• Contract type: Fixed term, freelance 

• Contract term: 20 weeks, 11 March - 26 July (or similar)

• Contract fee: Up to AUD 50,000  (incl. GST)

• Time commitment: Approx. 60-70 days work (although we invite you to tell us what you think is possible within the available resource and scope of work)

• Location: Remote (Australian timezones) 

• Application deadline: 11.59pm AEST, Wednesday 28 February

Purpose

WorkforClimate is searching for a collaborative and confident program manager to lead the delivery of our flagship Academy program for climate activists inside large companies. We’re looking for someone with a track record of designing and delivering cohort-based online learning experiences who can take initiative and hit the ground running. This is a part-time, freelance role, starting as soon as possible and running to the end of July 2024 (with potential to renew to deliver future cohorts). 

Key objectives

• Lead the re-design and delivery of a new iteration of our Academy program for a cohort of employee climate champions between April - June 2024

• Establish and document replicable processes for ongoing delivery of Academy cohorts 

• Design and implement program impact and learning processes

About WorkforClimate

WorkforClimate is a project of The Sunrise Project - a network of changemakers working to scale the climate movement and drive the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy as fast as possible. At WorkforClimate, our mission is to build a movement of climate-concerned professionals who are driving ambitious climate action inside large companies. We believe in the power of business to combat the climate crisis, and in the power of employees to influence their employers to do better. We believe that building employee power inside of corporations can help create the conditions for companies to do better on climate. 

Practically, we are building an online learning community of employee climate champions (we call them climate intrapreneurs) and growing their ability to influence corporate climate action through our online community platform plus targeted learning programs like the WorkforClimate Academy. Our community members are mostly Australia-based, but we’re beginning to grow our membership internationally, particularly in North America. 

We’re a tight knit team of deeply committed climate changemakers. Some of us quit our corporate jobs to dedicate ourselves to addressing the climate crisis; some of us were in the climate movement from the start; all of us believe employees have an important role to play in the climate movement. 

About the WorkforClimate Academy

The WorkforClimate Academy is an applied learning experience designed to develop participants’ technical knowledge of corporate climate action alongside their leadership skills for driving and influencing organisational change. 

The Academy has existed in multiple iterations to date and we are currently in the process of revamping it based on our most recent round of strategic learnings. The Academy is going from a self-paced, self-directed online course to a 12-week, cohort-based learning journey held in a lightly structured container running from 8 April to 28 June. 

Delivered via our online learning platform, each participant designs their own personal Learning Question for the course and uses the following components to generate insights into their question over the duration of the program: 

• 28x short video lessons split across 6x modules

• 10x application tools and canvases to apply the lesson content to their work

• 6x live workshops (2-2.5 hrs) for working on application tools and practising leadership skills

• 1x Learning Partner Guidesheet per module for self-facilitated reflection conversations with two fellow participants in a triad

• Cohort-wide discussion channels in our online platform

Participants are guided through the course by weekly emails on what components to complete over the week ahead. At the end of the program each participant creates a Course Reflection and Action Plan for taking their learning forward beyond the Academy and they will continue to receive support as members of our wider learning community. 

While the high-level program format has been designed based on our learning from previous iterations, there is plenty of room for evolving it further. We’re looking for a high-impact program manager to oversee the implementation of this next version of the Academy and continue to test and refine it in collaboration with our talented program team.

About the role

This is a freelance, fixed-term contract for a values-aligned individual who is available from the early/mid March and able to work with us through to the end of July 2024. There is potential for this contract to be renewed to deliver future cohorts.

We envisage you leading on the following activities, with the precise responsibilities to be shaped in collaboration with you. 

• Support course redesign: Collaborate with the team to update the course format and delivery processes based on learning from prior iterations plus the experience you bring to the team. 

• Appoint cohort: Oversee the participant application and selection process to confirm this cohort’s participants. (The wider team will lead on the recruitment marketing campaign to generate applications.)

• Implement course components: Project manage the delivery of the April - June cohort, collaborating with the program team to set up the course infrastructure, guide participants through their learning journey and deliver all course components listed above. 

