About the European Climate Foundation

The European Climate Foundation (ECF) was founded in 2008 as a major philanthropic initiative to help tackle climate change by fostering the development of a low-carbon society at the national, European and global level.

We support over 350 partner organisations to carry out activities that contribute to the public debate on climate action, drive urgent and ambitious policy in support of the objectives of the Paris Agreement and help deliver a socially responsible transition to a net-zero emissions economy and sustainable society in Europe and around the world.

The ECF brings together diverse perspectives and backgrounds to find the best innovative solutions to tackle climate change. We are focusing on engaging and hiring great people from a wide diversity of backgrounds to strengthen the cause. If you share our values of respect, innovation and collaboration, join us.

The ECF’s strategic communications team plays an active role in helping create more political, media and public endorsement for action on climate change at an international, national and sectoral level. Team members deliver strategic advice, communications and outreach support to ECF’s programmes and its grantees, and work as part of an international network of communications experts to enhance the public debate on climate change and its solutions more broadly.

About the role

Our team is recruiting for a Data Analyst - Net-zero and Decarbonisation. The core focus of the role is developing the use of data-driven research to deliver strategic communications goals in the climate and energy space. You will be monitoring the energy and climate space to identify new data sources related to energy, finance and decarbonisation, and develop ways in which these can be used to produce creative, impactful messages and interventions that advance the climate agenda. Your day-to-day will be working as part of a small research team in a production environment. In a typical week, you might work on several different briefings and data analyses used to brief colleagues, journalists, spokespeople or partners at other organisations. The emphasis is on working collaboratively, across a global network of communications experts, to produce deeper strategic approaches in this space. This position will report to the Senior Research Analyst, Net-zero and Decarbonisation.

We are looking for someone who is a clear and strategic thinker, able to devise and implement research-led strategic communications approaches. They will be an excellent data analyst, excellent researcher, meticulous in attention to detail, with very strong skills in presenting and structuring information to inform and persuade both internal colleagues and external audiences. The ideal candidate will be naturally collaborative and adept at discussing and negotiating ideas.

This role would suit someone with a background as a financial journalist, research analyst, data scientist or consultant working on decarbonisation, energy, and economics, who has been producing materials for both investor and generalist audiences. We're looking for people with a clear vision for devising more ambitious work in this space, who can draw on complex material, insights, and mixed data sources to drive and deliver communications impact and work generously with others.

Key responsibilities

The Data Analyst – Net-zero and Decarbonisation will be responsible for:

• Working closely with the Senior Research Analyst and other researchers to develop new and ambitious expert analysis and strategic thinking on energy, finance, net-zero transition and a green recovery.
• Service data requests and produce analyses, including tracking the trends on energy, sustainable finance, net-zero commitments, carbon offsets and other relevant topics.
• Working as part of a small research team in a fast-paced production environment, often to ambitious deadlines.

Experience and competencies

Essential:

• Proven professional experience in data analytics using energy, climate and finance data sources, with experience of data analysis at the country, sector or company level.
• Excellent instincts for telling compelling stories with numbers, identifying patterns and irregularities in large datasets.
• Experience in data driven research and familiar with tools such as Bloomberg Terminal, Excel, Google Sheets, R/Python and SQL.
• Experience in locating, processing and managing data. This includes database management (SQL), data cleansing, web scraping, working with APIs, etc.
• Familiarity with a varied range of data sources related to energy (infrastructure, investment flows, energy and emissions data, socio-economic data), at the sector, company or country level, including open data sources.
• Relevant research contacts in the energy, climate and finance space.
• Excellent writing skills in English and strong presentation skills.
• The drive to be self-directed and work nimbly and generously over phone/video conferencing, timezones, etc.
• A commitment to an inclusive and empowering approach to tackle climate change.

Desirable:

• Relevant deep-issue expertise, which might include energy transition, sustainable finance, company research, or other relevant topics.
• Strong specialist communications skills in one or more of these areas: Energy finance journalism, data journalism, financial modelling.
• Strong regional knowledge of Asia or Africa energy sector developments.
• Experience with data visualisation tools (e.g. PowerBI, Tableau, Looker, etc.)
• Additional language skills.

What we offer

• The unique opportunity to work as part of a small group of highly dynamic individuals who combine their passion to make a difference with a rigorous and results-oriented approach to work.
• The chance to research across a broad range of climate and energy issues, and to create impactful research products used in different countries.
• A flexible work environment and a space to develop and challenge yourself.
• A full-time position with a consultant or employment contract (subject to location) for 12 months, with a possible renewal.

Location

You can be based anywhere within a four-hour time difference of Central European Time, with a reliable internet connection. We may be able to provide co-working spaces in some locations.

You must have the right to work in your location.

Start date

October 2021

How to apply

Please upload below your CV and a short cover letter, both in English, 1-2 pages for each.

Please also include a short (fewer than 200 words) answer to this question: Highlight a piece of analysis, research work or report in the net-zero or energy transition debate that you think has been effective in supporting impactful communications work and advancing real actions, and briefly explain why.

Please note only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

All applications will be treated confidentially. We will store your information in our internal database unless you specifically request otherwise.

We are committed to diversity and inclusion in our organisation. We strongly encourage candidates from historically disadvantaged or marginalised groups to apply.

Deadline for applications: 19th September 2021.