to effectively coordinate, support and amplify member-to-member solidarity and learning, shared analysis of evolving global conditions, and collective advocacy and campaigning for systemic change. 

Specific Responsibilities

Ensure adherence to ESCR-Net’s core principles/political commitments and advocacy of member-led analysis and positions internally and externally, regularly working with the wider secretariat team, Board and members to reflect on and more fully integrate core principles;

Strategic Planning and Coordination

• Convene the coordination team, facilitating internal collaboration and communication as well as assessing and prioritizing secretariat capacity and resources in order to effectively and sustainably advance efforts in line with overarching member priorities, member-led processes, and staff well-being;
• In close collaboration with the coordination team, initiate and/or facilitate discussions and processes to strengthen member-led strategic direction and coherence across ESCR-Net’s work, engaging in key strategic discussions within and across various secretariat teams and with members and supporting the Development and Learning Coordinator to reinforce consistent planning and learning processes across the secretariat;
• Review and approve key documents, including position statements and analytical reports on new or substantially shifting areas of work (identified in conversation with fellow directors), foremost to ensure coherence with existing member-led positions and ultimately to better reflect the collective analysis and positions of members with advocacy targets, allies, funders, etc.;
• In conversation with the Board and wider secretariat team, convene regular general assemblies/global strategy meetings to set Network-wide objectives and advance positions, campaigns, governance, or related elements of building a global movement to make human rights and social justice a reality for all; in addition to in-person, full Network meetings every several years, convene online Network-wide discussions in key moments and ensure more targeted in-person member strategy meetings on a regular basis;

Development

• Hold primary responsibility for the fundraising of the organization, working with other teams members—foremost the Development and Learning Coordinator and the Institutional Development Director—to ensure that the organization meets its financial targets every year; 
• Maintain primary relationship with key funding partners, particularly those providing general support, and represent ESCR-Net in donor convenings to advocate member-led analysis, positions and work, striving to expand overall funding for human rights and social justice and as possible support fundraising efforts of members, particularly of grassroots members (i.e. through letters of support, introductions, ensure public acknowledgement of member contributions);
• Review all funding proposals and reports, and in close collaboration with the Development and Learning Coordinator, play a central role in program fundraising and cultivating new funding partners;

Supervision, team development, and human resource-related issues

• Supervise director-level staff, as well as the Development and Learning Coordinator and Solidarity Coordinator. In addition to leading hiring committees and orientation teams for these positions, the ED will review and approve all position descriptions and will join final interviews for all coordinator-level staff members of the secretariat; 
• Together with the Institutional Development Director, hold financial responsibility and liability for as well as responsibility for overall legal compliance of ESCR-Net, regularly reviewing financial reports, audits, and related documents, as well as facilitating Board review, and collaborating with the Institutional Development Director in revising and finalizing the annual budget for Board review and approval;
• Support human resource-related processes, including participating in quarterly meetings with the Work Environment Committee and working with the Committee and the Institutional Development Director to develop practices and policies aimed at staff well-being and conflict resilience, and help to navigate issues with and among staff members;
• Coordinate internal political education, including as part of regular staff meetings, and support orientation for new staff and ESCR-Net members, as well as co-planning/co-facilitating regular staff retreats with the coordination team and wider secretariat;
• Building on member-led strategic planning processes and in active discussion with the coordination team/secretariat and Board, develop proposals for ongoing institutional development of the secretariat, governance processes with members, and related practices;

Outreach and member relations

• Play a central role in addressing political challenges and conflicts with members and allies, as well as allegations against members, including serving as a permanent member of the Code of Conduct Committee and a member of any Committee formed in line with our Protocol for Handling Allegations against Members outside of ESCR-Net Events and Collaborations;
• Partner with the Communications Team to clearly and effectively tell the story of who we are as a collective; and

Board relations

• Hold the primary relationship with the Board, as well as facilitating engagement of other team members with the Board.

