Food policy officer jobs in Egham, surrey

Impatience Earth is a non-profit climate philanthropy consultancy founded in 2020 with a mission to educate, challenge and inspire wealth holders to take bolder funding decisions to address the climate emergency.

For the first time, we will be undertaking work to focus specifically on climate resilience in the UK. Currently this work sits with two existing team members, and a network of Associates and advisors. We are hiring a new team member to support this work on a fixed-term contract running from 2026-2027. 

Why UK resilience? We can see the impacts of climate change in the UK are rapidly increasing  - from direct impacts such as extreme heat, flooding and heavy rainfall, to direct knock-on effects such as increasing food prices. What is often hidden is the social, economic and racial injustice at the core of climate vulnerability in the UK. The people who are disproportionately impacted by climate change are also most likely to be excluded from the process to address it. This includes women and girls living  at the intersections of poverty, disability and race who remain overlooked by climate policy and interventions, even though the inclusion of women in environmental decision-making processes has been shown to have a positive impact on their outcomes.

Climate change is occurring at the same time as trust in British society, democracy and politics is collapsing. As recent research from Climate Outreach shows, voters in the UK feel overlooked, disillusioned about the present and fearful for the future, and many are yet to be convinced that net zero offers a positive way forward. 

Yet research also shows that the majority of the public do care about climate change and protecting nature, and we know from our work that there are individuals and groups across the UK who are taking action to create a more resilient future - often on a shoestring budget. When Impatience Earth convened funders around the topic of climate resilience in the UK, we had a lot of interest. We also heard that a common challenge is identifying resilience-building work to fund. A recurring question was ‘resilience-building work: how do we know it when we see it?”

This new role at Impatience Earth is designed to help us answer two key questions: 

1. How do we use our position and bird's-eye view of the philanthropy ecosystem to make climate philanthropy work more effectively for marginalised communities in the UK and withstand political headwinds?

2. How do we build the ecosystem for gender just climate action in the UK?

To answer these, it will be important to work in partnership and collaboration with other UK philanthropic support organisations (such as the Environmental Funders Network); help build bridges between the different organisations and groups doing this work across the UK; and shine a light on the opportunities for funders and policy-makers to support climate action that builds the resilience of the people who are most affected, but often overlooked. This role is an exciting opportunity to increase awareness and action in the philanthropic sector around the different dimensions of climate risk in the UK, especially as a result of gender inequity, poverty and other intersecting forms of marginalisation. 

About Impatience Earth

Impatience Earth is a non-profit climate philanthropy consultancy with a mission to educate, challenge and inspire wealth holders to take bolder funding decisions to address the climate emergency. Since 2020, IE has catalysed over £250 million in new philanthropic funding for climate action around the world, of which over £90 million has already been disbursed to impactful organisations working to mitigate climate change and build the resilience of communities in the face of increasing climate risk.

With a core focus on climate justice, Impatience Earth explores with funders how they can effectively resource and partner with the leaders and communities on the frontline of climate actions who are often overlooked and underfunded by mainstream climate philanthropy. Impatience Earth’s portfolio of work in the UK is increasingly focused on how funders can build the power of local communities to increase their resilience against increasing climate impacts - such as extreme weather events - that also exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. 

Requirements for this role

1. You live and are legally able to work in the UK (unfortunately we are unable to sponsor UK work visas)

2. You have a good understanding of the way that climate change will intersect with different forms of oppression and vulnerability in the UK, particularly gender but also: racism, poverty and class inequality, disability, discrimination due to sexual orientation, faith, migration status and other factors.

3. You have a good understanding of the ways that climate change is already impacting communities in the UK, as well as solutions relating to resilience-building.

4. You have a good understanding, likely through your own lived experience, of the difference in economic opportunities and investment beyond London and across the different parts of the UK. 

5. You have a demonstrated ability to build trusted working relationships with a range of stakeholders, which might include: community-based organisations, philanthropic foundations and local authorities. 

6. You are respectful of people with different backgrounds, cultures, faiths and lived experiences. 

7. You are curious and a good listener. 

8. You are highly organised and motivated to work in a fast-paced organisation. 

9. You enjoy working in-person with different stakeholders, and you’re happy to travel to other parts of the UK when required to attend in-person meetings, events and represent Impatience Earth (travel expenses will be covered).

10. You can lead, and contribute to, research and written reports that can be shared with funders and external audiences. 

11. You are highly competent with online working and online collaboration including: email, Zoom conferencing, and online documentation.

Day-to-Day Activities 

Whilst this work is still being developed, and you will have an opportunity to shape it, the day-to-day activities will likely include the following. 

Strategy

• Support the development of Impatience Earth’s UK resilience strategy, by reviewing existing plans and providing feedback and suggestions.

• Throughout this role, share learnings and feedback with the Impatience Earth team, Associates and other stakeholders, aiming to ‘work in the open’.

• Help Impatience Earth to recruit and work with a group of advisors.

Relationship building and new collaborations

• Connect with the UK organisations and individuals that Impatience Earth has already built relationships with, identify opportunities to collaborate, and take plans forward. This could include convening a roundtable or co-designing an event.

• Make new connections with individuals and organisations outside of Impatience Earth’s existing network who are working to build the resilience of communities across the UK. This could be through attending conferences, community events, or cold outreach and calls. 

• Build bridges between organisations and funders working across different themes (such as climate and gender) to strengthen the ecosystem on intersectional climate resilience. 

• Develop and maintain excellent external relationships, always acting as an ambassador for Impatience Earth, to help build our reputation and profile.

• Manage the planning and execution of events, including developing an agenda, giving presentations, facilitating group discussions, and providing logistical support. 

Research and writing

• Support Impatience Earth to develop a taxonomy for gender-just climate resilience in the UK, that will later be shared with funders and other external stakeholders.

• Work with other team members  to conduct research and mapping that can form the basis of recommendations for funders.

• Draft high-quality written reports, blogs, presentations and other online materials on the topic of intersectional, gender-just climate resilience.
   

Internal knowledge management and communication

• Communicate across the Impatience Earth team, with colleagues working in different parts of the world, to share information and cross-check opportunities. As a remote team, our work is made possible by internal knowledge management and communication. This will include:

  • Timely writing up of notes and actions from meetings you attend and saving on our Google Drive

  • Sharing time-sensitive insights and opportunities with the team on Slack

  • Joining weekly online team meetings

Benefits

As part of this role, you will have a pro rata allowance of 25 days paid annual leave, individual coaching, a professional development budget and be part of a passionate team committed to advancing climate action. We have taken a range of steps to build an inclusive and welcoming work culture and we hope we will receive applications from people from a range of backgrounds.

How To Apply

We are not able to sponsor visas unfortunately and are not doing calls with candidates in advance of applications. 

We are committed to inclusive recruitment. If you have any access requirements or need reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know so we can discuss how to support you.

Stage 1: Submit your CV plus either a cover letter (1.5 pages max), or a short video, that includes details about your relevant experience for the role and why you think you’ll be a good fit. Please consider the Requirements for this role section when you write your cover letter/record your video, particularly points 2-5. Please submit documents in PDF format as we are unable to open MS Word files.
 

Stage 2: Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an initial video interview carried out via Zoom to discuss your experience and what excites you about the role. We will send all candidates the interview questions in advance.

Stage 3: You will be asked to complete a short assignment at a time that suits you. At this stage in the process, we will offer candidates a £50 stipend to cover the time invested in this exercise.

Stage 4: As part of the final interview stage, you’ll be invited to a full interview and we will be sending all candidates the interview questions in advance. At this stage in the process, we will offer candidates an additional £50 stipend to cover the time invested in preparing for interview.

Who You Will Meet

As part of the interview process, you will meet our CEO Yasmin Ahammad, Director Sarah Farrell and People and Wellbeing Director, Heather Salmon. For more information, see our website impatience.earth.