(Senior) Mercury Policy Officer

The Mercury (Senior) Policy Officer will join our Mercury team, part of the EEB’s Nature, Health and Environment Division, following both EU but mainly international mercury governance. They will work with a range of partners through the Zero Mercury Working Group – an international network of environmental and health groups working together towards ‘Zero’ emissions, demand and supply of mercury, from all sources we can control, in view of reducing to a minimum, mercury in the environment at EU level and globally.

The successful candidate will monitor and manage projects by supporting NGOs in developing countries to support respective governments to implement provisions of the Minamata Convention (e.g. phasing out mercury added products, reducing mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining). Work will also include following the Minamata Convention process and relevant mercury policies (e.g. mercury added products/processes, waste, supply, artisanal small-scale gold mining) at UN (and EU) level as well as their implementation.

(Senior) Policy Officer will report to the Policy Manager of the ‘Zero Mercury Campaign’.

 The (Senior) Policy Officer’s work comprises:

• Managing projects and activities carried out by national campaigners mainly in developing countries, including technical, contractual, financial issues, monitoring and reporting. Support will be provided by the EEB’s finance and administrative teams for overarching finances;
• Contributing to the development of project proposals in developing countries, on relevant mercury issues and as per our objectives;
• Following and contributing to work related to the global decision-making processes (UNEP- Minamata Convention);
• Keeping up to date on EU policy developments relevant to the global processes;
• Contributing to the skin lightening cream campaign. Some knowledge of database building/functioning (wordpress) would be an asset;
• Drafting EEB/ZMWG positions and any other reports on mercury related issues, with assistance from EEB/ZMWG members (including studies, reports to funders);
• Representing and advocating for EEB’s/ZMWG positions e.g. at meetings related to Minamata Convention, EU institutions;
• Networking with member organisations to promote activities to influence EU and global decision-making;
• Assisting in the coordination of the Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG);
• Assisting with the EEB/ZMWG membership development;
• Organising meetings, including logistics, preparation, and follow-up;
• Contributing to comms work (PRs, twitter, blogs, comms materials, website etc);
• Assisting with fundraising;
• Managing junior staff, as relevant.

Qualities and Experiences sought:

• A relevant academic degree in the field of chemicals, waste or environmental policies – knowledge of mercury related issues is an asset (additional work experience may be accepted in lieu of this);
• Preferably 3+ years of experience (5+ years for the Senior Policy Officer position) on project management (technical and financial);
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience on a relevant environmental policy issue, at EU/UN level;
• Experience in environmental policy work, including analysis of policy/project proposals and reports, formulation and presentation of oral and written comments/proposals for change;
• Ability to research and quickly understand new technical information;
• A good understanding and experience of UN processes (e.g. COPs) and of EU Institutions and EU environmental law;
• Experience in working with environmental organisations in network;
• A strong affinity for international environmental organisations;
• Good communication, organisational and networking skills;
• Confidence in interacting with colleagues, other NGOs, industry and representatives of governments at EU and UNEP level;
• Some experience in using communications tools and applying them in target-specific situations and professional context;
• Be well organized and able to work independently as well as part of a team;
• Be a quick learner and motivated to go deeper into issues in view of finding solutions;
• Be able to deliver accurate, high-quality work on time and meet deadlines;
• Be fluent in English and fluent or able to communicate in other languages (French, Spanish) would be an advantage;
• Show flexibility with longer working hours and travel on short notice for and during UN meetings;
• Share the core values of the EEB and can demonstrate knowledge of and commitment to environmental protection and social change.

EEB offers:

• A monthly pre-tax salary starting from EUR 2923 for Policy Officer and EUR 3572 for Senior Policy Officer with a higher starting salary depending on the level of experience[1].
• A package with various salary and non-salary benefits (holiday bonus, 13th month, pension scheme (with different elements including 6% on your gross salary), luncheon vouchers, teleworking allowance, transport allowance, extra-legal holidays and increasing number of extra holidays with years in the organisation, mobile phone subscription, travel insurance for work and private purposes etc.);
• An initial full-time contract for 1 year with the possibility to be extended pending good performance and budget availability;
• A great multidisciplinary, multicultural working atmosphere and international environment in Brussels;
• A worthy cause, working for a better future where people and nature thrive together;
• An organisation committed to our values of democracy, fairness, respect, integrity and sustainability;
• A non-routine job implying involvement in several areas around mercury;
• The opportunity to meet and work with environmental and health representatives and other experts at EU and international level.

Application Process:

Please send in a motivation letter, your CV and completed questionnaire below to personnel@eeb.org. Please clearly mark: “Mercury (Senior) Policy Officer” in the subject of your application.

Only applications that include these three components will be considered. Due to limited staff resources and numbers of CVs anticipated, only candidates selected for interview will receive a reply.

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Questionnaire for candidates for this post

In your own words, please provide brief responses to the following three questions. Your responses should not exceed 300 words per question.

1. Imagine you are overlooking/managing 5 developing country NGO projects on mercury. What measures would you take to ensure that projects are being followed correctly, in a timely manner, and deliver the expected results?
2. The Minamata Convention was adopted in 2013 and entered into force in 2017. Which areas do you think should be strengthened in the treaty text and what could be examples of measures to be included?
3. What do you think is the value added of the ZMWG? In view of ensuring that the provisions of the Minamata Convention are implemented and enforced, what should be the areas (and countries), our work should focus on, and why?

Place:   As our contracts fall under Belgian law, the candidate must commit to being officially registered in Belgium and working most of the time from our office in Brussels.

Deadline for Application:              2 April 2024

Interviews first round:                  16 and 18 April 2024

Proposed starting date:                 As soon as possible

Please note that we will ask shortlisted candidates to provide two references.

The EEB is an equal-opportunities employer. We respect our employees’ private life, including where they are taking up care roles. We strive to be an inclusive organisation and encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates. Please have a look at our Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Policy.

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