Communications Officer – Air Quality (m/f/d)

Are you passionate about making a difference during a transformative time for protecting people and the environment from industrial pollution and help guarantee clean air for everyone?  Then we might have just the right job for you.

The opportunity

Industrial activities and energy production are responsible for polluting and climate-wrecking emissions that contaminate and damage the environment, as well as public health. Air pollution is Europe’s largest environmental health hazard, responsible for over 400,000 premature deaths in the EU every year. Yet, here is no safe level of air pollution and emissions do not respect borders. This is why air quality must be addressed by effective rules at the EU and international level. The EU sets rules and standards to protect people and nature from air pollution, but greater ambition is needed. Cutting emissions at source is key to guarantee cleaner air and all sectors have a role to play.

Following the update of the WHO’s Global Air Quality Guidelines last year, the EU is set to review its own Air Quality Directive and the Commission presented their proposal for a revised Industrial Emissions Directive on 5 April. At this key moment, the EEB advocates for ambitious EU laws and their proper implementation and enforcement by Member States, in line with the EU’s Green Deal and Zero Pollution goals.

We are therefore seeking a talented and committed Communications Officer to join the European Environmental Bureau (EEB)’s dynamic and expanding communications team. The position will be thematically anchored in the policy team working on air quality.

About us

The European Environmental Bureau is the largest and most inclusive European network of environmental citizens’ groups – and the only one that works on such a broad range of issues. We advocate for progressive policies to create a better environment in the European Union and beyond.

About you

You are a creative, resourceful, and self-motivated professional, with excellent communications and interpersonal skills, eager to help build a better future for people and nature, and to promote stronger laws and environmental and climate governance. You are able to clearly communicate conceptual and data-heavy topics and make them relatable to your audience. You are organised, attentive to detail, self-driven and happy to work autonomously or as part of a team, in what is currently a largely virtual set-up.

Key Responsibilities

Press

• Draft, edit and deliver press releases and other relevant materials for national and international media (with air quality being your primary focus);
• Respond to/coordinate media inquiries by journalists and other stakeholders;
• Proactively identify opportunities, develop and pitch stories to media outlets;
• Build a lasting relationship with the media, monitor and report on press coverage.

Content development

• Write attention-grabbing articles and punchy opinion pieces for media outlets, the EEB news channel META;
• Edit documents (e.g., policy papers, letters, reports) written by non-professional writers and improve their readability;
• Develop core messages for the team/policy area/project communication.

Digital communications

Following the framework provided by the communications’ team’s digital communications lead, support our work by:

• Effectively using social media to push campaign messages and promote events;
• Preparing social media toolkits to broaden reach, engage audiences and achieve advocacy goals;
• Updating, maintaining and developing the EEB’s web presence, online tools and social media.

Other

To help the policy colleagues working on air quality achieve their objectives, you will:

• Develop and implement communications concepts and plans for projects;
• Deliver on campaign and advocacy objectives, in collaboration with policy and communications colleagues, and where applicable project partners;
• Contribute to strategic discussions within the policy and communications teams;
• Coordinate work of external communications service providers;
• Offer communications support for events, e.g., develop key messages, plan promotion and dissemination, elaborate post-event report etc.

Skills and experience

• A degree in a relevant field;
• A minimum of three years of experience in communications with a good command of social media, preferably in an international or European environmental NGO;
• Competency in CMS (WordPress), Mailchimp, social media and other relevant communications tools;
• Understanding of EU environmental policies and decision-making processes, ideally linked to air pollution;
• Familiarity with Brussels-focused EU media landscape;
• Interest in and commitment to environmental democracy and justice;
• Ability to communicate persuasively and explain complex and technical information clearly and succinctly;
• Ability to work both autonomously and as part of a team;
• Strong organisational and project management skills;
• Ability to build productive working relationships with people from different cultures and backgrounds;
• Native-level command of English required, other EU language(s) an asset.

What we offer

• A monthly pre-tax salary of between €2.700 and €3.300, depending on experience, coupled with various benefits (holiday bonus, 13^th month, pension scheme, luncheon vouchers);
• A two-year contract, with the possibility to extend, subject to funding;
• A pleasant working atmosphere in an international working environment;
• A worthy cause to work for.

How to apply

Please send your CV, a cover letter explaining your motivation to apply for this position and the responses to the two tasks below to personnel@eeb.org by 26 June 2022. The subject line of your email must clearly state: ‘Communications Officer (Air Quality)’.

Tasks

• Write a blog post (max. 300 words) for our META news channel about bout why the COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the urgency to tackle the dangers of air pollution in the EU. Feel free to use visual elements and embedded content to support your message;
• Draft social media posts to promote your article on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Location

During COVID-19 times, the EEB is following government recommendations to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all its staff. As our contracts fall under Belgian law, the candidate must commit to being officially registered in Belgium and working most of the time from our office in Brussels.

Note

• Incomplete applications will not be considered;
• Due to limited staff resources and numbers of CVs anticipated, only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted;
• We may ask shortlisted candidates to provide two references;
• The EEB is an equal-opportunities and family-friendly employer;
• We encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates.