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Reporting to: Senior Programme Officer.
Contract Type: Full time, permanent (part-time candidates will be considered, minimum four days per week, flexible working hours can be accommodated).
Location: Hybrid, minimum two days per week in London office (applicants must already be eligible to work in the UK).
Salary: £29,000 (plus benefits) FTE.
Accessibility and Inclusion: Accommodation in the role and interview process will be made for candidates with accessibility needs, and we operate a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for those with a disability or from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background; please see below for details.
Start Date: June 2024. Closing date for applications: 23:59 BST 28/04/2024.
About this role
This role is an opportunity to participate in the global movement to protect the natural world; meeting and supporting incredible communities and organisations driving change to secure a sustainable future. You will be supporting our partners and carrying out grant administration in the Amphibian and Congo Basin Programmes, for which proficiency in both French and English is essential.
The role will be a fundamental part of Synchronicity Earth’s Programmes team (currently a team of seven people), working to help develop and grow the support we provide to our partners (grantees) across our programmes. Please note that first-stage interviews for this role will be conducted in both French and English.
Specific responsibilities will include the following:
- Manage some grantee partner relationships, including building trust and openness, identifying capacity needs, administrating grants, monitoring progress and fulfilling reporting requirements.
- Provide administrative support across the Programmes Team with grant management e.g. preparing of grant paperwork, reviewing partner reports and checklists (proposals), monitoring pipelines.
- Undertake research in focal areas for the Programmes Team, such as identifying intervention points and opportunities to make a difference in conservation.
- Contribute to communication products, including donor reports and applications, to support Synchronicity Earth’s fundraising and philanthropic goals.
- Produce and contribute to board papers and discussions.
- Update and undertake due diligence.
- Manage and maintain partner database, including data entry, preparing reports and basic analysis.
- Contribute to the development of Synchronicity Earth’s processes and systems around partner management and due diligence.
For the right candidate, there will be opportunities to increase your experience, responsibilities, and potential career development as the organisation grows. We also have several cross-cutting Working Groups in which we welcome engagement from new staff, these currently include Reimagining Philanthropy, Youth, and EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion).
About us
Synchronicity Earth is a UK-based, global environmental charity which funds work that aims to make our planet a better place to live for all its inhabitants.
We are a medium-sized charity which supports partners working to protect less well-known species and ecosystems around the world that receive less attention but face the greatest threats. We do this through our Conservation Programmes, which identify, fund, and support organisations with a focus on: Amphibians, Asian Species, Congo Basin, Biocultural Diversity, Freshwater, and Ocean. We also support work across two other areas: the More than Carbon initiative, a portfolio of climate and biodiversity projects targeted at corporate donors; and the Synchronicity Portfolio, which aims to foster systemic change to promote a greater focus on biodiversity conservation within different sectors. Our partners are mostly organisations embedded within their local communities, and we often support work which also considers social impacts such as women’s health and empowerment, engagement with Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and sustainable livelihoods (e.g., small-scale fisheries) in addition to wildlife conservation.
Skills and experience required
Essential
- Proficient written and spoken English equivalent to C1 or C2 level.
- Proficient written and spoken French equivalent to C1 or C2 level.
- Bachelor’s degree or three or more years’ work experience in a relevant area. This could be lived experience, volunteering, or work experience related to sectors such as biodiversity conservation, social justice, environmental protection, community organizing, or engagement with political and social movements.
- Demonstrable interest in ecology, endangered species and biodiversity conservation, social justice, or community organising.
- Proven ability to produce high-quality written materials.
- Computer literacy.
Desirable
- Experience in Africa (especially lived experience in West or Central Africa).
- Some understanding of community- and rights-based approaches.
- Willingness to undertake occasional travel both within the UK and overseas.
- Desire to work across a range of conservation issues and to undertake a diverse role.
Your development: skills and experience from this role
The following list is meant to provide guidance for your application while also demonstrating the type of skills and experience you will develop as part of this role. If there is anything here which you have currently had no experience in, but would like to develop, then this would be a great role for you – please see the following section. Please let us know in your application if any of these particularly appeal to you, or you have some experience already.
Key skills and training: research and analysis, fundraising, project and programme management, grant administration.
- Gain experience in communicating technical or complex projects or ideas to a non-expert audience (i.e., explaining complex projects or scientific research).
- Learn about Synchronicity Earth’s value-driven approach to supporting biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.
- Gain experience in managing partner relationships, building trusting and open relationships.
