Scientific Officer 

Location: London-based or remote in the UK, as long as travel to the office in London for two consecutive days per month is feasible 

Role: Permanent  

Salary: £40,000 plus 10% employer-contributed pension; 4 day full-time work week (Monday – Thursday) 

About us: 

Established in 2021, Opportunity Green is a fast-growing not-for-profit organisation that helps to identify and unlock opportunities to tackle climate change. We build ambitious coalitions, support climate vulnerable countries in international negotiations and find innovative legal pathways to fight climate change.  

Our Climate Diplomacy team has already achieved an outsized impact in the climate negotiations in the International Maritime Organization by supporting climate vulnerable countries, providing legal research and technical analysis. We are now looking to ensure that any solutions to decarbonising shipping do not inadvertently cause more environmental damage than they solve.   

We are looking for a Science Officer to help develop recommendations for policymakers regarding the use of green ammonia as a fuel for shipping. The work will involve scientific research and the development of legislative recommendations to ensure that the use of ammonia does not inadvertently worsen climate change or degrade the nitrogen cycle. You will also be Opportunity Green’s go-to person for scientific questions across the organization. We don’t require you to be an expert in all aspects of science but rather to know how to find the information required and know what questions to ask in order to help the teams get information required from outside sources.  

What’s the role? 

Reporting to Opportunity Green’s Senior Manager (Climate Diplomacy) you will be undertaking scientific research to identify and develop clear and comprehensive recommendations that can be adopted by the International Maritime Organization, the European Union and/or national governments which will ensure that its use will not worsen the environmental impact of shipping.   

There is much we don’t yet know about how the use of ammonia as a fuel for shipping will impact global nitrogen cycles and how much nitrous oxides will be released into the atmosphere. Recent studies have estimated that switching to NH3 as a fuel could quadruple current total anthropogenic reactive nitrogen fixation and indeed, completely erase any climate gains from switching fuel. There is therefore a significant risk that measures seeking to reduce CO2 emissions could further disrupt the nitrogen cycle and inadvertently increase emissions of a potent and long-lasting greenhouse gas.  

You will be working at the cutting edge of climate and environmental science in a new and emerging area to develop proposals to safeguard the environment as the shipping industry transitions to green fuels. You will work closely with a wide range of NGOs across Europe to provide analysis on this issue and to obtain scientific, technical and policy insight on your ideas as you develop the recommendations. The areas of work could include for example: lifecycle assessment and data analysis for alternative fuels, methods for measuring and modelling GHG emissions, air pollution and its impact on human health, and the nitrogen cycle. 

Our Climate Diplomacy team is already achieving outsized impact with a great team spirit. We are looking for someone who is analytical and organized, but who is also a people person with great communication skills, a collaborative approach and a passion for fighting climate change. Opportunity Green is a growing organization so you will also be involved in supporting other aspects of work, such as contributing to funding proposals, developing campaign strategy and providing input into communications. 

In addition, on occasion our other teams: the SASHA Coalition and our legal team, may have scientific questions that you will help with. The SASHA Coalition works with companies that are looking to green hydrogen and its derivatives as future fuels in the shipping and aviation sectors, while our legal team works across the shipping, aviation, buildings, steel and agriculture sectors.  

About the candidate: 

We are looking for a candidate with: 

• A passion for using their scientific skills to help develop ambitious policy and legislative safeguards for the environment. 

Desirable skills and experience: 

We do not expect any candidate to have all skills listed below but rather we look for transferable skills and potential as well as past experience. 

• A high level of self-motivation and commitment to Opportunity Green’s values, ethos and purpose. 

• A science degree or equivalent experience. 

• Policy and regulatory awareness demonstrated by experience in applying your scientific knowledge to the drafting of legislation and/or policy.  

• Someone who is comfortable working with scientific detail and will relish the task of turning scientific research into actionable policy advice.  

• Experience of writing high-quality scientific analysis and/or writing draft regulations. 

• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively and interact with policymakers from around the world with kindness and respect. 

• Passion for stopping climate change. 

• Excellent time management, the ability to meet deadlines, logically tackle problems, and set and communicate priorities.  

Diversity and inclusion: 

Diversity and inclusion are important principles at Opportunity Green. We believe that diversity and inclusion make teams stronger and more effective. We are committed to fair and equitable employment practices, and we are striving to ensure that a variety of voices and experiences are included in our organisation. Our commitment to diversity and our parental leave policy are available to view on our website, here. 

We will consider all applicants who meet most or all of the essential competencies regardless of their identity or background. That said, we know that diverse candidates may be reluctant to apply for jobs where they don’t meet 100% of the criteria outlined in the job description. We encourage anyone to apply who can demonstrate the variety of skills and experiences relevant to meeting the requirements of this role.  

We recognise that many diverse experiences and perspectives are not represented in our current workforce, and are seriously underrepresented across the non-profit sector in general, and as such, we particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities, people of colour, people from marginalised backgrounds, and members of the LGBTQIA+ communities. We will use positive action under the Equality Act 2010 to appoint from these groups if two candidates are equally qualified. We also value flexible working and are open to those who would want to work part-time in this role.  

What we offer 

The successful candidate will be offered an annual salary of £40,000 plus 10% employer-contributed pension. Please note that Opportunity Green has fixed salary scales, with the possibility of step increases with strong performance. When hiring we always hire at the bottom of a band and do not enter negotiations with new employees as negotiations have been historically shown to disadvantage women and minorities. 

We take our team’s well-being and professional development seriously. In addition to a competitive salary, we offer:  

• A commitment to work/life balance, with a 4-day work week at 28 hours 

• A generous holiday entitlement of 20 days’ holiday per year, plus bank holidays and office closure between Christmas and New Year’s that does not count towards your holiday entitlement (and expectation that you fully disconnect when taking time off) 

• A market-leading pension of 10%  

• A progressive parental leave policy, including 26 weeks’ paid leave for both parents 

• Lots of flexibility within a hybrid working arrangement, with regular opportunities to come together as a team  

• Support for your professional development as part of Opportunity Green, with a budget to support your learning & development plus opportunities to lead projects, publish content, learn from experts, work directly with policymakers and stakeholders, and take part in conferences and events. 

However, it is important to note that while this role is permanent, employment is always reliant on Opportunity Green continuing to receive philanthropic support from our funders, which we expect every member of the team to play their part in working towards. 

How to apply: 

Please click here to apply 

To minimize the risk of unconscious bias, we ask that applicants remove certain identifying elements from their CVs. If you do not remove these details, we reserve the right to withdraw your application from review.  

• Photos 

• Name – if needed, please use ‘Applicant’ 

• Age 

• Email and/or phone number 

We also reserve the right to withdraw your application from review if you use AI tools such as Chat GPT to complete the sift questions / write your CV.    

Unfortunately, if you do not already hold the right to work in the UK and/or require sponsorship to continue working in the UK, Opportunity Green will not be able to consider your application at this time.  

The closing date for applications is 16 September 2024.   

What happens next? 

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an online interview to discuss their experience and suitability for the role. After this, candidates that are most suitable for the vacancy will be invited for an in-person interview in our London office, for which there may also be a short task. Travel will be reimbursed for non-London-based applicants (within the UK).  

Online interviews are likely to take place in w/c 30 September. In person interviews will likely be shortly after this in w/c 7 October.  

We reserve the right to ask for references during the recruitment process. 

If you have any questions, or you need additional requirements and/or reasonable adjustments at the application stage, please contact recruitment@opportunitygreen.org