Policy Officer

Job Title: Policy Officer
Team: EU Policy Team

Contract: Fixed-term contract

Level: Intermediate
Please refer to our Capability Framework
Location: Belgium, Netherlands

Apply by: We're interviewing on a rolling basis until we close the role. We advise you to apply early as we may close the role early if we have a sufficient pool of candidates. 

ABOUT US

At Climate-KIC, we are wholeheartedly committed to building a diverse and representative team and an inclusive workplace that values different life experiences and perspectives, and we encourage personal development, learning and growth.

When recruiting, we look to achieve diversity in the candidate pool. We actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups and are happy to consider reasonable adjustments that will foster success in potential employees from diverse backgrounds and life situations. And because our team has differing needs and personal circumstances, we offer a high degree of flexibility to accommodate all working patterns. We’re happy to discuss your situation during the interview and see how best we can support you.

Don’t let Imposter Syndrome stop you from applying!

Climate-KIC (Knowledge and Innovation Community) is Europe’s foremost climate innovation initiative, entrusted by the European Commission to catalyse transformation through innovation. Headquartered in Amsterdam, with circa 160 people distributed all over the EU, Climate-KIC leads and orchestrates innovation with a community of more than 400. Together we conduct activities in 39 countries. We partner with cities, regions, governments and communities with the highest climate action ambition; providing the framework and expert support to holistically manage the complexity of climate change and deliver accelerated climate action.

Climate-KIC operates as a not-for-profit platform working through public-private partnership, wielding both public and private funding. We consist of 3 Legal entities: a Dutch BV Holding company (for profit) with 14 branches in European jurisdictions, providing grant management, innovation orchestration services, and impact investment advisory owned by a Dutch-based foundation with charity status – Climate-KIC International Foundation. Historically, we have been funded by our founder and core funder, the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT), but we are currently transitioning to a multi-funder model.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are seeking a Policy Officer help to integrate Climate-KIC into the EU innovation landscape, contributing to EU policies that help shape the approach to transformative climate action. In this pivotal role, you will monitor, analyse, and influence EU policies. You will foster collaborations with key stakeholders, ensuring that Climate-KIC remains at the forefront of shaping impactful climate initiatives across Europe. You will also contribute to diversifying our funding base and help to amplify

our relevance by engaging with policy makers.

Responsibilities:

• Outreach and policy advocacy regarding EU innovation and climate, environmental, social and economic policy issues.

• Navigating EU institutions and maintaining and developing relationships with EU policy stakeholders and decision makers.

• Developing and implementing advocacy strategies to stay relevant to EU decision-making processes in line with the organisation’s objectives.

• Analysing and communicating on key EU policy developments of relevance to our strategy internally and for external stakeholders.

• Drafting position papers, policy briefs, and consultation responses to communicate the organisation’s priorities effectively.

• Represent the organisation at meetings, conferences, and events.

• Anticipating needs and managing multiple tasks simultaneously, including helping to design

and deliver EU Affairs strategy, while also managing reporting and budget requirements.

• Anticipating needs and managing multiple tasks simultaneously, including dedicated communications activities (e.g. guiding social media interaction, drafting thought leadership articles.)

Key Working Relationships

• Policy & EU Affairs Orchestrator

• Climate-KIC Hub Lead

• Strategic Partnerships team

• Leadership Team

• Delivery teams

• Multi-stakeholder engagement across the organisation

• EU bodies, national and regional governments, philanthropies and private funders, corporate

partners

ABOUT YOU

To be successful in this role, you will be a motivated professional with a strong background in EU climate and environmental issues and a deep commitment to addressing the intertwined crisis. You excel in building partnerships, navigating complex multi-topical landscapes and systems, and driving impactful advocacy initiatives. You will help teams across the entire organisation engage with policy issues of relevance to the delivery of Transformation with Urgency while also helping them to shape future EU policies and documents and navigate their way through the EU policy landscape.

Qualifications

• University degree or comparable education in relevant field, such as political science, public policy, climate and environment, sustainability, international relations, law, economics, or a related field.

• Knowledge of EU institutions, decision-making processes, and sustainability-related policies. Knowledge of digital and global aspects will be an asset.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, a professional and diplomatic manner. Entrepreneurial ‘spirit’ can be an additional plus.

• Structured way of working, strong attention to detail, and high degree of self-organisation and personal responsibility

• Excellent analytical, writing and presentation skills.

• English language skills at a very high level, both written and spoken. Additional languages at proficiency level will be a plus.

• Demonstrated excellence in analytical, organisational, and presentational skills, working with multiple teams across an organisation

Experience

We are looking for candidates with demonstrable experience in the following:

• At least 3-5 years of experience in a policy or advocacy role, preferably within the climate, environment, sustainability at EU or international level; alternatively, knowledge of the EU/global landscape with strong expertise in relevant field/institution relevant to sustainability;

• Demonstrated experience in analysing and delivering on climate-related policies and funding mechanisms or processes.

• Proven track record of building and maintaining relationships with diverse stakeholders.

• Experience in drafting high-quality policy documents, analysis, briefings, and advocacy materials

Skills

• Fluency in English, excellent written and verbal communication skills, and any additional European languages are a benefit.

• Experience or willingness to work with collaborative IT applications (we use Office365 and Microsoft Teams, as well as Miro, Zoom, Mentimeter etc.)

• Strong analytical skills with attention to detail

• Creatively-minded, good at thinking and delivering ‘outside the box’

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to quickly build rapport with internal and external stakeholders.

• Able to work in an international, distributed, and multicultural team; strong awareness of other cultures and working practices.

• Interest and commitment to tackling climate and environmental change and its socio-economic, impacts.

• Additional European language an asset.

Qualities, Personal Style, and Approach

• Articulate, dynamic and diplomatic, with highly developed interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively, inspire and motivate people.

• Open minded; highly adaptable, flexible, and resilient.

• Solutions focused, with a “can do” attitude; willing to undertake a range of tasks to meet needs.

• Structured and organised

• Curious with a learning mindset

• You create new opportunities for Climate-KIC and our thematic field to strive.

• You are able to manage many different stakeholders.

• You are at ease with complexity.

Location

Candidates must have the right to work in the location they’re applying for (I.e. not require visa sponsorship) prior to applying for the position. Ideally, the successful candidate will be based close to one of the EIT Climate KIC offices, but we support fully remote or hybrid forms of working and offer a high degree of flexibility.

To ensure that we can respond to every single applicant, we will close the role once we receive a reasonable pool of candidates to assess.