Specialist, Responsible Sourcing Operations - Advancement

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

The role of the Specialist, Responsible Sourcing Operations – Advancement associate encompasses diverse responsibilities, including ensuring factories comply with VF standards, supporting safety and worker rights initiatives, driving environmental sustainability, and contributing to worker and community development efforts. In this role, the Advancement associate collaborates with VF factories, regional offices, cross-functional teams (including the factory compliance team), NGO partners, and various stakeholders to facilitate enhancements across all responsible sourcing domains. This role supports the implementation of responsible sourcing requirements and improvement activities at assigned factories. The Specialist conducts routine factory visits, follows up on corrective actions, reviews supporting evidence, maintains accurate records, and provides practical guidance based on established VF requirements. The Specialist is expected to identify and promptly escalate critical, recurring, or unresolved issues to the reporting manager and relevant subject matter teams.

The role plays a crucial role in advancing VF's commitment to comprehensive and sustainable practices across the sourced factory base.

Factory Compliance:

• Support assigned factories in understanding and implementing applicable VF requirements, local legal requirements, and relevant international standards.
• In partnership with the sourcing and compliance teams, support assigned factories in identifying compliance gaps, developing and implementing corrective action plans, and verifying the effectiveness of corrective actions through factory visits, document reviews, and follow-up discussions.
• Escalate overdue, recurring, ineffective, or potentially critical corrective actions to the reporting manager and relevant Responsible Sourcing teams.
• Communicate with vendors and factories on existing or new requirements in the Facility Guidelines, provide context, tools, and knowledge for suppliers to prepare ahead of audits.

Safety:

•  Collaborate closely with the VF Safety Team and VF's Safety Program Providers, offer assistance to in-scope factories in addressing safety concerns. This involves conducting both on-site and remote visits to address issues identified during safety assessments, aiming to enhance working conditions and prevent factory downgrades.
• Aid the VF Safety Team in coordinating both on-site and remote visits from third-party assessment, training, and remediation firms.

Worker Rights:

• In collaboration with the VF Worker Rights Team and external stakeholders (where applicable), support on incident investigation and remediation of labor issues or allegations, using knowledge of the country’s national legislation and international conventions on workers' rights.
• Support the company to quickly respond to critical concerns/issues arisen in countries of responsibility.

Environmental:

• In collaboration with the VF Environmental Sustainability Team, drive improved environmental sustainability performance at factories by proactively working with factory management to build Environmental Management Systems.
• Where appliable, work with the Environmental Sustainability Team and external stakeholders to promote and advise on participation in energy efficiency programs and renewable energy programs in countries of responsibility.

Worker and Community Development (WCD):

• In collaboration with VF’s WCD team, drive factory participation in the basic needs assessment to determine localized, community-specific needs.
• Support the WCD team and external partners on program implementation at factories, and regularly review performance with factory, implementation partners, VF management and workers to ensure the WCD program meets it’s objectives. 

KEY COMPETENCIES:

• Embodies the highest level of personal and professional integrity and ethics
• Experience in factory compliance audits with excellent knowledge on labor, Health & Safety, and environment local laws.
• Thorough knowledge on auditing processes and database administration.
• Excellent report writing and communication skills in both oral and written English.
• Ability to develop and maintain partnerships with key stakeholders across the business.
• Independent worker, strong problem-solving skill.
• Ability to consider perspectives aside from their own.
• Has a keen sense of urgency & able to prioritize and complete the assigned task in a tight schedule.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

• At least 3 years of relevant experience in responsible sourcing, factory compliance, social auditing, supplier improvement, or a related field, including practical experience in factory engagement and corrective action follow-up.
• Bachelor’s degree in labor relations, law, occupational health and safety, environmental science or engineering, social sciences, business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Expertise in using Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, Outlook and Web skills
• Relevant Knowledge and Experience:
• Labour, Health, Safety, and Environmental auditing.
• Laws, Regulations and Industry Standard of the region
• Laws & Regulation of Labor & Employments;
• Knowledge of human and labor rights.