Climate Action Advisor Project Manager (Maternity Cover) 

Salary: £55,939 FTE (£33,563 - 3 days a week)

Location:  Hybrid working with the expectation to work in the London office one day a week.   

Contract: Fixed term contract from 12 May 2025 until 12 June 2026.  3 days a week, with flexible working options. 

Reports to: Head of Let’s Go Zero   

About Ashden  

Let’s Go Zero from Ashden is the campaign for all schools, colleges and nurseries to be zero carbon by 2030. We bring support, guidance and opportunities to thousands of schools – representing more than two million young people. We inspire teachers, young people and their communities, and work with government, industry and civil society to create a funding and policy environment that nurtures zero carbon schools across the UK. 

Ashden’s mission is to showcase outstanding climate solutions, and to accelerate systemic change that unleashes their transformative potential. Ashden has been creating impact for 25 years, including more than 15 years supporting climate action in UK schools. 

About the Role 

Could you lead a team helping schools, colleges and nurseries across England cut carbon and inspire students?   

We are looking for a project manager to oversee the Let’s Go Zero Climate Action Advisor project. This initiative connects thousands of schools with advice and support from a network of local climate experts.   

This role is responsible for managing and delivering the climate action advisors project. The person works with the Head of Let's Go Zero and their team, as well as communications, policy and impact colleagues. The role has six direct reports and oversight of 27 remote climate action advisers. 

As well as maximising the influence and legacy of the project, the person taking up the role will need to carry out tasks such as producing impact assessments and engaging and influencing decision makers.   

Applicants will ideally have experience running a large national project. Applicants should also have worked in climate change and sustainability and/or education, with a good working knowledge of climate solutions and a deep appreciation of their power to inspire action. Relevant knowledge includes decarbonisation in the education sector, and government education policy. 

What you might find yourself doing:   

We have flexible working, but you will be expected to be in the office one day a week. 

Team Management and Development: 

• Leading and motivating a remote team of Climate Action Advisor Team Leaders and the Climate Action Advisor Project Assistant. 

• Liaising with the Climate Action Specialist to ensure the training requirements of the team members are met. 

Regional Team Support: 

• Attending regional team meetings (in person and online), site visits, working together days and staying in touch with project delivery.  

• Supporting future new initiatives announced by our coalition members, the Department for Education, or other organisations working in schools, to ensure a smooth flow of information and support, enabling schools to transition to zero carbon. 

Project Development and Planning: 

• Developing and managing what we offer and how we operate to create greater impact.  

• Attending and speaking in person at local and online events to encourage climate action and promoting sustainability.    

Impact: 

• Reviewing our monitoring, evaluation, learning and impact to ensure the project is on track and meeting targets 

• Analysing our CRM dashboard, disseminating data and sharing with the wider team and completing quarterly board reports. 

Communications: 

• Working with the Communications Coordinator to plan the communications output. 

• Developing case studies to make them as impactful as possible. 

About You 

  You’ll thrive in this role if you have: 

• Experience running a large national project. 

• Experience working in climate change and sustainability and/or education, with a good working knowledge of climate solutions and a deep appreciation/understanding of their power to inspire action through great storytelling and other communications. 

• Managed projects with duration of several months and involving multiple colleagues and external consultants and stakeholders. 

• Mentored colleagues to help them improve their skills and knowledge. 

• Time management skills, can prioritise, plan-ahead, and see the big picture. 

• A commitment to anti-discriminatory practice and equal opportunities. An ability to apply awareness of diversity issues to all areas of work. 

• IT skills, in particular Microsoft Excel, for use in monitoring and evaluation of Let’s Go Zero schools, and of customer relationship management software (we use Microsoft Dynamics but working knowledge of Salesforce or other CRM will be transferable). 

It is also desirable (but not necessary) if you have: 

• Knowledge of decarbonisation in the education sector, government education policy, sector impact and climate action. 

• The ability to confidently present Let’s Go Zero and sector specific detailed information to internal and external audiences. 

• Written and verbal communication skills. 

• The ability to assimilate information from multiple sources and use it in project management. 

• Inter-personal skills, diplomacy, and tact. 

  Benefits 

Let’s Go Zero campaign is run by the charity Ashden. Ashden is part of The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts (SFCT), which is the operating office of 20 different independent grant-making trusts and charitable companies established by members of three generations of the Sainsbury family. You can find more about SFCT here.    Core benefits include a generous pensions scheme (12% employer contribution), life assurance, income protection, private health and dental care, annual health checks and Employee Assistance Programme, along with a range of benefits designed to promote your work/life balance and make your time with us enjoyable and rewarding. Find out more here.   

Interviews   

We are holding interviews as follows: 

• First Interviews on Wednesday 2 April - online. 

• Second interviews on Monday 7 April - in person. (We can be flexible due to Easter holidays). 

In person interviews take place at our office in Victoria, London, and we will reimburse travel expenses. A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be carried out for the successful candidate. We are unable to apply for visas and can only accept applications from candidates who have the right to live and work in the UK. 

Guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with a disability 

We are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive workplace. As part of the commitment, we offer a guaranteed interview for candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role. If you would like to apply under this scheme, please contact people@sfct.org.uk.   

If you would like to apply under this scheme, please indicate this in your application. 

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Due to the volume of applications we receive, we can only provide individual feedback to candidates who are invited to interview. 

Please note that we may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications.