Central & Eastern European Corporate Engagement Officer

Location: Berlin, Germany
Application deadline: Rolling
Earliest starting date: May 17, 2021

CDP Europe, one of the world’s leading climate change NGO’s, is seeking a highly motivated individual to join CDP Europe’s Corporate Relations team. This is an exciting opportunity to engage with corporations in Central & Eastern Europe (particularly in Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary) around the disclosure requirements of their strategies to mitigate climate change, improve water security and tackle deforestation. We seek staff motivated to work with people, nurture relationships, contribute to major income streams such as admin fee and sponsorships, and generate leads for our membership programs, as well as interested in efficient processes and the application of our questionnaires and scoring methodologies to corporate sustainability success.

The role includes:

• Independently building out an engagement strategy for Central & Eastern Europe, particularly Poland, to strategically and sustainably increase disclosure to CDP’s climate change, water security and forests questionnaires from the region;
• Building/strengthening the relationship and collaboration with relevant local actors/networks/multipliers that can support CDP in pursuing its mission in the region;
• Engaging directly with companies from Central & Eastern Europe, motivating them to respond to CDP’s questionnaires and leading them to progress on the journey to environmental leadership;
• Supporting already responding companies from the region along their key disclosure & scoring requirements, potentially including through score feedback calls;
• Engaging companies to join CDP’s key ambition initiatives – the Science-Based Targets initiative and the Business Ambition for 1.5°C;
• Generating leads for our membership programs (Supply Chain and Reporter Services);
• Input and co-organize technical events in the region, in particular workshops/webinars; input into and support CDP Europe’s annual European Award Ceremony;
• Take on specialisations, i.e. building up subject matter expertise on a sector particularly strong in the region (such as fossil fuels), coordinating a CDP Europe report, or overseeing the production of engagement material;
• Assisting with ad-hoc tasks as required.

The successful candidate will have:

• Minimum BA/BSc degree or equivalent experience (Master’s degree preferred);
• 4+ years of prior work experience in the corporate sustainability space (eg. in a CSR department, an environmental consultancy, an NGO or similar) with a focus on Central & Eastern Europe;
• Native-level Polish language skills; other languages spoken in the region, particularly Czech and/or Hungarian, are a strong asset;
• Excellent English skills (verbal and written – minimum C1 level)
• Experience with setting up and delivering on corporate engagement strategies and/or campaigns in the sustainability space;
• Having an existing network of / relationships with relevant actors in the region (particularly in Poland), such as with businesses, industry associations, corporate-focussed NGOs or policy bodies, etc.;
• Keen interest in corporate sustainability themes and related company challenges; knowledge of and experience working with the fossil fuel sector is a strong asset;
• Ability to take initiative, prioritise and work calm and independently under pressure;
• Enjoy working with people and large corporations for a good purpose, excellent communication and negotiation skills;
• Ability to interact convincingly with people at different levels of seniority and from different cultural backgrounds;
• Strong analytical and creative problem-solving skills;
• Love for data and information and utilizing it to change the world;
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office (in particular Excel, Word, Power Point) and CRM systems.

What we offer:

• Exciting and challenging tasks in a dynamic, innovative and highly motivated team;
• Working with many dedicated and passionate people for a good cause;
• Competitive NGO salary and annual bonus (depending on company results);
• 30 days annual holidays;
• Flexible working hours;
• Company Pension with Allianz;
• Monthly contribution to public transport ticket (BVG Monatskarte);
• Modern office at WeWork (Sony Center) with free networking events, and hot and cold beverages.

The successful candidate will work five days per week and must be able to work legally in Germany. This full-time role is based at our office in Berlin, Germany, and will work closely with the Corporate Relations team and related roles in other teams, and report to the Associate Director Corporate Relations. The role is limited to 2 years with the aim of long-term cooperation.

Interested? Interested candidates should submit their application documents (motivation letter addressed to David Lammers, CV, references/certificates, salary expectations and earliest starting date) in English, as a single PDF and via email to [email protected] with “CEE Engagement Officer – First name Last name” in the subject line.

Before you apply, we’ll only use the information you provide to process your application. For more details on how we use your information, see our applicants privacy notice. By emailing us your CV and covering letter, you are permitting CDP to use the information you have provided for recruitment purposes.

Please note that we only provide feedback to shortlisted candidates due to the sheer volume of applications. If you do not hear from us within 21 days of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. Thank you for your understanding.