SPOTT Impacts - Project Assistant (Full-Time / 1 Year Fixed-Term Contract)

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL), a charity founded in 1826, is a world-renowned centre of excellence for conservation science and applied conservation. ZSL’s mission is to promote and achieve the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. This is realised by carrying out field conservation and research in over 50 countries across the globe and through education and awareness-raising at our two zoos, ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, inspiring people to take conservation action.

ZSL recognises the significant threat posed by irresponsible and unsustainable business practice to global biodiversity and the landscapes in which we work. The Business and Biodiversity programme works to address these threats and to deliver a ZSL mission target to ensure best practice is business-as-usual in at least 1 million km2 of priority production landscape. SPOTT is ZSL’s flagship initiative to deliver this, addressing the lack of corporate transparency and accountability that hinders progress towards sustainability.

Our vision for SPOTT is that companies report transparently on the implementation of best practice and can be held accountable to this. SPOTT currently monitors 50 oil palm producers representing half of oil palm landbank against a framework of best practice, and provides resources and guidance for the supply chain to monitor and manage risk. SPOTT has over 2000 subscribers, more than 300,000 website views and 6000 unique visitors per month. SPOTT is an established and proven model with a focus on engagement between financiers and producers.

ZSL’s Business and Biodiversity programme is looking for a driven individual to join the SPOTT team. The SPOTT Impacts Project Assistant will support the Impacts Coordinator to ensure SPOTT – ZSL’s Commodity Transparency Toolkit, has a high impact with its target audience, including the finance sector, consumer goods manufacturers and corporate standard-setting bodies. SPOTT is to be expanded from the flagship palm oil toolkit to other commodities and the post holder will work to support and inform engagement activities, such as organising workshops and training sessions on SPOTT and regularly evaluating progress to ensure maximum impact and uptake by user groups.

The post holder will also play a role in the research team; assuming responsibility for a subset of SPOTT company assessments. The post holder is responsible for supporting the Impacts Coordinator with information from SPOTT Research, particularly regarding company assessments to inform engagement activities. The post may also be required to undertake other research tasks, to include company engagement and research to ensure SPOTT continuously improves in its ability to monitor the implementation of corporate commitments. The position is to start as soon as possible and will be based in the ZSL London offices.

Please see job description for further details on role requirements and expectations.

• A demonstrated understanding of business and biodiversity conservation issues and knowledge of palm oil and other tropical forest/ biodiversity risk commodity sectors.
• Knowledge of sustainable finance and/or procurement is desirable.
• Experience of engagement and outreach activities is desirable, ideally with the business and finance sectors.
• Strong research skills.
• Proven ability to work effectively with teams, with strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• A degree in a relevant subject or equivalent work experience.

To Apply:

Applicants will need to upload their CV and covering letter and can do this by clicking the "Apply for this job online" button. If you have any queries regarding this position or when applying through the system please contact Human Resources at hr@zsl.org.

Closing date for applications is: Sunday 11th September 2016.

The Zoological Society of London is a charity registered in England and Wales: No. 208728.