- Gain experience in grant administration from early scoping, to grant payment, to reporting.
- Gain experience working collaboratively and across multiple work-flows to ensure partners receive the support they require on time and to a high standard.
- Learn how to collect and analyse data, particularly in relation to conservation impact.
- Gain experience in undertaking research in focal areas for the Programmes Team, including the possibility of your research informing and guiding the development of new funds and programmes.
- Gain experience in fundraising, supporting the Programmes and Philanthropy Teams to meet their fundraising goals.
- Develop your public speaking skills and work towards opportunities to represent the organisation at external events.
- Grow your ability to identify themes & trends among grantee partners’ efforts, to see and bridge gaps, and to connect dots.
- Gain experience using different systems and tools i.e., Salesforce, Asana, and Tableau.
Our workplace values and culture
We pride ourselves on having an open and inclusive culture. Our team supports each other and encourages new ideas and creativity to help us develop new projects and reach new audiences with our work. We aim to apply the same dedication to a flourishing diversity of people and wildlife on our planet through our programmes to our working environment and strive to make this environment open and inclusive for everyone. We recognise that the environment sector in the UK is close to the bottom in terms of the diversity of its employees, and we are actively committed to doing what we can to change this.
Employment details
Reporting, location, and work hours
This position is a permanent full-time position that is based in the Synchronicity Earth offices in Central London, with the option for hybrid office/home working if the successful applicant wishes with 2 days a week in the office (laptop would be provided for home working). The successful candidate must be already eligible to work in the UK.
Annual leave
25 days per year for a full-time position (in addition to public holidays), adjusted for part-time. We also run an employer-supported volunteering programme, where employees may take additional time-off (2 days per annum) to volunteer for community organisations and other charities (in accordance with our policy).
Benefits
Synchronicity Earth offers staff a range of benefits including, but not limited to, a minimum 6% pension contribution, travel loan assistance, and a health care benefit. More details can be found in the careers section of our website and in the supporting documents.
Accessibility
We welcome applications from people with disabilities and are always looking for how we can make our workplace more accessible. Our office has step-free access with an off-street entrance and lift; we can offer adaptive workstations, chairs, or desks; and can provide flexible working hours or condensed workweeks to accommodate medical appointments or help employees manage fatigue. Candidates with disabilities are eligible for our Guaranteed Interview Scheme, and we encourage you to let us know if there are any adjustments we can make for you or information you need during the application process.
Application & Recruitment Process
Inclusion is a priority throughout our workplace culture and is embedded in our recruitment process (and we are actively still seeking to improve it through employee and candidate suggestions). For example, the first stage of recruitment will be anonymised to mitigate against unconscious bias. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds for this role, particularly non-graduates, and are happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Please let us know at any stage during the recruitment process if you have any accessibility requirements we can accommodate for you, and which pronouns you would like to be referred to by. If you are new to the sector, we have some helpful resources on our website to help support your application to this role and others.
How to apply:
- Please complete our candidate survey found in the supporting documents.
- Please send a cover letter (one side of A4) outlining any relevant skills and experience you have for this role, why it interests you, and any particular skills you would like to develop in this role, with your CV (no longer than two sides of A4).
Applications should be sent via Charity Jobs.
Closing date for applications: 28/04/2024.
Review process: The application process will have three stages. Following anonymized review of applications, first-stage candidates (including qualifying GIS candidates) will either be invited to a short zoom call (about 20 minutes) or asked to complete a short assessment. Up to six applicants will then be invited to a second-stage interview in person at our London offices with three members of our team. From these applicants, up to three people will be invited to a third-stage interview with our Head of Conservation Programmes and Senior Programme Officer. There will also be an opportunity for third-stage candidates to meet two members of Synchronicity Earth staff informally to get to know the team and what it is like to work for Synchronicity Earth.
The first-stage interview/assessment will aim to establish your proficiency in both English and French, and to understand your background and motivation for applying to this role. The second-stage interview will aim to understand your prior experience, your values, and what transferable skills you bring to the role. The third-stage interview will seek to understand how you work, whether this role and our organization are the right fit for you, and what development opportunities would be of most value to you.
Guaranteed Interview Scheme: We recognise that people from Black, Asian, and Minority-Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds and people with disabilities are under-represented in our sector, and that there are often additional barriers present for people from these groups when applying for roles in the charity sector and beyond. We aim to apply the same dedication to a flourishing diversity of people and wildlife on our planet through our programmes to our working environment and strive to make this environment open and inclusive for everyone.
