Your role
JOB OBJECTIVES:
The Social Compliance Auditor will independently plan, conduct, and report social-compliance and responsible-sourcing audits at manufacturing, processing, distribution, agricultural, and other operational facilities.
Assignments may include SMETA, RBA, RSCI, SA8000, amfori BSCI, SLCP, customer-specific codes of conduct, and other social-compliance or responsible-business programs based on the auditor’s qualifications and client requirements.
This is an assurance role requiring professional independence, sound judgment, objective evidence collection, and clear communication. The auditor may not provide consulting, remediation implementation, or internal-audit services to a facility being assessed.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
- Plan and prepare for audits by reviewing facility profiles, scope, prior findings, applicable standards, client requirements, and relevant legal requirements.
- Conduct independent on-site audits, including opening and closing meetings, facility tours, management interviews, worker interviews, document reviews, payroll analysis, and working-hours reviews.
- Assess labor and human-rights practices, including child labor, forced labor, discrimination, disciplinary practices, freedom of association, wages, working hours, employment conditions, and occupational health and safety.
- Evaluate applicable environmental-management and business-ethics requirements.
- Collect and triangulate objective evidence from observations, records, interviews, and management-system documentation.
- Identify and document non-compliances clearly, accurately, and objectively.
- Prepare complete, professional, and timely audit reports in English using applicable client, program, and DQS reporting platforms.
- Communicate audit findings respectfully and professionally without providing advisory direction or prescribing corrective-action solutions.
- Review corrective-action evidence and conduct follow-up activities in accordance with applicable program requirements.
- Maintain confidentiality regarding worker interviews, personal information, client data, and audit findings.
- Complete required conflict-of-interest, impartiality, independence, and confidentiality declarations.
- Participate in auditor calibration, report reviews, witness assessments, training, and continuing professional-development activities.
- Maintain current knowledge of international labor standards, human rights, occupational-safety requirements, applicable laws, and social-audit methodologies.
- Coordinate effectively with DQS schedulers, technical reviewers, program managers, clients, co-auditors, and interpreters.
- Meet established audit-quality, reporting, utilization, and turnaround-time expectations.
Your profile
EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION REQUIRED:
- Active APSCA Certified Social Compliance Auditor (CSCA) status in good standing.
- Minimum of two years of experience as lead auditor conducting independent social-compliance, ethical-trade, responsible-sourcing, or human-rights audits.
- Practical experience conducting worker and management interviews, facility tours, document reviews, payroll and wage analysis, working-hours reviews, and occupational-health-and-safety assessments.
- Strong understanding of international labor and human-rights standards and applicable U.S. federal, state, and local requirements.
- Excellent written and spoken English, with the ability to prepare clear, evidence-based audit reports.
- Strong analytical, investigative, interviewing, communication, judgment, and time-management skills.
- Ability to work independently and managing frequent travel and multiple assignments.
- Valid driver’s license and ability to travel independently to client facilities.
- Legally authorized to work in the United States
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Experience with multiple social-compliance programs, such as SMETA, RBA, RSCI, SA8000, amfori BSCI, SLCP, WRAP, PSCI, TfS, or customized buyer codes of conduct.
- Familiarity with Sedex, RBA, RSCI, SLCP, or other audit-management and reporting platforms.
- Current SMETA approval or authorization through an approved audit company.
- Experience auditing multiple industries, including electronics, semiconductors, batteries, chemicals, plastics, packaging, apparel, footwear, food, agriculture, automotive, logistics, distribution, or other manufacturing operations.
- Professional fluency in Spanish or Chinese, in addition to English.
- Experience serving as a lead auditor, team leader, auditor mentor, technical reviewer, or calibration facilitator.
BEHAVIORS:
- Continuous improvement mindset for effectiveness and efficiency
- Leadership – by example and mentoring
- Ongoing feedback, up or down the organization – to either acknowledge performance or to initiate improvement
- Internal and external customer focus and responsiveness
- Communicate, regularly to your team and the organization
- Solve problems, propose solutions, and knock down barriers to success
- Collaborate across the organization
- Always accountable for performance
- Flexibility and openness to new ideas, solutions, and reaction to the market
- Recognizes risks and mitigates if necessary
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEO)
Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran status, disability, or other protected characteristic.
The employer is subject to certain governmental recordkeeping and reporting requirements for the administration of civil rights laws and regulations. In order to comply with these laws, the employer invites employees to voluntarily self-identify their race or ethnicity. Submission of this information is voluntary and refusal to provide it will not subject you to any adverse treatment. The information obtained will be kept confidential and may only be used in accordance with the provisions of applicable laws, executive orders, and regulations, including those that require the information to be summarized and reported to the federal government for civil rights enforcement. When reported, data will not identify any specific individual.