Two Marine Policy Officers (Fisheries and MPAs) (m/f/d)

We promote ambitious policies for marine protection at European and international level. With over 30 members representing the majority of European countries, SAR speaks for millions of citizens that care deeply about the health and well-being of seas and oceans. More information at: www.seas-at-risk.org.

Purpose of the job

SAR is seeking two policy officers to join our biodiversity team:

• One position to support all aspects of SAR’s work on fisheries, and in particular its fisheries project “The Future of fisheries will be low impact – or it won’t be”. The project has the objective to change policies and practices for a just transition to low impact fisheries in Europe and closely involves SAR members covering Germany, France and Spain and EU level advocacy. The role will involve the development and implementation of EU advocacy work on the topic of fisheries, communication activities, and facilitation of collaboration between NGOs and with other stakeholders (including fisher organisations);
• One position to support all aspects of SAR’s work on marine protected areas (MPAs), and in particular its “From paper parks to effective protection” project. The project has the objective of ensuring effectively protected areas as well as the designation of new ones. It involves ten partners, covering seven different countries and EU level advocacy. The role will involve advocacy, communications, and facilitation of collaborations between NGOs.

Main responsibilities

• Support the implementation of the Seas At Risk fisheries and MPA projects respectively:
  • Contribute to implementation of the project;
  • Support the coordination of the implementation of the national campaigns and advocacy strategies;
  • Contribute to advocacy at EU level in support of:
    • ending overfishing, minimising fisheries impacts on the marine environment and a just transition to low impact fisheries (fisheries position);
    • The new Nature Restoration Law as well as other MPA related topics (MPA position).
  • Coordinate with the partners of the project as well as the wider Seas At Risk membership;
  • Monitor relevant EU and international policy developments;
  • Support the project’s communication planning and activities;
  • Support the drafting of position papers, policy briefings and reports;
  • Organise workshops and events;
  • Contribute to the effective project management, including budget management.
• Coordinate activities with other environmental and civil society organisations;
• Promote SAR policies within the EU institutions and internationally, among stakeholders and in relevant meetings and conferences;
• Support fund raising, write grant proposals, report to funders;
• Contribute to other SAR project areas when needed.

Qualification, experience, knowledge

• Master’s degree or equivalent (e.g. relevant work experience) in a related subject;
• A passion for the ocean and environmental conservation;
• Good insight into the functioning of the EU institutions and the co-decision procedure;
• Alignment with SAR’s ambition to address the root causes of the biodiversity and climate crises, and to develop systemic alternatives to the dominant growth based political economy;
• Relevant work experience e.g., in project management or in an NGO, is considered an asset;
• Experience with advocacy vis-a-vis the European Parliament, the Commission (DG MARE, DG ENV) and Permanent Representatives to the EU is considered an asset;
• Good knowledge of environmental and marine policies such as the biodiversity strategy, the Common Fisheries Policy and its implementation, or the Marine Strategy Framework Directive is considered an asset;
• Good knowledge of links between all the different human pressures at sea and its associated environmental issues is considered an asset;
• Excellent spoken and written English; knowledge of other languages is considered an asset.

Competences

• Passionate about the marine environment;
• Good communicator and negotiator;
• Connector and able to bring people into dialogue;
• Intercultural competence;
• Approachable and able to collaborate in a co-creative manner;
• Committed to quality;
• Strong organisational ability;
• Flexible.

What we offer

Seas At Risk offers the opportunity to work in a growing NGO with a stimulating, informal, flexible and multicultural working environment.

The successful candidate will receive and open-ended contract with a competitive salary package including various benefits (pension scheme, luncheon vouchers, work from home indemnity, end of year bonus etc.) and 32 days annual leave. Monthly salary and job title will depend on experience (positions below two years work experience are typically “junior policy officer” positions at Seas At Risk).

The post is based in Brussels, full time, to start 1^st January 2023.

How to apply

Send the following to secretariat@seas-at-risk.org with in the subject line ‘marine policy officer’:

• a completed self-assessment form (see below);
• a cover letter explaining your motivation and how you meet the job requirements, indicating if you have any preference or specific qualification related to one of the two positions (fisheries and MPAs);
• your CV.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so better submit as soon as possible. Final deadline for applications is Sunday 27 November 2022.

Only candidates selected for interview will be contacted. Thank you for your understanding.

SELF-ASSESSMENT FORM – PLEASE, READ THIS CAREFULLY: Before submitting your application take time for a self-assessment according to the criteria we think are important for this position. We encourage you to be honest in this exercise, as this self-assessment will help you to evaluate if this position is for you. Please include the self-assessment along with your application. Applications without the self-assessment scorecard will be automatically rejected.

Please score each criterion from 0 to 3 (0 = not at all; 1 = rather not; 2 = yes, partly; 3 = yes, absolutely).   Then add up the scores to obtain the total.

Before submitting your application, please answer the following question and you will know if you should apply for this position: