Senior Test Associate

1. About the role

This is an exciting role in the industry team of the European Climate Foundation.

There is an increasing demand by society, customers, and investors for change towards net-zero emissions in heavy industry. Nevertheless, the steel, cement and chemicals sectors are still far too slow in reducing their carbon footprint. Industrial value chains have had decades to specialise in established technologies and business models, while cleaner products and more sustainable business models are still marginal.

As Senior Associate, you will contribute to our grant-making effort in support of our industrial decarbonisation strategy and in particular to the clean steel strategy.

The ECF's industry work aims to help create an environment where a climate-neutral, competitive and innovative heavy industry becomes possible in Europe by mid-century. While much will depend on entrepreneurial ingenuity and innovation in new and risky technologies, an appropriate regulatory environment is the important enabling precondition.

This includes an appropriate industrial policy with sufficient public financial support to infrastructures and for de-risking technologies to leverage enough private investments. Most critically, policy needs to reward clean processes over polluting ones.

In our industry team, you will find a team of dedicated professionals based in different ECF offices to reflect the Europe-wide scope of the programme. We fund projects on clean materials in the steel, cement and chemicals industries. We support direct electrification of industrial processes, clean hydrogen deployment, industrial CCS installations and strive to enable an overall more circular industrial system. We work in close collaboration with ECF's country programmes across Europe, various sector programmes and are part of global philanthropic initiatives to advance industrial decarbonisation. Also, as the current industrial model of Europe is in crisis, we work in all-ECF team to promote a broader industrial policy that fundamentally strengthens "made in Europe" while safeguarding our climate ambitions.

2. Key responsabilities

• Grant-making: developing the scope of work for ECF projects to implement the Industry Programme's strategy with a primary focus on clean steel; soliciting and validating proposals from potential and existing grantees; drafting selection recommendations for board/donors' consideration.
• Project management: managing and monitoring the budget as well as deliverables conducted by a set of grantees and external consultancies by maintaining frequent communication, providing strategic direction, and ensuring accountability.
• Monitoring, evaluating and reporting progress and impact of initiatives and grants; and acting as a liaison to report progress to ECF staff and donors.
• Research activities: scoping of the landscape around industrial emissions, relevant policies, and political/economic developments in relevant geographies, including research on new partner grantees.
• Internal coordination and communication: liaising with ECF's other programme teams and the organisation's operations and communications teams to ensure proper and timely dissemination of information, and consistency and complementarity of different projects and work streams.
• Networking: building partnerships with key stakeholders across the policymaking, business, and civil society communities; convening meetings; representing the programme at meetings and organise follow-up.
• Strategy: helping the Programme Director and Programme Manager in developing the programme's strategy, priorities, and budgets; co-developing and implementing strategies with our network of grantees and partners.

3. Experience and competencies

• A genuine interest in the mission and values of the ECF.
• Interest in industrial policy issues. Willingness to quickly learn the ins and outs of heavy industry and steel decarbonisation.
• A strategic mind geared towards identifying impactful regranting strategies
• A "can-do" attitude and a "self-starter" mentality.
• Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
• Excellent command of the English languages (both spoken and written). Other European languages are highly welcome.
• Proven track record of working in an environment that demands professionalism, reliability, discretion, and confidentiality.

4. What we offer

• The unique opportunity to work as part of a highly dynamic, international group of individuals who combine their passion to make a difference with a rigorous and results-oriented approach to work.
• A flexible work environment and a space to develop and challenge yourself.
• Tailored internal and external training materials, workshops to help your professional growth.

Location

All ECF offices - also open to EOR

Start date

As soon as possible.