Sustainable Seafood Coalition Officer – London

Project Description: Sustainable seafood programme

As part of its sustainable seafood programme, ClientEarth has created a partnership of seafood industry stakeholders called the ‘Sustainable Seafood Coalition’ (SSC). The SSC seeks to ensure that ‘all fish and seafood sold in theUKis from sustainable sources’. The SSC proposes to do this through the creation and oversight of a series of voluntary codes of conduct connected with seafood sourcing and consumption, the reduction of discards and creation of a sustainable market for unwanted species harvested sustainably, data collection, and the harmonisation of labelling. The SSC will seek to build national and global alliances and influence changes atUK, EU and international level.

The SSC is already operational. It currently has 18 members and industry representatives, including 5 major supermarkets, several seafood brands and suppliers as well as celebrity Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittinsgstall. The SSC will soon be expanding to the foodservice and fishmeal sector to ensure a full cross-industry membership. ClientEarth is a member of the SSC and also functions as its Secretariat. We will also be building on experience gained with the SSC to achieve the same objective in other EU Member States.

We now need an energetic and effective person with strong organisational capabilities and seafood knowledge to help deliver this vision of sustainable seafood.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The sustainable seafood adviser will be responsible for day to day running of SSC, acting as the main contact point for non-member advisors, and additional contact point for members. The sustainable seafood adviser will oversee the work conducted by the sustainable seafood programme intern, and will report to the SSC coordinator.

Key responsibilities include

• Implementation of the member expansion strategy, including inviting new members to the SSC, supported by sound technical expertise and analysis;
• Implementation of the strategy for expanding the programme into other countries, supported by sound technical expertise and analysis;
• Maintenance of the SSC wiki space pages and membership;
• Organising SSC Members’ and working group meetings, including preparatory research, and developing explanatory presentations for each agenda item;
• Jointly facilitating working group meetings, taking minutes at all meetings and distribution of minutes to members and non-member advisors;
• Implementing code of conduct strategy, including: developing the research strategy for the initial and ongoing phases of the voluntary codes of conducts; transforming working group ideas into concrete proposals for codes, drafting and revising the codes of conducts; collating Member’s and public feedback on draft and final codes;
• Implementing the SSC communication strategy, including: the development of all public communication documents and WebPages, creating SSC blogs on a regular basis, and assisting with external advocacy and media enquires;
• Assisting with progress reports and funding applications;
• Implementation of the SSC governance strategy, including: developing Key Performance Indicators and reporting of progress against these, revisions of Terms of Reference, proposing new governance models, amending membership documents;
• Supporting the biodiversity team’s work to secure sustainable seafood and sustainable and ecosystems based fisheries in the EU;
• Supporting and contributing to the activities of colleagues within the biodiversity programme;
• Webpage maintenance.

Skills

• Strong communication skills and a good understanding of the confidential nature of the businesses involved;
• Competent at identifying and resolving issues, and capitalising on opportunities;
• Strong research, analytical, and advocacy skills and an interest in performing rigorous analysis in support of impactful work;
• Ability to work with colleagues and partners of varied backgrounds and experience in a fast-paced work environment;
• Confidence working with industry stakeholders, NGOs and Government bodies;
• Excellent judgment, flexibility, humour, diplomacy, and optimism;
• Team player and strong interpersonal skills;
• Entrepreneurial spirit and ability to work confidently with limited supervision;
• Ability to grasp quickly new and complex concepts and adapt to new work strategies accordingly;
• Ability to balance priorities and co-ordinate work effectively with colleagues;
• Energetic and dedicated to working for the environment and fisheries;
• Good mediating skills an advantage.

Person Specifications

• Hold a degree in science, policy or another relevant discipline;
• Some work experience in a relevant environment;
• Academic or practical experience in sciences or other technical fields highly regarded;
• Knowledge of marine fisheries, aquaculture, seafood marketing or consumer attitudes to seafood desirable;
• Positive attitude and a strong commitment to working for the environment;
• Communications and webpage design, creation and maintenance experience desirable.

The position will be based in London, with travel to Londonand Europegenerally. The position is available starting immediately.

To apply

Please send us your CV and a cover letter explaining your interest in joining ClientEarth and the contribution you believe you could make to the organisation.

Please include ‘Biodiversity Programme – SSC Officer’ in the email subject line, and identify the documents you are sending by including ‘[your name] SSC Officer cover letter’ and ‘[your name] CV’ in the file name.
Please address your application to Sandy Luk, Biodiversity Programme Leader, ClientEarth, The Hothouse, 274 Richmond road, London E8 3QW and send it by email to jobs@clientearth.org.

Recruitment is open now and you should send your application as soon as possible. Applications are scheduled to close on8 July 2012. Interviews are intended to take place during the week of 16 July.

Please note that ClientEarth will only consider candidates who have the legal right to work in the EU.

If you have any questions about the roles advertised or recruitment process, please contact Sandy Luk (sluk@clientearth.org)