Rail Policy Officer

Position description

Do you share our passion for the environment and technology, and to improve rail to make sure it plays a bigger role in transport decarbonisation? Do you know how environmental and economic policy at the EU level can transform markets and have knowledge of/or a strong interest in rail? And do you have experience in influencing European policy? If you do, this may well be the job for you.

Transport & Environment (T&E) is looking for a talented and dynamic Rail Policy Officer. The EU has one of the densest railway networks in the world but Europe’s rail system is underperforming. EU rail is dominated by former monopolies, lagging in IT, not interoperable across EU borders, heavily politicised decision-making, and insufficient investment. Rail can play a role in advancing a much more efficient transport system; it also offers an alternative to vehicles and planes. If the rail sector is to play a big role in the decarbonised transport system of the future much needs to change.

Rail is a challenging sector to modernise. We need a Rail Policy Officer to support our technical and political work at the EU level to improve railways. We need convincing and compelling economic, political and legal analysis, reports and presentations to convert complex information into advocacy and media friendly material. We need to convince European lawmakers to set ambitious but achievable goals to modernise the rail sector. The policy officer will be expected to work independently within the rail team but with close coordination with team members and colleagues from other T&E teams.

Job requirements

The role will involve:

• Supporting overall T&E advocacy work on rail with a focus on infrastructure investments;
• Coordinating and liaising with member NGOs all across Europe and T&E’s national offices;
• Contributing to the technology and regulatory watch on rail;
• Representing T&E at events and meetings with stakeholders, reporting back to the team;
• Nourishing and expanding the working relationships and coalitions T&E has with all stakeholders interested in rail;
• Delivering impactful research tailored to the needs of our rail program, working with our data analyst;
• Communicating effectively technical, economic and legal information to relevant audiences, working with our communication team;
• Developing position papers and advocacy based on robust evidence and argumentation and providing expert recommendations on how to improve the rail sector;
• Contributing to drafting grant applications and reportings;
• Monitoring T&E internal travel policy.

The successful candidate should meet the following criteria:

• Experience in either the rail sector, EU or government advocacy, preferably on environmental topics, ideally in Brussels;
• Ability and motivation to learn technical, economic and legal information, to develop new arguments and evidence and use them to convince key stakeholders;
• Good coordination skills, with an ability to engage with, build and manage multi-stakeholder coalitions;
• Strong interpersonal and team-working skills, and a willingness to develop a network in the rail sector;
• Good writing, communication and presentation skills;
• Ability to deliver to tight deadlines;
• Positive and optimistic attitude when faced with challenges;
• Proactive and eagerness to learn and grow into the role;
• Excellent working knowledge of English. Other European languages are a bonus.

You will work from Brussels and be line-managed by the Rail Policy Manager. This is a full-time permanent position.

The start date would be as soon as possible.

The salary package depends on experience. We are an equal opportunities employer and offer competitive salary and benefits.

The deadline for applications is the 7th of April. 

About Us

Transport & Environment (T&E) is Europe’s leading clean transport campaign group. We combine the power of robust evidence and a deep understanding of the transport sector with compelling communications and impactful advocacy. With one of the lowest staff turnover rates in the NGO community, we commit to the professional development of our colleagues and invest in training from your first day with the organisation. Our people work across Europe: colleagues in Brussels, Rome, Berlin, Madrid, Paris, Warsaw and London collaborate with our 63 member and supporter groups to achieve our mission.

Application instructions

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