• Deliver live workshops: Project manage the logistical delivery of the 6x live workshops with session design and facilitation support from the team.

• Establish processes: Establish replicable processes for delivering future Academy cohorts and produce an updated version of our Academy Delivery Manual to document this learning. 

• Inform stakeholders: Keep key Academy stakeholders informed with the information they need e.g. the communications team and WorkforClimate Director. 

• Impact and learning: Set up processes and systems to measure and evaluate program impact and provide insights to inform continuous improvements to program design  

Outputs & milestones 

• 31 March: Successful selection and appointment of the April cohort (min. 15 participants, ideally 25+) 

• 28 June: Successful delivery of all components of the 12-week program and graduation process completed for all eligible participants

• 26 July:

  • Evaluation insights document produced 

  • Updated Academy Delivery Manual outlining the program format, structure, processes and resourcing needs for the full program lifecycle

  • Program delivery team in place to deliver the next cohort of the program (which may include a renewal of your contract if desired) 

About the program team

The resources you have available to you to deliver the program are:

• Program Manager (you): Program management, participant communications, program logistics, program evaluation, workshop facilitation (optional).

• Head of Experience (Laure Legros): Participant recruitment, learning platform support, corporate climate action expertise, supporting participants in discussion forums, workshop facilitation. 

• Community Manager (Cameron Elliott): Participant recruitment, supporting participants in discussion forums, program delivery mentoring, ongoing support of alumni, workshop facilitation.

• Strategy & Program Consultant (Lydia Hascott): Program delivery mentoring, ad hoc implementation support to fill gaps, leadership content expertise, workshop design and facilitation. 

• Marketing team: Program recruitment support, communication of case studies and program insights. 

• WorkforClimate Director (Lucy Piper): Insight into wider WorkforClimate strategy. 

About you

You’re who we’re looking for if you’re a confident program manager with a track record of designing and delivering transformational online learning journeys for catalysing systemic change (with both e-learning and synchronous learning community components). You also have:

• A demonstrated commitment to addressing the climate crisis through your work as much as your personal life

• A track record of hitting the ground running and taking the reins on delivering projects in a collaborative and iterative way

• Outstanding organisational and project management skills, especially when working remotely

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Deep commitment to inclusion and liberation

• Confidence using digital tools to stay connected e.g. Zoom, Slack

• Availability to work during Australian work hours

You might also bring some of the following, though these are just a bonus: 

• Subject matter knowledge of corporate climate action, climate leadership or systems change

• Strong group facilitation skills and/or coaching expertise 

• Experience using Disco, or similar learning management systems, for online learning

• Learning design expertise, particularly in SCORM-based e-learning 

Working with us

WorkforClimate aims to embody the kind of organisations we think should be the norm - deeply human, collaborative and compassionate. Working with us will feel like a mix of work, play and vocation - this applies equally to freelancers as to our core team. We know fighting the climate crisis is difficult work, so we’re building a culture of care where your joy and your despair are equally welcome. You'll build relationships with colleagues you respect and admire and who feel the same way about you, and you'll feel part of our broader community of inspiring change-makers.

How to apply

We’re deeply committed to equitable and fair recruitment processes for staff and contractors, so we’ve designed this application process accordingly:

The process is as follows: 

• Written application: Submit a written application via the platform BeApplied. You’ll only need to answer a handful of questions and upload a CV. The answers to your application questions will be reviewed blind and your CV won’t be reviewed until scoring is complete. Application deadline: 11.59pm AEST, Wednesday 28 February 

• Interview: A shortlist of the highest scoring applicants will be invited to jump on a call during the week of 4 March. This will involve some structured interview questions along with space to mutually explore your appetite and fit for this work.  

• Discussion call: We’ll invite our preferred candidate(s) to a second call (ideally that same week) to explore how we might structure our work together. If all goes well, we’ll then get started as soon as possible. 

We've also put together some tips for applicants to help make it more likely for you shine in our particular process. Check them out here.

If this sounds like the project for you, we look forward to reading your application.