Job Title: NetZeroCities Programme - City Support Officer
Team: NetZeroCities Team (Cities Team)
Level: Foundation/Intermediate
Please refer to our Capability Framework
Salary: Competitive for Not-for-profit organisation
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Contract Type: 1 year fixed-term contract with possibility of renewal
Location: Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland
Start Date: ASAP
ABOUT US
EIT Climate-KIC (Knowledge and Innovation Community) is Europe’s foremost climate innovation initiative. We understand that keeping global temperature rise below 1.5˚C demands unprecedented change. It requires new social dynamics, ways of doing business, capital flows, policymaking, economic models, and new ways of living. That is why our mission is to leverage the power of systems innovation to transform whole places, industries, and value chains by 2030, working across sectors to develop and scale ambitious, mission-led programmes.
Established in 2010 and headquartered in Amsterdam, we orchestrate a community of more than 400 organisations including large corporations and SMEs, municipal and regional governments, universities, and research institutes, as well as non-governmental organisations and uncommon actors. Historically, we have been funded by our founder and core funder, the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT), but we are currently transitioning to a multi-funder model.
EIT Climate-KIC colleagues are based in one of our local offices across Europe or work remotely from home based in one of the countries where we have a branch. We meet at our local offices to exchange and connect and use online collaboration tools work with each other and with our Community. On occasion, we meet in-person as teams, and once per year as an organisation.
As a mission-driven organisation dedicated to climate transformation, we consider the climate impact of our own actions, for example travel, catering, or IT equipment.
ABOUT THE ROLE
NetZeroCities (NZC) is an initiative launched as part of the European Green Deal and directly linked to the European Commission’s Mission for 100 Climate-neutral and Smart Cities by 2030. EIT Climate-KIC is the lead organization of a 33-member consortium comprising NetZeroCities and will lead the process and coordinate across all Work Packages for the project. To deliver excellence in this project, EIT Climate-KIC will have a focused team with high capabilities to lead a complex, multi-sectoral, multi-partner project. The NetZeroCities project will provide systems innovation expertise and knowledge critical to achieving the Climate-neutral and Smart Cities Mission.
Cities are in core of the NetZeroCities. Now we are looking for a reinforcement to support our Climate-Neutral City Advisor Team who are working with the Mission and Pilot cities.
We are looking for a dynamic team player who is good at working simultaneously with variety of desktop research and coordination tasks, as well as people. We wish to bring to our team a person who is efficient and operational and wants to join a vibrant, multicultural team with a common goal of decarbonising cities. The successful candidate will be part of the cross-organisational Climate-Neutral City Advisor Team whose members are spread around Europe. We wish our new colleague to evolve our ways of working to model the change we want to see in the world.
Key Responsibilities
The NetZeroCities City Support Officer will be an integral part of the City Support Group and support Group’s everyday work with Mission and Pilot cities with various tasks, including:
- Support in preparing and planning the work with cities and benchmarking on different climate neutrality, transversal topics, and status reports for national level (EU member states and other Associated Countries where Mission and Pilot Cities are located)
- Data analysis including quantitative and qualitative data sets
- Visual design and support of workshop, presentation etc. materials needed for the city engagement work
- Coordination of daily workstreams, planning and scheduling of workshops, webinars and other events together with the City Advisors and project communication team
- Data management within the City Support Group - ensuring that city interactions are captured and documented and kept up to date
- Work as the contact point for the NetZeroCities “second wave” cities within the City Support Group
- Assist in the preparation and completion of project deliverables and internal working reports
- Organisational support to the City Support Project Manager and Work Package Co-lead
Key Working Relationships
- City Support Groups including Climate-Neutral City Advisors
- NetZeroCities Consortium Partners
- NetZeroCities PM/PMO teams and the wider EIT Climate KIC Cities Team
ABOUT YOU
To be successful in this role you will be a good team player, ready to roll up the sleeves in peak periods to finish urgent deadlines, solution oriented, working towards autonomy.
Education/Qualifications
- A Bachelor's degree or Master’s degree in any field with relevant experience in climate and above listed responsibilities. For instance in climate, sustainability, energy, spatial planning etc.
- Minimum of 3 years working experience with practical experience as a project officer in a complex, multi-disciplinary environment, preferably city-focused.
- Experience with implementation of change and improvement projects or ability to do so.
Experience
- Project or organisational management support in (complex) projects with multiple partners.
- Demonstrated experience of supporting senior decision-making, contributing to problem-solving, and helping individuals and teams to attain delivery of planned tasks.
- Experience/self-taught understanding of EU funding processes and projects; experience in documentation and reporting is a plus.
- Planning, organisation, coordination, multitasking, problem solving and prioritisation under pressure with growing minimal supervision.
- Research and data analysis.
- Experience in international and multi-cultural settings and organisations.
Skills
- Fluency in English, excellent written and verbal communication skills, and ideally in at least one other European language.
- Experience or willingness to work with collaborative IT applications (we use Office365 and Microsoft Teams, as well as Miro, Zoom, Mentimeter etc.)
- Ability to build positive and fruitful relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, and assure inclusion in the NZC City Support Group.
- Soft skills such as empathy and respectful of personal boundaries is highly appreciated.
Qualities, Personal Style, and Approach
- Solution focused, proactive, with a positive ’can do’ attitude.
- Ability to listen and build trust, willing to formulate clear reasoning and open to constructive feedback.
- Dynamic and curious, with developed interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively, inspire and motivate people.
- Adaptable, flexible, and resilient: able to work effectively in ambiguity and complexity and to respond dynamically to change.
- Oriented toward networking with people and teams and sharing experience.
Candidates must have the right to work in the country they're applying for. Ideally, the successful candidate will be based close to an EIT Climate-KIC office, but we support fully remote or hybrid forms of working and offer a high degree of flexibility.
Your application should consist of a full curriculum vitae and a covering letter describing concisely how your profile, skills and experience meet the criteria outlined in the person specification, and outlining your interest in and vision for the role.
When recruiting, we look to achieve diversity in the candidate pool. We actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups and are happy to consider reasonable adjustments that will foster success in potential employees from diverse backgrounds and life situations. And because our team has differing needs and personal circumstances, we offer a high degree of flexibility to accommodate all working patterns. We are committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, our services, programs, and activities.
