Sustainable Behaviour Assistant - The University of Sheffield

IMPORTANT:  This Advertiser has requested that applicants MUST be National Residents / Valid Work Permit-holders.  Other applicants need not apply.

 

Background

The University of Sheffield

The University of Sheffield is a large organisation with almost 25,000 students, 5,500 staff and several hundred buildings. Due to the size and nature of its activities, the University places significant environmental impacts on the local and global environment.

The University recognises its impact and has made a corporate commitment to improving its environmental performance by developing and adopting an Environmental Policy. This has been in place since 1997 and provides the framework for all work in energy management, waste and recycling and sustainable transport.

The University’s efforts have been recognised, with accreditation under the Carbon Trust Standard achieved, demonstrating success in committing to reducing its impact on climate change.

Behaviour change projects form an integral part of the on-going environmental management activity the University is already engaged in. The Green Impact and Student Switch Off programmes have been successfully delivered in the past four years, and we hope to build on this success in 2013-14.

The Green Impact Programme (http://www.green-impact.org.uk/) is a national behaviour change initiative headed by the National Union of Students (NUS) to promote and coordinate positive environmental behaviour change in university and college staff departments throughout the UK. Previously called ‘Green Impact Assistants’, Sustainable Behaviour Assistants will work with an institution’s Sustainability/ Environment Team to drive forward the Green Impact programme with the support of the NUS, SSO (Student Switch Off) and Change Agents UK.

About Green Impact

Green impact is an environmental accreditation scheme that encourages pro-environmental behaviours by staff. It empowers sustainability champions within their workplace, helping them gain recognition for their environmental efforts, whilst playing on the competitive spirit of staff working in teams. It provides people and their departments with a tangible framework for improving their environmental performance, breaking down complex environmental issues into more manageable bite-sized chunks.

Green Impact forms part of the NUS’s wider strategy to support students’ unions by supporting them to green their own operations, their institutions and the wider community. AllNUS environmental programmes seek to generate sustainable income for students’ unions by paying them to get involved in local delivery of our central projects. The environmental programmes are also committed to providing volunteering opportunities for students that will help with their employability, especially through skills that support the transition to a low carbon economy.

The scheme is all about practical actions that tackle common bad practice. A number of departments are audited to determine what common bad practices exist across an institution, and then a list of practical actions is developed to address them. These actions are carefully chosen so that any member of staff can do them on behalf of their team or department. From recycling, to investing in more efficient equipment, to encouraging biodiversity, or Fairtrade, the scheme covers a broad range of issues under the sustainability umbrella, all tailored to an individual institution to cover local policy and process.

Outputs

Coordinate and support the Green Impact project to encourage pro-environmental behaviour change across the institution and wider community.

Increase number of students and staff with pro-environmental knowledge and awareness

Successful delivery of the University’s Green Impact project by the specified completion dates

Provide quantitative and qualitative data relating to the scheme to the NUS

Develop and drive forward wider environmental projects across the university, including supporting the Environmental Project Officer in delivering the behaviour change section of the University’s Energy Strategy.

Benefits of this opportunity

The successful graduate will have opportunities to learn about being a team player, developing communication skills in different mediums and will gain project management skills including event planning and management, project implementation and evaluation. The full time nature of this role will enable the graduate to develop not only the skills and outputs required as part of Green Impact (and SSO), but also to work as an integral part of the environment team to create and drive forward further initiatives across the university’s staff, students and estates.

Future employment potential and options

It is unlikely that the role will be extended as the University tends to employ a new graduate to fill this position every year. However, permanent work opportunities may arise within the team over the duration of the placement but timing and funding will influence the likelihood of any further opportunities for the graduate within the team. The skills, experience and knowledge gained from these posts will open up many opportunities for a wide-range of sustainability work.

For full details and to apply, please visit http://www.changeagents.org.uk/sustainability-jobs/vacancy/89ee-sustainable-behaviour-assistant-the-university-of-sheffield