Sustainability Action Lead

Location: Global, remote position; timezone compatible with GMT-5

Reporting To: SBTN Technical Director

Annual Compensation: $85,000

Contract Type: Consultancy contracts or secondment preferred

Working Hours: 32 hours/week

Term: 1-year fixed term contract, possibility of extension

Who we are: Led by a cooperative of environmental NGOs, the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) is a global initiative empowering companies and cities to set ambitious, science-based targets to address their environmental impacts. SBTN is part of the Global Commons Alliance: a growing coalition of scientists, philanthropists, businesses, civil society groups, and innovators collaborating across the climate and nature communities and beyond. Its mission is to mobilize citizens, companies, cities, and countries to accelerate systems change and become better guardians of the global commons.

Position Overview: SBTN is seeking a quantitative scientist with expertise in ecology/environmental science and sustainability to lead research and development on actions aimed at the guidance on actions or responses for companies to achieve their science-based targets for nature, consistent with the mitigation hierarchy.

Reporting to the SBTN Technical Director, the Sustainability Action Lead will serve as a lead author on the Step 4 guidance as well as leading additional research and tool development. In this role they will collaborate with SBTN’s network hub, partner organizations, and issue hub experts. As a cross-cutting piece of work, this role requires effective collaboration, interdisciplinary research and synthesis experience and project management experience.

Scope of work

SBTN is seeking an individual who will:

• Work with SBTN’s Technical Director to develop cross-cutting guidance for Step 4: Act, guidance for effective and equitable actions by companies to meet science-based targets for nature. Draft guidance delivered by Q2 2025.
  • Together with the Technical Director and SBTN Issue hubs, the Sustainability Action Lead will structure the guidance and inform analyses to ground actions in the DPSIR framework of responses appropriate to reducing pressures and improving the state of nature.
  • Conduct check-ins with development teams across Issue Hubs (Land, Freshwater, Biodiversity and Ocean) on response options to ensure inputs align with the overall goals of the integrated guidance and are delivered in a timely manner in accordance with agreed on milestones and timelines.
    • Report to Technical Director on evaluation of progress and any issues either technical or project management for effective and early problem resolution and course correction
  • Synthesise response options across realms/biomes and lead, along with the SBTN technical community, the writing of technical methods and guidance for corporate end users.
  • Assist the Technical Director in project management, review and evaluation of cross-cutting technical deliverables.
• Be responsible for leading research and writing of peer-reviewed paper on downstream environmental impacts in coordination with the Technical Director and other experts within SBTN’s technical development community
  • This paper should draw on the best available science on quantifying downstream (value chain) environmental impacts of companies across SBTN’s focal pressure categories as well as quantitative and qualitative evaluation of implementation approaches for addressing these impacts for companies and cities. This paper should be submitted for publication by Q4 2025
• Tool Development-including SBTN tools and datasets (e.g. Materiality Screening Tool) and inputs into tool and data strategies for SBTN
• Contributions to publications and analyses led by the Technical Director including:
  • Analysis of scenarios of scaling for SBTs for nature (e.g. place based target-setting, sector led approaches and adoption of pressure-based target-setting methods)
  • Contributions to SBTN’s MEL processes
• Ad hoc projects as agreed by Technical Director

Profile

Experience and Qualifications:

Requirements:

• Completed PhD, or Masters and 10+ years of work experience including in ecology, environmental sciences, sustainability science and conservation
• Expertise and experience in corporate sustainability.

Desired:

• Knowledge and expertise in including biodiversity conservation science and practice, corporate sustainability implementation, impact assessment, spatial analysis, statistical modeling/analysis, life cycle assessment, climate science, corporate sustainability reporting
• Proficiency in data management, analysis and visualisation. Comfort with programming languages (e.g. R and Python)
• Excellent communication (written and speaking) in English with professional proficiency in other languages is highly desirable.

Skills and Desired Personal Traits:

• Orientation toward pragmatic, actionable, and solution-oriented approaches
• Experience working with interdisciplinary groups
• Experience generating and leading primary research, including analyzing and synthesizing qualitative and quantitative data.
• Experience as lead author of grey or peer-reviewed literature in relevant fields.
• Possess strong written communication and speaking skills with an ability to engage diverse audiences, including both experts and generalists.
• Knowledge of science-based target setting and other related voluntary and mandatory frameworks.
• Effective and professional team player who can work across local stakeholders, technical, and end users.
• A dynamic self-motivator who can work independently and remotely; thriving in a fast-paced, growing environment.
• Excellent project and people management skills and attention to detail.
• Interest and ability to engage in other complementary work streams within the technical development community

To Apply for the Post:

Please send a letter of application stating the skills and approach you would bring to the post with your resume (no photos) in strict confidence by email only to: Erin O’Grady at erin.o@sciencebasedtargetsnetwork.org.

Please ensure that attachments are sent as PDF documents with the titles “your name cover letter” and “your name resume.” Please put “Sustainability Action Lead” in the email subject line. Also, please let us know where you saw the post advertised.

The application deadline is November 30, 2024, but submissions will be evaluated as they are received. Interviews will take place remotely.