Senior Climate Policy Manager, BE & NL

Achieving net-zero emissions before mid-century requires every aspect of our lives to become climate neutral. Being located in Europe’s primary industrial cluster, the Netherlands and Belgium have an important exemplary role when it comes to industrial decarbonisation and transformation. Together with the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, this industrial conglomeration must be tackled in a coherent manner to seize the unique chance to build a competitive climate neutral industry.

As an organization, Bellona has always been at the forefront of environmental innovation and industrial decarbonisation. Being a group of evidence-based environmentalists, our goal is to implement new, more sustainable actions, which can effectively reduce CO₂ emissions and that are implementable today. We advocate for pragmatic approaches that deliver the greatest impact, today and tomorrow, while not shying away from addressing contentious issues. We endeavour to cooperate with all stakeholders, but also act as a watch dog against greenwashing. From our Oslo and Brussels offices, we have been advocating transformative climate action in industry for decades. Given the centrality of the Belgian-Dutch industrial cluster for Europe’s industrial transformation, we are now expanding our work in Belgium and the Netherlands, with a focus on stakeholder engagement and advocacy at a national and regional level.

We are looking for a motivated, experienced and communicative professional in climate policy and sustainability to expand Bellona’s operations in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The ideal candidate will have:

• At least 5+ years relevant experience in EU policy, advocacy, climate technologies, industrial decarbonisation.
• Good knowledge of public affairs, with a focus on EU institutions and the political landscape in Belgium and the Netherlands. Knowledge about Germany is a plus.
• Experience in analysing EU and national-level climate and environmental policy, ideally regulations related to industry.
• Project management and people management experience, with strong networking and communication skills, and an interest to work in an inter-cultural environment.
• Fluency (native or C level) in Dutch, English and French. Knowledge of German is a plus.
• Eligibility to work and reside in Belgium as the position is based in Brussels.
• Willingness and ability to travel occasionally.

There is no specific degree requirement. As the work is highly interdisciplinary, the best candidate could hold a degree in politics, business or law. The candidate could have a proven record of deep diving in relevant technical issues or hold a degree in engineering or natural sciences, with a proven record of effectively dealing with regulatory, political and business issues

Key responsibilities: 

• Shape Bellona’s short, medium and long-term strategy to promote and accelerate industrial decarbonisation in the Netherlands and Belgium.
• Manage day-to-day policy and stakeholder engagement on industrial decarbonisation in Belgium and the Netherlands.
• Contribute to capacity building and empowerment within civil society organisations in Belgium and the Netherlands regarding industrial decarbonisation issues.
• Manage the day-to-day of Bellona’s engagements in Belgium and the Netherlands, while coordinating with both the EU policy team and the Head of Germany Programs.
• Support the Head of Germany Programs in developing and executing action plans to affect the upcoming climate policy processes in Germany from the perspective of cross-border issues.
• Support the EU policy team in developing positions to affect climate policy processes at EU level from the perspective of the Dutch-Belgian-North Rhine-Westphalian industrial region.
• Track, analyse, evaluate and shape Bellona’s position on relevant climate and industrial policy developments in Belgium and the Netherlands.
• Help expand Bellona’s network and profile in Belgium and the Netherlands by building strong relationships with politicians, government officials, company representatives and other relevant stakeholders.

We are able to offer a full-time position based in Brussels with a competitive NGO salary on an initial one-year contract with the expectation of extension, starting as soon as possible. Bellona promotes a multicultural, flexible, inclusive and collaborative work environment.

How to apply? Please send us your application respecting the following instructions: Only one PDF document including both your cover letter (1 page max) and your CV (2 pages max). Your PDF file should be named as follows: familyname_name.pdf. Please send your application by email to our HR mailbox hr@bellona.org for the attention of Mr Jonas Helseth, Bellona Europa Director, indicating ‘Bellona BE & NL application’ in the subject line, by 19 August 2021 at 14h00 CET at the latest. Kindly indicate where you found our vacancy.

We warmly thank you in advance for your application, your time and your interest in this position. Kindly note only short-listed candidates will be contacted due to the large amount of applications we expect. If you receive no feedback within 3 weeks after applying, please consider you have not been selected.
NB: All candidates should be available for the 1^st round interviews between August 24 and September 3.

Who we are: The Bellona Foundation is an independent non-profit organisation that aims to meet and fight the climate challenges, through identifying and implementing sustainable environmental solutions. Founded in 1986 as a direct-action protest group, we have become a recognized evidence-based and solution-oriented organisation with offices in Oslo, Brussels, Russia and Germany, and activities across other countries, including the UK, the Netherlands, the USA and Central-Eastern Europe. Altogether, some 70 engineers, ecologists, nuclear physicists, economists, lawyers, political scientists and journalists work at Bellona. We are engaged in a broad spectrum of current national and international environmental questions and issues around the world in order to reach a greater ecological understanding and a better protection of nature and health.