Textile and garment industry director needed at IndustriALL

The garment and textile industry is IndustriALL's biggest sector, with 60 million workers in the world. Very few of them are organized, and the industry has been characterized by low wages, long working hours and hazardous workplaces. The Bangladesh Accord started a systemic change, and we are now focusing on organizing workers and securing bargaining structures with living wages. We need a director to lead our work in the sector. The position is based in Geneva and involves frequent travel.

 Principal tasks 

• Lead our work in the sector to build stronger, independent and self-reliant trade unions and greater unity, in line with our strategic goals and in cooperation with the section co-chairs and affiliates 
• Help unions to develop organizing, collective bargaining, joint actions and campaigns 
• Defend trade union rights and mobilize solidarity support when needed 
• Fight precarious work and work towards sustainable industrial employment 
• Develop and manage externally and internally funded projects, in cooperation with the union-building team, regional offices and project coordinators 
• Produce background documents, reports and news items in cooperation with the communications team 
• Organize conferences, workshops and other meetings, being prepared to travel 
• Contribute to team work as a member of IndustriALL’s industrial team in the Geneva head office 
• Undertake other possible tasks within our global union 

Requirements 

• Deep knowledge and understanding of the global textile and garment industry 
• Several years of experience of trade union action at national and/or international level including organizing, campaigns and training, or comparable experience 
• Ability to articulate the goals, strategies and policies of IndustriALL 
• Good verbal and written communication skills in English. Knowledge of another major language is a welcome asset 
• Capacity to communicate confidently with union members and leaders as well as with global corporations 
• You are self-directed, action-oriented, organized, flexible and reliable 
• You are capable of working in a team and with people from different countries and cultures 
• Computer skills: Microsoft Office (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint), Internet Explorer, Skype, social media 

Applications by Wednesday 8 July 2015 

Please send your application including a CV and motivation letter by e-mail to Maita Wyss at [email protected] at the latest by Wednesday 8 July 2015. In line with IndustriALL’s gender policy and taking into account the nature of the sector, we encourage applications from woman candidates. We will interview short-listed candidates and complete the application process swiftly so that the new industry director can start work in Geneva as soon as possible, preferably in September-October 2015