Advocacy Officer

We are looking for a full-time Advocacy Officer to join our public affairs team. The ideal candidate should understand political decision making processes between and within the main EU institutions in-and-out, have affinity with the corporate sector on environmental issues, and a commitment to supporting WWF’s mission

Location: WWF European Policy Office in Brussels.

Start: as soon as possible, from January 2025.
Main responsibilities:

As Advocacy Officer, you will take responsibility for one or two key files or initiatives that you will manage over a period of at least one year. These may include cross-cutting policy processes that affect all of WWF EPO’s policy units or high-priority issues for WWF. Your responsibilities may evolve based on the political context.
Initially, your focus will be on supporting the development and implementation of a strategic approach to WWF’s corporate engagement on EU policy issues. Additionally, you will lead WWF’s advocacy efforts to ensure that the push for simplification of EU rules enhances the implementation of environmental legislation rather than causing environmental deregulation.
You will be part of the Public Affairs team. This team works to ensure that both the WWF EPO team and the broader WWF European Network engage with EU institutions in a politically strategic manner to advance our policy objectives effectively and efficiently. This team advises and collaborates with the policy and communications departments within WWF EPO to develop political strategies, build and strengthen relationships with key political stakeholders, and plan and execute advocacy efforts that align with WWF’s priority policy objectives.

What you need:

Required skills and competencies:

• At least 2 to 3 years’ professional work experience and demonstrable track record of influencing political decision-making;
• In-depth knowledge of the EU legislative processes and policy formulation in the European Parliament, Council of the EU and European Commission;
• Experience in collaborating with or within the corporate sector on environmental issues, or at the very least a good understanding of corporate advocacy;
• A keen interest in politics at EU and national level, and personal drive to understand the dynamics behind interest representation and decisions reached;
• Effective collaboration: Establish an inclusive and supportive environment that fosters a culture of co-creation, teamwork, networking and expertise growth;
• Impactful communication: excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, and an ability to communicate complicated messages clearly to different audiences; active listening and empathy skills;
• Flexible task management: well organised and flexible with the ability to work independently, take initiative and take on additional responsibilities when required. Ability to plan, prioritise and manage a heavy workload and a flexible and positive approach to problem solving;
• Effective collaboration: good team player prepared to contribute proactively to a variety of tasks. Ability to develop good working relationships. Ability to coordinate and manage networks and networking skills;
• Strategic and analytical thinking: excellent research skills and ability to present extensive technical information in a simplified form. Compile ideas into concise proposals and verify own conclusions;
• Balanced resilience: keep performing with high quality and calm when put under the pressure; daring to go out of personal comfort zone and still securing a healthy work-life balance.
• A firm commitment to WWF’s mission (“to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature”) and its values (“courage, integrity, respect, collaboration”).

Remuneration package:

WWF European Policy Office offers a full time indefinite contract and a competitive package of pay and other benefits. The indicative base salary range for this role would be around 3.000 to 3.300 € gross per month, with the final figure depending on the skills, competencies and experience of the successful candidate. WWF European Policy Office also offers a range of additional benefits, including allowances for lunch, public transport, flexible and hybrid working conditions, health insurance, pension plan, paid holiday and additional month of pay in accordance with Belgian law.

Please consult the attached job description for more information on the position.

How to apply?

Please send your application to recruitments@wwf.eu and write “Application Advocacy Officer” in the subject line, and include:

• A single PDF document with your up to date CV (with no picture and birth date) together with a cover letter outlining why you would be a suitable candidate for the role (letter of maximum 400 words);
• Please also indicate whether you have the legal right to work full time in Belgium and tell us when, if selected, you would be able to start.

Applications deadline: 17 November 2024 midnight

Please note that we can only respond to successful candidates.

WWF European Policy Office is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable working environment for all our employees. We welcome applications from all people regardless of background, and strongly encourage people with disabilities, people of non-European ethnic origin and nationality, people over 45 years old, to apply. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of age, ethnic or social origin, gender, disability, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, or any other protected characteristic under EU law. We’ll strive to make adjustments to accommodate accessibility needs during the application process.