About the Organisation

The Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (the PEC) works to understand the systems that enable exploitation so that we can strengthen the laws and policies designed to prevent it. To achieve this, we bring together expertise from people with lived experience of exploitation, human rights specialists, frontline practitioners, policymakers, researchers, civil society and businesses.

Ending exploitation in global supply chains is a crucial part of protecting human rights. Over the last eight years, we’ve supported a range of research projects exploring how businesses can most effectively mitigate risks of exploitative labour practices in their global supply chains.

Many businesses don’t fully know what tools are out there for them to carry out due diligence on their supply chains in order to mitigate the risk of human rights harms.

And even when they do know about some of these products, it is hard for them to ascertain which of the available products will be the most effective in any given context.

The placement project

You’ll work closely with our partnerships, research and policy impact teams during your placement. With their support, you’ll produce a landscape analysis of what tools are already out there to help businesses meet their human rights obligations when it comes to managing and mitigating the risk of exploitative working conditions in their supply chains.

This will include a particular focus on identifying tools that can support businesses to meet their obligations under the new EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

There is also potential to engage with other strands of the PEC’s work depending on your interests, and we are happy to discuss these with the prospective student. This might include, for example, attendance at relevant meetings with academics, policymakers and businesses, including helping staff to prepare an upcoming roundtable on labour rights abuses in November, which will provide exposure to high-level discussions on related issues. If you want to grow your experience of working with academics, policymakers and businesses to generate real-world change, this could be the right placement for you.

By the end of the placement you’ll have produced:

• A written report with full references and bibliography (to be completed by end of January)
• A list of key products/tools, which we may explore publishing as a separate resource
• Suggestions for follow up research questions and areas to explore.

There is also potential to for you to:

• Share your findings via a blogpost
• Share your findings via a poster at the PEC’s 2027 conference (held in Oxford in February)

Your placement outputs will help the PEC to plan further interventions that help address gaps in knowledge about the suitability and effectiveness of different tools and approaches to improve human rights due diligence in business supply chains.

Who we are looking for

The successful candidate will have

• Significant experience of research focusing on human rights due diligence, business and human rights, corporate social responsibility or a similar area
• Experience of, or interest in, engaging directly with businesses and translating evidence into forms that are accessible and relevant to business
• An ambition to see real-world impact arising from your work
• Ability to work independently and proactively, seeking guidance and input as necessary
• Ideally some experience of legal analysis, though a law degree is not necessary and this could be from another disciplinary lens (e.g. political science, sociology, management studies).

Supervision and collaboration arrangements

The student will have weekly catch-ups with the PEC Partnerships Lead, who will be the placement supervisor. A researcher at the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, a PEC partner organisation, with expertise in the topic area will offer additional expert oversight and  will join regular catch-ups as necessary.

Additionally, the student will work with the PEC’s Research and Policy Impact teams as relevant, and engage with key external stakeholders, including a member of the PEC’s Advisory Council.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to sponsor the student for a visa covering the duration of the placement, if required.

Vulnerable clients or service users

The PEC engages regularly with people who have lived experience of modern slavery. The student is not expected to do so as part of this project, but there would be opportunities for exposure to that aspect of the PEC’s work depending on the student’s interest.

No DBS check is required.

How to Apply

STEP 1: Express your interest by emailing placements.gudtp@socsci.ox.ac.uk 

STEP2: Submit the following by e-mailing placements.gudtp@socsci.ox.ac.uk:

• CV detailing full academic results to date and highlighting relevant experience and skills
• 1-2 page cover letter, emphasising their relevant research experience and (if any) business-engagement experience, and setting out why they are interested in this placement
• A short writing sample of no more than 2,000 words. Ideally, this should be a non-academic piece, e.g. a blogpost, policy brief or industry report

Dr Owain Johnstone, the MSPEC Partnerships Manager would welcome questions from interested applicants at owain.johnstone@humanities.ox.ac.uk. Please title your email ‘PEC-GUDTP PhD Placement’.

We encourage applications from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. The placement team is committed to fostering an inclusive research environment.

Deadline for applications: Sunday 25 October 2026

Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed by members of the MSPEC team.