Consultant/Consultancy – Human Rights Risks in Shrimp Supply Chains: Assessment of Alignment with the ETI Base Code
Posted 6 days ago by Ethical Trading Initiative
Negotiable
Undetermined
Remote
United Kingdom
Summary: The role involves conducting a consultancy focused on human rights risks in shrimp supply chains, assessing alignment with the ETI Base Code. The consultant will perform desk-based research, provide actionable recommendations for retailers, and deliver webinars to share findings. The consultancy period extends until October 2025, with a focus on responsible purchasing practices. The position is remote and requires expertise in business and human rights within the seafood industry.
Key Responsibilities:
- Conduct a desk-based review of known human rights impacts in key shrimp sourcing regions.
- Map these impacts against the ETI Base Code, highlighting how retailers’ purchasing practices can enable or hinder compliance.
- Examine sector-wide and retailer-specific purchasing practices using primary and secondary sources.
- Conduct a rapid assessment of existing retailer approaches to mitigate human rights risks.
- Develop a short list of self-assessment questions for retailers’ shrimp buying teams.
- Provide recommendations for responsible sourcing or sustainability teams.
- Optionally propose key informant interviews or other primary research methods.
- Deliver a synthesis report and co-host remote webinars to share findings.
Key Skills:
- Expertise in business and human rights.
- Experience in shrimp and fishery supply chains.
- Strong ability to synthesise and analyse data sets.
- Familiarity with ETI Base Code and relevant labour standards.
- Knowledge of responsible purchasing practices in retail.
- Strong report writing skills in English.
- Experience engaging with industry stakeholders.
Salary (Rate): undetermined
City: undetermined
Country: United Kingdom
Working Arrangements: remote
IR35 Status: undetermined
Seniority Level: undetermined
Industry: Other
Position: Consultant/Consultancy – Human Rights Risks in Shrimp Supply Chains: Assessment of Alignment with the ETI Base Code
Location: Remote
Consultancy Period: September – 24 October 2025 (with webinars delivered in November and December 2025)
Application Deadline: 10 September 2025
This activity is part of ETI’s ongoing work to strengthen responsible purchasing practices across global seafood supply chains. The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is seeking to support UK, EU, and Australian retailers in embedding commercial practices that enable suppliers in farmed shrimp supply chains to comply with the ETI Base Code. Purchasing decisions, including lead times, pricing, and order volumes, directly affect the ability of suppliers to meet labour and human rights standards. This consultancy aims to consolidate existing research to better understand these dynamics and identify actionable recommendations for retailers.
Purpose of the Consultancy
The consultancy will undertake desk-based research to:
- Conduct a focused literature review examining how purchasing practices of UK, EU, and Australian retailers affect the ability of suppliers in farmed shrimp supply chains to meet the ETI Base Code.
- Provide recommendations for UK, EU, and Australian retailers/supermarkets on commercial practices that enable suppliers to comply with the ETI Base Code, structured using the Food Framework.
Key Responsibilities
The consultant(s) will:
- Conduct a desk-based review of known human rights impacts in key shrimp sourcing regions (South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America) to provide context on sector challenges.
- Map these impacts against the ETI Base Code, highlighting how retailers’ purchasing practices can enable or hinder suppliers’ compliance.
- Examine sector-wide and retailer-specific purchasing practices using primary and secondary sources, focusing on buyer behaviour rather than supplier failings.
- Conduct a rapid, high-level assessment of the effectiveness and limitations of existing retailer approaches (e.g., certifications) to mitigate human rights risks.
- Develop a short list of self-assessment questions for retailers’ shrimp buying teams to evaluate whether their purchasing practices support compliance with the ETI Base Code.
- Provide recommendations for retailers’ responsible sourcing or sustainability teams on how to adopt commercial practices that facilitate supplier adherence to the ETI Base Code.
- Optionally propose a limited number of key informant interviews (KIIs) or other primary research methods to complement the research findings.
Outputs
- X1 synthesis report (c. 5–7 pages)
- X2 co-hosted remote webinars to share findings from the report (maximum 2 hours each)
Criteria/Requirements
Applicants should demonstrate:
- Expertise in business and human rights
- Expertise in shrimp and fishery supply chains
- Experience engaging with industry stakeholders, including conducting interviews
- Strong ability to synthesise and analyse data sets for compelling cases of support
- Familiarity with ETI Base Code, responsible purchasing practices, and relevant labour standards and due diligence legislation (CSDDD, Modern Slavery Act, EUFLR, GSCOP)
- Knowledge of responsible purchasing practices in retail
- Strong report writing in English
Contract Details
Type: Consultancy contract
Timeline: Report finalised by 24 October 2025; webinars delivered in November and December 2025 (dates TBC)
Budget: £4,000–£10,000 (inclusive of all fees, travel, and expenses)
Payment schedule: 50% upon contract signing/initiation of work; 50% upon submission and approval of final synthesis report
Application Process
We welcome applications from both individual consultants and organisations. Please submit the following by 10 September 2025 to hr@eti.org.uk with the subject line: “Human Rights Risks in Shrimp Supply Chains”:
- CV(s)
- A short proposal (2–3 pages) explaining how you meet the requirements, including methodology, action plan, timeline, and budget.
More in-depth information about the requirements of this position can be found in the Terms of Reference available on our website.