As part of our commitment to attract and retain talented individuals from under-represented groups to the conservation and environment sector, if you have a disability or are from a BAME background, opt in to the Guaranteed Interview Scheme in our candidate survey, and demonstrate in your application that you meet the essential criteria for a role, you'll be guaranteed a first-stage assessment. In most cases, this will be a 20-minute interview held via Zoom, however, in the case of an extraordinary number of applicants, the first-stage candidates (including GIS) will receive a short assessment. The results of this assessment will be used to select candidates for the second-stage interview.
Expected first-stage interview dates: 08/05/2024 – 10/05/2024
Expected second-stage interview dates: 13/05/2024 – 17/05/2024
Expected third-stage interview dates: 20/05/2024
Please note that interview dates may change depending on volume of applications received.
Please complete our Candidate Survey, found in the supporting documents.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
ISEAL is offering an exciting opportunity for a proactive and well-organised individual with a keen interest in research and sustainability to support ISEAL’s workstream on impacts and research. The role provides coordination support to research, events and learning activities and offers valuable exposure to ISEAL and our community members’ work. The successful candidate will be provided with the opportunity to gain a deep understanding of how market-based sustainability tools such as standards are catalysing global efforts to advance on critical social and economic sustainability issues. If you are looking to apply your existing coordination and research skills to work on sustainability systems and research, this role will provide you with some excellent insights and networks.
ISEAL supports sustainability standards and similar market-based sustainability systems to improve their impacts on people and planet. ISEAL’s Credibility Principles and Codes of Good Practice are used globally to guide the development of credible sustainability systems and to evaluate the credibility of sustainability claims.
The main objective of the ISEAL´s impacts and research work is to gather, share, generate and disseminate credible and compelling research that helps ISEAL and its stakeholders understand the impacts and effectiveness of market-based sustainability approaches such as the use of standards, company approaches and other voluntary tools. A key mechanism to achieve this vision is the Evidensia platform evidensia(.)eco launched with partners in 2019. The maintenance, upkeep and growth of Evidensia as an independent and credible public good tool to share results and learning on market-based tools is a key responsibility this role.
The position will provide administrative and coordination support to the team and workstream including supporting research tracking, coding, delivery of learning events, communications, project management on special research projects and liaison with other ISEAL teams on collaborative work. Specific project assignments will change over time as ISEAL’s project portfolio evolves.
To be considered for this role, you will have good research experience and an interest in using research to drive learning and improve practice. You will be highly organised and reliable, with attention to detail and an ability to take things forward within an agreed scope. You enjoy working on a varied and changing set of tasks related to an area of specialist knowledge and will thrive on engaging with complex systems and problems and learning more about topics related to sustainability standards. You have a friendly and professional demeanour and are comfortable in your communications and interactions with colleagues and external stakeholders. You can bring sound research skills and a good level of work experience in roles focused on project administration, research or analysis, stakeholder engagement and communications.
The position will be based in ISEAL’s Impacts and Evidence workstream which sits within the Policy and Engagement Team.
Key Responsibilities we will entrust you with:
Project coordination and delivery support
- Coordinate project management processes, including implementation of procurement procedures, drafting contracts with consultants (based on ISEAL templates) and maintaining project-related systems
- Carry out background research, review documents, and gather and analyse information using templates and tools such as Excel
- Liaise with select external project partners to share updates and ensure smooth project management
- Contribute to outreach to project stakeholders, Community Members, partners & event attendees, answering and directing queries and scheduling appointments and virtual/ in-person meetings
Evidensia platform, communication and events
- Monitor and track relevant research for the Evidensia platform
- Code and upload content and resources onto the Evidensia platform
- Create social media content for Evidensia channels with guidance from manager
- Support production of team reports and research products
- Coordinate event and meeting logistics, both virtual and in person, and preparation of agendas, communication with participants etc.
- Support event and meeting delivery, including technical support, taking notes, follow up actions and dissemination of post event communications
- Liaise with other teams within ISEAL and with ISEAL members to share new research and provide updates on latest work
- Support drafting and production of relevant newsletters, website articles, and reports
Research, analysis and writing
- Carry out background and desk research support as needed for the team on Evidensia or special research projects
- Proof-read, edit, design, and format documents in Word and Powerpoint, using ISEAL templates
- Prepare slides and other communication material for the team for meetings
Experience, Knowledge and Attributes
- Experience working in a policy or research/analysis support role, in a highly collaborative environment such as an international NGO
- Understanding of sustainability systems and how they work to help deliver change
- Experience and comfort working with subject matter of a niche or specialist nature, possibly gained through data analysis, project communications, and/or the review and analysis of data sets, academic research, technical reports, and policy documents
- Strong organisational skills, and experience with administration, meeting coordination, logistics, contracts, budget tracking, etc.
