Program Overview

Human Rights Leadership Lab

The Human Rights Leadership Lab is a supportive and reflective learning space to develop your leadership presence, skills, and impact. It is the first ever leadership development training specifically designed to meet the needs of activists and leaders and managers working for human rights organisations.

Overview

The Human Rights Leadership Lab commences with an examination of its core philosophy - a human rights values-based approach to leadership. The course then turns to examine human rights organisational culture, different leadership styles and competencies, and how to motivate and inspire people using an empowering coaching approach. The final part of the Human Rights Leadership Lab focuses on how to build healthier and more sustainable working environments and prevent, mitigate, and respond to stress, burnout, and vicarious trauma through self-leadership and collective care strategies.

Course Details

• Name: Human Rights Leadership Lab
• Dates: 21 April to 19 May 2026
• Length of Study: 24 hours (6 x 4 hr)
• Course Size: Limited to 11 participants
• Method of study: Online
• Fees: From Ł660
• Suitable for: Human Rights Professionals in or about to take up a leadership role

Modules

The course comprises six four-hour modules, delivered in an online, interactive format, split over 5 weeks.

1. Module One: Values-Based Leadership and Organisational Culture
   • Learn about human rights values-based leadership and how you can put your values into practice as a leader.
   • Gain a clear understanding of the challenges and opportunities of organisational culture and the interplay between culture and leadership.
2. Module Two: Leadership Styles and Emotional Intelligence Framework
   • Learn about different leadership styles, including feminist leadership, and how and when to use them to get results in different situations and support the diverse needs of staff.
   • Understand emotional intelligence and why it is a superpower for human rights values-based leaders.
3. Module Three: Coaching to Empower, Inspire and Motivate
   • Learn how to use a coaching approach to empower and motivate staff to reach their maximum potential.
   • Develop key coaching competencies including active listening and powerful questioning while learning how to create an inspiring and reflective space.
4. Module Four: Open Space Leadership Lab Work
   • Share and reflect upon real leadership challenges and/or opportunities brought by members of our cohort, that we work through using a group coaching approach.
5. Module Five: Leading Yourself and Others Doing Human Rights Work
   • Understand the occupational hazards of human rights work and its potential negative impacts on the mental health of you and your staff.
   • Learn how to formulate and implement individual and organisational strategies to prevent, mitigate, and respond to vicarious trauma and burnout.
6. Module Six: Self-Leadership and Self-Care
   • Understand how great leadership starts with leading yourself.
   • Formulate a practical action plan to hold yourself accountable for your own self-care as a foundation for preventing burnout and chronic stress at work.

Learning Outcomes

You will learn how to:

• Put human rights values-based leadership into practice in your daily work
• Take your leadership presence and impact to the next level by learning new competencies and skills
• Further develop your leadership style and be more effective in responding to different situations and the diverse needs of staff
• Enhance your leadership ability and emotional intelligence through greater self-awareness and self-reflection
• Empower, motivate, and support staff using a coaching approach
• Implement strategies to lead yourself and others in ways that improve organisational culture as well as individual and team health and wellbeing
• Formulate and implement individual and organisational strategies to prevent, mitigate, and respond to vicarious trauma, stress, and burnout

Eligibility

The content of the course is specifically tailored for human rights professionals and human rights defenders who currently occupy or are soon to occupy leadership positions. It is not suitable for other people who do not meet this key criterion.

Fees

The fees for the Human Leadership Lab are:

• NGO/Charity: Ł935
• Governmental and Inter-Governmental: Ł1,325
• Essex Staff/Alumni: Ł795
• Non-Essex Academics: Ł935

Certificate

All participants who successfully complete the course will receive a University of Essex, Human Rights Centre certificate.

Course Facilitator

Liz Griffin is an honorary academic and professionally certified leadership coach and mentor. Liz empowers people working in social and climate justice spaces to make bigger strategic impacts, nurture leadership ability, presence, and skills, and build healthier organisations and sustainable ways of working. Liz is an Executive Fellow of the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex, where she previously lectured in International Human Rights Law.