Certified Professional Manager

Climate-KIC is the EU’s largest public private partnership addressing climate change through innovation to build a zero carbon economy.

We address climate change across four priority themes: urban areas, land use, production systems, and climate finance. Education is at the heart of these themes to inspire and empower the next generation of climate leaders.

We run programmes for students, start-ups and innovators across Europe via centres in major cities, convening a community of the best people and organisations. Our approach starts with improving the way people live in cities. Our focus on industry creates the products required for a better living environment, and we look to optimise land use to produce the food people need.

Climate-KIC is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. Certified Professional is an initiative of Climate-KIC Professional Education. In the European job market, future-oriented competencies like creativity, systemic thinking, transdisciplinary communication, and inspirational change management capabilities have been undervalued. They do not usually form a part of formal higher education and are not formally recognised. Without formal recognition the talent that is present in this generation of European professionals remains hidden. Experts agree that these future-oriented skills will become vital to persist in a competitive global environment, faced with unpredictable and rapidly changing challenges. The focus needs to shift; creativity, systemic thinking, trans-disciplinary communication, and inspirational change management capabilities will become increasingly important.

Certified Professional will highlight and recognise these future-oriented skills and tap into the hidden potential of the European job market. Introducing a standardized framework for new professional competencies will enhance innovation and entrepreneurial impact. This change is set to transcend corporates, start-ups, or public authorities across sectors and geographies. A shared standard will increase the visibility and significance of related competencies; it will also increase transparency and unlock the European labour market. Climate-KIC’s assessment process to introduce this new standard is Certified Professional (https://www.certifiedprofessional.eu/)

Purpose of the Role

The role will be responsible for coordinating the work and team of Certified Professional. This includes, in particular, implementation of the strategy of the initiative, project management and application of quality management throughout all project activities. Additionally, the Certified Professional Lead will be responsible for developing contacts to partners and potential customers and explore and secure new funding opportunities.

As part of an EU-funded project, the role will also be responsible for developing a certification mechanism for city representatives linked to renewable energy finance, which is based on the Certified Professional approach.

Key Responsibilities

• Participate as project member in a EU-funded H2020 project and create a certification mechanism based on the Certified Professional approach for city representatives
• Coordinate the international team and the different work strands of Certified Professional
• Ensure working interfaces, communication and information sharing between the work strands
• Create project plan and ensure timely achievement of objectives and deliverables
• Discuss with Professional Education Lead and Director of Education about development of strategy and business model for Certified Professional
• Analyse and prioritise funding opportunities for Certified Professional
• Support internal communication of Certified Professional within Climate-KIC
• Administer expert input into various work strands of Certified Professional
• Support interactions with external stakeholder and partners, for example European Commission, various EIT KICs and corporate partners

Key Working Relationships

• Professional Education Lead (reporting line)

• Certified Professional team (an international team of around 8 people)

• Director of Education

• Climate-KIC education team

• Partners and experts, including European Commission

Person Specification

Qualifications

• A relevant academic degree or qualification is essential

Experience

Essential

• At least 7 years experience, with 3-5 years of experience in project management
• preferably in the field of Professional Education Services and/or Certification Services
• Management experience in international organisations from across business, public and academic sectors, in climate change or environment related areas.

Desirable

• Working in a highly dynamic, pan-European environment
• Management experience in international projects, and the support to the development of ideas, new projects proposals, technology transfer agreements, business cases, new products and services.

Skills

Essential

• Proven ability to operate at senior level with multidisciplinary/international teams
• Excellent project management skills including managing of complex structures and
• processes
• Teamwork and people management skills with a proven track record of people
• management
• Leadership and effective communication skills
• Strong collaborative approach
• Good command of both written and spoken English
• Ability to synthesise from different perspectives and opinions objectively

Desirable

• Fluency in more than one European language
• Good understanding of labour market and future competencies required
• Familiarity with European Policies in education, especially the New Skills Agenda
• Understanding of national and regional contexts of post-graduate education
• Understanding of climate change and climate innovation
• Ability to take ideas into action and transform them into value-oriented activities
• Ability to drive project development entrepreneurially in a volatile and complex environment

Qualities

Essential

• Committed and passionate about the mission of Climate-KIC
• Service oriented attitude
• Proactive and resilient
• Motivated to work in a dynamic and challenging environment
• Lives the Climate-KIC community values which are: Dynamic, Passionate, Engaging, Open, Inspiring, Excellent and Empowering

Application Process

Climate-KIC values diversity and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates regardless of age, gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or ethnic background.

Your application should consist of a full curriculum vitae and a covering letter describing briefly how your profile, skills and experience meet the criteria outlined in the person specification, and outlining your interest in and vision for the role.

Please send your full application to recruitment@climate-kic.org.