- Confidence in communications with peers and external partners, comfortable in public speaking situations (e.g. webinars, workshops etc)
- Good time management and ability to organise multiple simultaneous tasks efficiently with precision and strong attention to detail
- Excellent written & spoken English, with proven ability to write clearly and concisely on a range of topics
- Ability to communicate and work effectively with cross-functional teams in a fully remote, international environment, including regular international time-zone calls
- Ability to thrive in a dynamic work environment with changing projects and working with multiple project leads
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, familiarity with virtual meeting tools (e.g. MS Teams, Zoom, etc), use of contact management databases (e.g. Salesforce)
Additionally desirable
- Knowledge of research methodologies, particularly systematic review
- Experience using Wordpress and newsletter systems, preferably MailChimp
About ISEAL
ISEAL supports ambitious sustainability systems and their partners to tackle the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges – from the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis to human rights and persistent poverty. ISEAL Community Members include many of the most respected sustainability schemes worldwide and are active across a diverse range of sectors. Read more about us on our website iseal(.)org.
ISEAL´s culture and how we will help you thrive
Our values are Connection, Empowerment, Inspiration, Wellbeing, Effective Working and Creativity.
These are traits we value in each other and in the organisation overall and we instil these in all our processes and interactions.
The issues we work on are of a global nature and our team reflects this, with individuals from many different backgrounds and nationalities. We know this diversity adds to the high quality of work we deliver as an organisation and through our commitment to diversity and inclusion we want to add strengths and perspectives in our team with each recruitment. Diversity for us includes race and gender identity, age, disability status, sexual orientation, religion and many other areas forming part of someone´s identity. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer.
As an organisation, we also support our people in their personal and professional development, with specific budgets and processes enabling individuals to take advantage of growth and development opportunities.
We offer 25 days of annual leave, to which we will add a day a year after 2 years (to a maximum of 30 days), as well as an extra five days as a one off once you have been with us for a full five years.
We recognise individuals’ preferences when it comes to where and when to work through a hybrid working model with a minimum of 4 days per month in the London office as well as the opportunity to apply for flexible working arrangements to suit individual´s needs.
Other relevant information
Term: This is an initial contract of one year with the possibility of extension
Working hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week
Salary: £30,000 – 34,500 per annum, depending on experience
Location: London. Applicants will need to provide evidence that they are entitled to work in the UK. An ability and willingness to work in a hybrid work environment is required.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
ISEAL is offering an exciting opportunity for a proactive and well-organised individual to join as an Assistant in our Policy and Engagement team. The role will provide administrative and coordination support to the activities and projects of the team. The successful candidate will provide thoughtful administrative, research, events delivery, mapping and tracking and communications support in a dynamic sustainability policy landscape, leading to valuable exposure to ISEAL and our community members’ work. If you are looking to kickstart your career in sustainability with a committed, respected and fast-paced international organisation, this role will provide you with some excellent insights and networks.
ISEAL supports sustainability standards and similar market-based sustainability systems to improve their impacts on people and planet. ISEAL’s Credibility Principles and Codes of Good Practice are used globally to guide the development of credible sustainability systems and to evaluate the credibility of sustainability claims.
The core objective of the Policy and Engagement team is to support governments, civil society and other business influencers to understand, identify and use credible sustainability systems. We do this through direct engagement with relevant government bodies in priority countries, engagement with individual businesses and business platforms and building community member awareness and knowledge about relevant policy files and implications of new policies for their schemes. The team also has a key role in convening members on specific policy issues and supporting a more collective voice and approach to influencing policy developments around sustainability.
To be considered for this role, you will need to be highly organised and reliable, with attention to detail and an ability to follow instructions. You should be comfortable carrying out multiple activities concurrently, enjoy working on a varied and changing set of tasks related to policy and sustainability. You have a strong interest in engaging with complex systems and problems and in learning more about topics related to sustainability standards and policy. You have a positive and proactive attitude to support the team and its goals and are eager to expand your knowledge and skillset by working on a range of activities. You have a friendly and professional demeanour and are comfortable in your communications and interactions with colleagues and external stakeholders. Alongside basic skills in research and task management you have had experience with varied IT tools and systems and are able to support with the use of the platforms and tools ISEAL uses.
