The European Clean Trucking Alliance is a broad coalition that brings together some of Europe’s largest transport and logistics companies calling for an acceleration of the transition to sustainable, zero-emission freight transport.

It counts around 30 members from civil society, diverse industries and experience including urban logistics, long-haul freight, consumer goods, manufacturing and supply chain management. Industrial members include for instance Anheuser-Busch Inbev, Ikea, Deutsche Post DHL Group, DB Schenker, Geodis, Girteka, Unilever and Nestle. The members employ over 2.3 million people, generate a total revenue of over EUR 400 billion and use a total road fleet size of over 380,000 trucks.

The Alliance focuses on future-proof policies, programmes and initiatives that drive the technological and ecosystem shift from fossil-fuelled vehicles to vans and trucks with zero tailpipe emissions. Its activities include the exchange of best practices between members, the development of concrete policy recommendations and providing input to EU and national policy-making processes through advocacy, position papers and events. It also develops new research and provides evidence with the support of its technical observer, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).

The Alliance was launched in July 2019 and is managed by the transport programme of the European Climate Foundation (ECF) - a major philanthropic initiative working to tackle climate change by fostering the development of a low-carbon society at the national, European and global level.

About the consultancy services

We are now looking for a consultant who will take over the secretariat function to the European Clean Trucking Alliance and professionalise it. The secretariat will be set up to support the Alliance at a crucial time for the transition towards zero emission trucking in Europe. Some of the largest truck manufacturers publicly committed to ramp up the sale of battery electric trucks by 2030 and the European Commission ambitions to revise the CO2 standards for HDVs, a cornerstone regulation driving the sales of low and zero-emission trucks.

The position requires strong organisational, coordination, and communication skills, as well as the ability to work effectively across a diverse membership. The secretariat support provided by the consultant will focus on activating engagement of the Alliance members, structuring the governance of the Alliance and reinforcing its presence in the media and EU policy circles.

Responsibilities

a. General

- Ensure overall smooth running and professional engagement of all activities of the Alliance;

- Facilitate communication and cooperation between members and centralise the Alliance contact list (members, media, stakeholders);

- Organise meetings, coordinate attendance of members and attend and minute those meetings;

- Support with set up of external stakeholder meetings;

- Support to set up a rotating Chair and new Working Groups;

- Support the Chair and Working groups in their day-to-day activities including organisation of WG meetings, preparation of policy papers and similar material;

- Manage the organisation of events, in coordination with the ECF Transport programme and the relevant Working Group Chair;

- Identify opportunities for media interventions and social media campaigns to stress the importance of decarbonising freight transport;

- Build and maintain relationship with relevant actors in the industry, policy and media spheres;

- Help with ad-hoc requests together with ECF Transport programme, Alliance and Working Group Chairs.

b. Organisational

- Organise the meetings of the Alliance and public events;

- Help put together a work plan for next 12 months, spanning all of the Alliance areas of activity;

- Coordinate actions & activities & priorities with the ECF Transport Programme, the Chair and Working Group Chairs; active search for new member;

- Administer, distribute / coordinate response to queries the Alliance receives;

- Collect and manage requests to join the Alliance;

- Attend all WG meetings, help WG chair in their preparations and minute the meetings;

- Set up / organise outreach programs at request of WG members;

- Ensure smooth running of the IT system, shared drives, mailing lists etc.

c. Communications & strategy

- Develop a communication strategy in collaboration with the ECF Transport programme to raise the profile of Alliance and build its media presence;

- Support in the organisation of events, webinar and communications activities on the behalf of the Alliance;

- Draft the Alliance press releases and organise the launch of policy papers and studies;

- Take over the curation of the Alliance social media account(s) and the website;

- Monitor relevant EU policy developments (intelligence gathering) for the benefit of the membership and share the information;

- Assist the Alliance in pulling together presentations and other outreach material that are in direct relation to the Alliance activities;

- Update as necessary the Alliance’s MoU, working closely with the ECF Transport programme, the Chair and Working Group Chairs;

d. Networking

- Develop a good working relationship with all of the members;

- Attend relevant EP, Commission, Council and stakeholder events with a direct bearing on the business of the Alliance;

- Profile raising: Highlight pertinent speaking participation opportunities for the Alliance.

- A genuine interest in the mission of the Alliance and a good understanding of the e-mobility sector

- Proven experience in organising events and day to day management of an organisation

- Previous experience in the mobility sector is desirable

- Proven ability to interact with a wide range of stakeholders (CEOs, industry representatives, NGOs, policy makers, media)

- A good understanding of the processes and dynamics of European Union policy making

- An experience handling media relations us desirable but not mandatory

- Fluent written and oral English. Command of another European language is desirable

- A willingness to travel to other European capitals as part of events and meeting organisation

We are looking for an organised and driven candidate with experience in event organisation, membership-based organisations and communications. We are offering a 6 month consultancy contract to take over the secretariat of the Alliance, ideally for 5 days per week (but the number of days can be discussed). The candidate should ideally be based in Brussels (we can discuss other locations) and be available to start as soon as possible