Qualifications

• A minimum of ten years of relevant human rights, social justice and/or climate justice experience; or a minimum of eight years of experience and a relevant university degree, with a strong preference for focus on international human rights, political economy, and/or related social sciences;
• Successful coordination of member-led networks, coalitions or processes, proven political judgment, and strong facilitation skills to constructively engage with diverse social movements, Indigenous Peoples’ groups, NGOs and other actors and develop overall member-led strategy for ESCR-Net;
• Experience applying political economic and feminist intersectional analysis, attentive to overlapping issues of exploitation and oppression;
• Strong commitment to and relevant experience in movement-based or movement-led work;
• Substantial knowledge of international human rights law and mechanisms, as well as the wider human rights field, with extensive background applying human rights to a diverse set of issues and in systemic analysis, as well as experience engaging with UN and/or regional human rights bodies and/or other relevant intergovernmental organizations;
• Ability to effectively represent ESCR-Net in partnership with members, including a proven track record of developing and maintaining relationships with funders and a wide range of allies;
• Substantial supervisory experience, including leading another organization or team, facilitating collective planning, navigating conflict, integrating principles into policies and practices, and providing supportive accountability;
• Commitment to shared leadership, including to work in close collaboration with the secretariat’s coordination team and wider secretariat, as well as members, across multiple time zones;
• Ability to quickly grasp new issues through research and in dialogue with members and fellow secretariat staff; 
• Clear written communication, effective public speaking skills, and experience engaging with media; and
• Fluency in oral and written English; and proficiency, both oral and written, in at least one other relevant language (with preference for Spanish, Arabic or French, as ESCR-Net’s other working languages), as well as experience working across at least two languages, including utilizing translation and/or interpretation.

 In addition to the qualifications noted above, the following skills and experiences are highly desirable:

• Experience campaigning, facilitating political education, coordinating community-led research, and/or organizing, as part of or in close partnership with social movements, Indigenous Peoples groups and/or other grassroots groups;
• Facilitation training and experience, including guiding strategic planning processes;
• Substantial media engagement and strategic communications experience; 
• Background in movement-led litigation and implementation; and
• Experience living and working in multiple regions.

Compensation and Location

This is a full-time, exempt position with benefits, including medical coverage and paid leave. The salary for this position based in New York City is $93,600. For secretariat staff working outside of New York City, ESCR-Net will pay the midpoint between the New York City-based salary and the equivalent salary in their city of residence based on cost-of-living indexes. The greatest concentration of ESCR-Net secretariat staff is in New York City; however, a majority of team members are based in other locations. The position is open to candidates from any region who are willing to work remotely and travel periodically to New York City. Due to current constraints, candidates should have existing work authorization in their primary location of work. 

Start Date

Preferably August 2025.

Inclusive Hiring and Workplace

ESCR-Net is committed to inclusive hiring practices and strives for a secretariat staff that represents the diversity of its members. ESCR-Net is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage and seek applications from women, persons with disabilities and people of color, including bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex communities. Applicants shall not be discriminated against on the basis of actual or perceived race, creed, color, religion, alienage or national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability or handicap, sex, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, arrest record, ethnicity, gender identity, medical condition (cancer-related), the conditions Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS Related Conditions or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws. Reasonable accommodation will be made so that qualified persons with disabilities may participate in the application process. Please advise in writing of special needs at the time of application.

In addition to a range of policies in our staff handbook, striving for an inclusive and safe work environment and attempting to reflect our core principles and human rights commitments, ESCR-Net also has a Code of Conduct applying to all members, allies, and partners.

To Apply

Please send a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, short writing sample in English (i.e. a published article or opinion piece), and contact information for three references to ESCR-Net by email to EDsearch@escr-net.org, using your name in the subject of your email, by Friday, 28 March. We anticipate holding first interviews beginning on the week of 21 April. We anticipate concluding this process by June, after which the international hiring committee will communicate results with all candidates.