In return, the role will provide an exciting introduction to a range of policy topics and an insight into working in an international not for profile organisation.
Key Responsibilities we will entrust you with:
Events
- Assist in organising event logistics for virtual member working groups on various topics (due diligence, claims, deforestation regulation) including tech support with platforms such as Zoom and MS Teams
- Support content preparation e.g. power point slides
- Communicate with speakers and draft and send event follow up e-mails
- Support project management, engagement tracking, outreach and administration
- Assist with any in-person events, including scouting for venues, support with logistics and preparation of agendas, communication with participants etc.
Communications and platform management
- Maintain relevant pages on the ISEAL internal platform and ISEAL website
- Support with drafting external communications and liaise closely with the ISEAL communications team
- Draft text for position papers, briefs and reports to be used on ISEAL social media channels (Twitter, LinkedIn)
- Contribute to newsletter drafting and coordinate distribution
Team organisationand support
- Assist with scheduling team meetings, preparation for away days and any workshops
- Support with note taking for team meetings, key external partner calls or member meetings
- Assist Director Policy and Engagement with team coordination activities
- Keep team organised with maintenance of team calendar, external events tracking, tracking of key metrics or KPIs, maintenance of folder structure
General Administrative support
- Support with contract management, using ISEAL templates and agreed timelines
- Be first point of contact for Community Members and external partner queries
- Proof-read, edit, design, and format documents in Word and Powerpoint, using ISEAL templates
Experience, Knowledge and Attribute
- Experience working or interning in a support/administrative role, ideally in international NGO, professional or membership organisation
- Interest in and possibly some knowledge of policy areas (due diligence, sustainability claims, etc)
- Some understanding of, sustainability standards and certification, which may have been gained in academic, internship, employment or voluntary settings
- Strong organisational skills, and experience supporting on administration, meeting coordination, logistics, contracts, budget tracking, etc.
- Confidence in communications with peers and external partners, comfortable in public speaking situations (e.g. webinars, workshops etc)
- Good time management and ability to organise multiple simultaneous tasks efficiently with precision and strong attention to detail
- Excellent written & spoken English, with proven ability to write clearly and concisely
- Ability to communicate and work effectively with cross-functional teams in a fully remote, international environment, including regular international time-zone calls
- Ability to thrive in a dynamic work environment with changing projects and working with multiple project leads
- Confidence in using the Microsoft Office suite and IT systems, familiarity with virtual meeting tools (e.g. MS Teams, Zoom, etc), use of contact management databases (e.g. Salesforce)
Additionally desirable
- Interest in social and economic sustainability
- Some experience working from home and/or with a manager off site
- Experience using newsletter systems, preferably MailChimp
About ISEAL
ISEAL supports ambitious sustainability systems and their partners to tackle the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges – from the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis to human rights and persistent poverty. ISEAL Community Members include many of the most respected sustainability schemes worldwide and are active across a diverse range of sectors. Read more about us on our website iseal(.)org.
ISEAL´s culture and how we will help you thrive
Our values are Connection, Empowerment, Inspiration, Wellbeing, Effective Working and Creativity.
These are traits we value in each other and in the organisation overall and we instil these in all our processes and interactions.
The issues we work on are of a global nature and our team reflects this, with individuals from many different backgrounds and nationalities. We know this diversity adds to the high quality of work we deliver as an organisation and through our commitment to diversity and inclusion we want to add strengths and perspectives in our team with each recruitment. Diversity for us includes race and gender identity, age, disability status, sexual orientation, religion and many other areas forming part of someone´s identity. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer.
As an organisation, we also support our people in their personal and professional development, with specific budgets and processes enabling individuals to take advantage of growth and development opportunities.
We offer 25 days of annual leave, to which we will add a day a year after 2 years (to a maximum of 30 days), as well as an extra five days as a one off once you have been with us for a full five years.
We recognise individuals’ preferences when it comes to where and when to work through a hybrid working model with a minimum of 4 days per month in the London office as well as the opportunity to apply for flexible working arrangements to suit individual´s needs.
Other relevant information
Term: This is an initial contract of one year with the possibility of extension
Working hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week
Salary: £25,500-£28,500 p.a. depending on experience (full time, 37.5 hours per week)
Location: London. Applicants will need to provide evidence that they are entitled to work in the UK. An ability and willingness to work in a hybrid work environment is required.
International travel: The post holder will be required to undertake occasional international travel
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.