Starting Date: ASAP/Mid-Sept 2025

Contract type: Full-time and open-ended

Salary: if hired in London – 33,756 GBP commensurate with relevant experience and skills

Location: London, UK

Application closing date: 15th July 2025

About the Job 

The Assurance Officer supports with assurance activities including assurance programme management, certification body management, data and quality systems and other general support to the Assurance team. Working with both the producer and chain of custody assurance teams, this role provides an exciting opportunity to support the team as Better Cotton transitions to a Certification Scheme.  

Responsibilities

The Assurance Officer reports to the Standards and Assurance Senior Coordinator. The Assurance Officer works closely with the other members of the Standard Systems Integrity team and regularly collaborates with other Better Cotton country teams and other stakeholders as required.  

Specifically, the Assurance Officer will have the following responsibilities: 

• Support Assurance Programme Management  

• • Supporting on scheme recognition with ISO17065 

• • Supporting on ISEAL code compliance 

• • Supporting on implementing of governance structure for the assurance programme 

• Certification Body Management 

• • Supporting on Certification Body engagement including - newsletters, working groups, ensuring awareness of programme changes and reviewing knowledge centre 

• • Supporting on Certification Body recruitment 

• • Supporting on Certification Body Training and Calibration - updating training materials, calendar and strategy 

• Data and Quality Systems 

• • Acting as a key user on Better Cotton’s Audit Management system  

• • Supporting with training and content delivery for CB’s use of the Audit Management system 

• Communications  

• • Supporting on communication of assurance team activities including but not limited to internal comms strategy and delivery, internal alignment and training and external communications 

Profile

The selected candidate will have the following skills, knowledge, and experience: 

Essential

• University degree, or equivalent higher education qualification, in a relevant field 
• Demonstrated interest in sustainability and international development
• Experience and willingness in carrying out administrative tasks to support achieving team objectives
• Excellent organisation and capacity to handle a set of different priorities several projects running in parallel
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively across different teams and cultures, strong relationship building skills and service-oriented attitude
• Good communication skills with the ability to communicate clearly and concisely, as well as the ability to assimilate and process information for wide-ranging audiences.
• Proven ability to work autonomously with a high level of personal effectiveness and ability to adapt to changing priorities
• Aptitude to appraise arguments critically and logically, organise ideas in a clear and concise manner, and draw conclusions and formulate arguments in way that is effective, concise, precise and specific
• Excellent computer and IT skills, including: Word; PowerPoint; Excel, Outlook (Microsoft Suite)
• Fluent in English– ability to communicate clearly and concisely

Desirable

• Academic background in rural/agricultural development and sustainability 
• Experience with Sharepoint, PowerBI (Microsoft Suite), and/or Salesforce
• Experience in a not-for profit organisation
• Experience with standards systems and assurance, auditing or certification
• Competency in languages most relevant to BCI countries, such as Hindi, Urdu, Mandarin, French, Portuguese and Turkish

What we offer

• Competitive salary 

• Hybrid working – one day/week in the central London offices 

• The opportunity to work from anywhere in the world for up to one month per year 

• Flexible working, with core hours from 10 am to 4 pm local time 

• Continuous learning and development 

• Pension scheme 

• 25 days paid annual leave, plus 8-9 Bank Holidays and a further 3 discretionary days off over Christmas/year end period. 

• Enhanced parental benefits 

• A warm, positive working environment where everyone is valued 

• The opportunity to make your mark and make a difference. 

Working arrangements

The position is full-time (40 hours per week) and will be based in London. Better Cotton offers flexible working, with core hours being 10 am – 4 pm.   

Apply now

Send us your CV (2 pages maximum) and a brief cover letter (1-page maximum) by or before 15.07.2025.  

In your cover letter, please include an explanation of why your experience is specifically relevant to this role at Better Cotton. We want to see your personal style – what makes you tick and why you think your next opportunity is here with us. 

Our hiring process

Initial Screening: 

If you are selected, you will be contacted for an initial screening, which may involve a brief phone interview or video call. The purpose is to learn more about you, confirm basic qualifications, and discuss the role and organisation. 

Interviews: 

If you are confirmed after the initial screening, you will be invited for interviews. The interview process at Better Cotton may include one or more rounds of interviews with various stakeholders, such as the hiring manager, team members, and potentially senior management. 

Assessment and Testing:  

Depending on the role, you might be required to complete assessments, technical tests, or skills evaluations to gauge your competency and suitability for the position. 

Reference Checks:  

Once you progress further in the process, reference checks are conducted to validate your work history, skills, and qualifications, and for some roles, your education and criminal history. 

Offer stage: 

After completing interviews, assessments, and reference checks, the hiring team evaluates your performance and fit for the role. If you are selected and your references are relevant and satisfactory, you will receive a formal job offer letter outlining the terms of employment, compensation, benefits, and any other relevant details. 

About Better Cotton

Better Cotton is a global not-for-profit organisation supporting the production of more equitable and sustainable cotton at farm level. We exist to catalyse the cotton farming community with partners, governments and others to continuously drive positive impact by setting standards and facilitating the supply and demand of more sustainable cotton from farm to brand. In just 15 years we have aligned more than a fifth of the world’s cotton with our standard and helped farmers and farming communities thrive. Join us in building a better, more sustainable future for cotton worldwide.

About our Values

The post holder will be expected to operate in line with our workplace values which are:  

• Trustworthy (including honest, transparent, credible) 
• As having Integrity (including responsible, authentic) 
• Positive (including problem-solving, pragmatic) 
• Engaging (including adaptable, inclusive, holistic) 
• Daring (including courageous, innovative, game-changing)  

Being you @ Better Cotton

Better Cotton is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to good practice and transparency in the management of natural, human, and financial resources.

We have a zero-tolerance approach to any attitudes or behaviours that put children or adults at risk of harm. Safeguarding incidents are acts of serious misconduct and are grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including, dismissal and referral to relevant authorities for criminal prosecution. Therefore, all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks.