ISEAL is offering a new role for aspiring sustainability professionals who are comfortable with and excited by working with challenging topics around sustainability standards. The role will provide valuable exposure to ISEAL’s approach to working with standards systems and partners in business and government to catalyse global efforts on critical social, economic, and environmental sustainability issues. If you are looking to apply your existing project support, administration and writing skills, we can provide you with excellent insights and networks that will benefit your progress.

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. Our Innovations workstreams explore and pilot new solutions to operational and strategic challenges sustainability standards face. The position will be critical to the coordination of projects and engagement with ISEAL members on system innovation working on sustainability topics such as farmer livelihoods, sustainable landscapes, and the bio-economy.  Specific project assignments will change over time as our project portfolio evolves.

ISEAL is co-creating knowledge and content, often working on topics where good practice and solutions have not yet been identified.  The coordinator will be part of this journey of peer-to-peer learning, pilot testing, and discovery. The role will collaborate with different ISEAL teams and be in contact with ISEAL community member / partner organisations, making this an excellent opportunity to learn about a wide range of initiatives.

To be considered for this role, you will need to be highly organised and reliable, with attention to detail and an ability to take the initiative 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. Having gained a good level of work experience you are familiar with roles focused on project administration, research or analysis, stakeholder engagement and communications. You are keen to learn more about ISEAL´s work on market driven sustainability solutions and to provide all- round assistance to several exciting ISEAL projects. The position will be based in ISEAL’s Impacts and Innovations team.

The key responsibilities we entrust you with

Project support

• Contribute to outreach to project stakeholders, Community Members, partners & event attendees, answering and directing queries and scheduling appointments and virtual/ in-person meetings
• Organise meeting logistics, agenda preparation, notetaking, audio recording and the tracking and implementation of follow up actions and communications
• Carry out background research, review documents, and gather and analyse information using templates and tools such as Excel
• Coordinate project processes, including implementing procurement procedures, drafting contracts with consultants (based on ISEAL templates) and maintaining project-related systems
• Maintain web pages related to event and programme activities and support email and social media campaigns; upload blogs, documents, and resources
• Support drafting and production of relevant newsletters, website articles, and report sections
• Proof-read, edit, design, and format documents in Word and Powerpoint, using ISEAL templates
• Support organisation and delivery of virtual, hybrid, and in person meetings and community engagement, provide technical support during Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings, operate other engagement tools (e.g. EasyRetro, Miro, Jamboard, etc)

General

• Provide support to senior project leads in grant management and stakeholder engagement
• Assist in promoting best practice in use of IT, communications and knowledge management systems within projects, and support efforts to help bring about improvements
• Provide ad hoc support to organisation-wide initiatives, if needs arise
• Be a collaborative and effective team member, liaising with colleagues at all levels across the organisation where needed
• Additional responsibilities as assigned by supervisor

Essential attributes, skills & knowledge

• Experience working in a project 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 on sustainability issues
• 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 and 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
• 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) and proficiency in MS Office

Additionally desirable

• Experience with support for grant funded projects
• Experience working in certification/standard setting, ideally familiarity with one of ISEAL´s members

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 www.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.

International travel: The post holder will be required to undertake occasional international travel

Ideal start date: May 2024

Click here to apply

Enquiries about the role can be director to recruitment@isealalliance.org.

Please note we will not individually contact applicants unless they are shortlisted for interview.

Initial interviews are like to happen w/c 22 April, with second interview w/c 29 April.