Facebook Is Looking to Add Someone With Serious Experience in Human Rights and Public Policy

Facebook is looking to add a heavy hitter in the areas of human rights and public policy to its C-Suite, either at its headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., or its office in Washington, D.C. A job posting from the company for a product policy director, human rights is definitely not aimed at greenhorns, as the first item under “minimum qualifications” reads, “12+ years of experience in public policy, human rights, conflict prevention, freedom of expression and technology.” Other criteria include: knowledge of conflict areas and threats to human rights; experience working with developing nations, governments and civil society organizations worldwide; experience working in conflict areas or with related programs; experience working with technical product teams; experience with consensus-building; and experience “operating independently and representing companies at the ministerial-level.” Furthermore, under a separate “qualifications” banner, Facebook said it is seeking candidates with: an advanced degree in public policy, foreign relations or law; “demonstrable” experience with technology’s impact on human rights, conflict and peace-building; experience with tech companies on developing and/or enforcing policies; experience “addressing information operations, propaganda, and/or the intersection of media and historical violence”; and experience in investigating the coordination of violence, crimes against humanity, mass atrocities and other human-rights abuses. On top of all that, he or she must be multilingual. As outlined in the job posting, the position’s responsibilities include: Coordinate and advise Facebook teams working on human rights, conflict prevention, peace-building and related projects. Work with Facebook's product, public policy, community operations and security teams, as well as external stakeholders, to monitor conflict situations for policy issues that interest the company. Work with Facebook's public policy, community operations and security teams to identify and work to disrupt actors that seek to misuse our platforms and target our users and to support those using our platforms to foster peace-building and enable transitional justice. Work within Facebook's product policy team to formulate policies that govern user, advertiser and developer behavior on Facebook. This includes policies to encourage responsible online activity, as well as policies that deter or mitigate the risk of human-rights violations or the escalation of targeted violence. Represent Facebook in meetings with politicians, policymakers, NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and civil society groups. Communicate on behalf of Facebook on topics in the intersection of human rights, technology, conflict prevention, freedom of expression and policy. Detect and respond to global events. Facebook said in the introduction portion of the job listing, “As the reach and impact of the Facebook family of companies continues to grow, so does the responsibility we have to respect the individual and human rights of the members of our diverse global community. Consistent with the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and our commitments as a member of the Global Network Initiative, the Facebook product policy team is dedicated to understanding the human-rights impacts of our platform and to crafting policies that allow us both to act against those who would use Facebook to enable harm, stifle expression and undermine human rights and to support those who seek to advance rights, promote peace and build strong communities.”