Senior Policy Analyst – Farming and Land Use

Job description

• Gross Annual Salary: £38,000 full-time pro rata (post offered at 0.6 FTE i.e. £22,800, with
  the potential to rise to 1 FTE). In addition, IEEP UK matches pension contributions up to 6% of
  gross salary.
• Hours: 0.6 FTE (21 hours / 3 days per week)
• Location: Remote working – IEEP UK currently has no permanent office space. Therefore, in
  line with the whole IEEP UK team, the post will be home-based, with regular travel to London,
  other parts of the UK, Brussels and other parts of Europe as required.
• Position type: One year contract, with hope to extend with successful fundraising
• Annual Leave: 18.5 days Annual Leave based on 0.6FTE (comprises of 14 days Basic Annual
  Leave + FTE proportion of public holidays) rising annually to a top limit of 23 days
• Closing date: 10am, Monday 15 July 2024
• Contact email: [email protected]
• Equal opportunities: IEEP UK is committed to being a welcoming and inclusive employer,
  including recruiting for diversity.
• Right to Work: Entitlement to work in the UK. IEEP UK is not able to assist with
  applications for work permits and cannot employ people living or working outside of the UK.
• Other benefits: You are also entitled to an additional £1,000.00 reimbursement benefit that
  can be used for private health and/or gym subscription.

About IEEP UK

The Institute for European Environmental Policy UK[1] (IEEP UK) is a UK
registered charity and a not-for-profit sustainability think tank, with over 40 years of
experience, based in the UK. As part of the broader IEEP family across Europe, we are dedicated
to working with government, civil society, academia and a range of other stakeholders,
including European, United Nations and other international bodies, civil society, academia,
scientific institutes and business and industry to produce evidence-based research for
impact-driven environmental policy solutions. Our work covers both short-term and long-term
strategic environmental issues in the UK and its constituent nations as well
as their interaction with policy in Europe and globally. Over the years IEEP has developed new
concepts that have made their way into mainstream environmental thinking, underpinning many
aspects of this policy area today, including work on the precautionary principle, environmental
impact assessments, emissions trading schemes and public money for public goods. Agriculture
and land use are a core policy focus for IEEP UK, building on a track record of work informing
the design and evidence base for new farm support schemes in the UK, including:

• Expert evidence helps shape the development of new environmental land management schemes
• Future environmental regulatory regime for agriculture in England: Risks and opportunities

This is an exciting time for IEEP UK. Under the leadership of the chair of trustees, Malini
Mehra, IEEP UK has developed a new
strategy up to 2027, striving to grow from a currently small staff, becoming more visible
and claiming a leading role in providing innovative research and policy relevant intelligence.
As part of this, Ben Reynolds joined in the role of Executive Director in October 2023.

Overall role and responsibilities

We are seeking to employ an experienced policy analyst to play a central role in our UK team.
We are looking for a candidate with excellent analytical skills, likes to take initiative and
who will thrive working in a small and dynamic team.

The successful candidate will join a cohesive, impact-oriented and supportive team that is
committed to the professional development of all of its staff, and where the opportunities for
learning and for making a difference are high. Candidates should be able to work in an
intellectually challenging and fast-paced environment and meet firm deadlines. The successful
candidate will contribute to IEEP UK’s role as a thought leader in UK and EU environmental
policy.

In line with the focus of the role, we are specifically looking for someone with a background
in farming and land use policy. As IEEP UK relies on a mix of contracts and grant funding, the
role will evolve to suit the needs of the funding secured. This is likely to include:

• Undertaking research and drafting policy briefings and reports on UK and devolved farming,
  land use and related policy and how it compares to European policy, along with other outputs
  such as blogs and public consultation responses.
• Contributing to the development of policy options to feed into and influence UK farming and
  land use policy.
• Maintaining an up-to-date and detailed knowledge of farming and land use policies at a UK,
  devolved nation and European level and a broad overview of how these are implemented.
• Organising, facilitating and participating in workshops, seminars and other events
  involving experts in the policy arena.
• Maintaining good relations and building new relations with a variety of external
  institutions and clients in relevant policy making/influencing arenas, including government,
  civil society and the private sector.

The role will also include:

• External representation of IEEP UK at meetings and events.
• Support communication and disseminating activities in this policy area.
• Management of projects including project budgets.
• Developing new project ideas and working with others to secure funding and deliver them
  ensuring they deliver the change required.
• Potential line management of junior staff and interns as appropriate.
• Contribute actively to the implementation of Institute-wide decisions and strategy.

Personal Specification

The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate many of the following skills and attributes:

Essential:

• Background, interest and experience in sustainable farming and land use policy.
• At least 3 years’ relevant professional experience in this or related fields.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline: for example, political science, environmental
  science, economics; food/farming policy; a relevant postgraduate degree will be seen as an
  advantage.
• Good communication skills, in particular excellent written and spoken English and the
  ability to present information in a clear, concise and accessible style.
• Strong quantitative, qualitative and / or economic research skills and a corresponding list
  of project achievements and/or relevant publications.
• Strong analytical capacity, with the ability to both analyse existing policies, propose
  changes to these, and think of novel policy solutions.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to meet tight deadlines and deliver high-quality output with attention to detail.
• As part of a small team you will also need the ability to turn your hand to a variety of
  tasks such as comms, project bids, media, events organisations, as well as research.
• Entitlement to work in the UK (IEEP UK is not able to assist with applications for work
  permits).

Desirable:

• Knowledge of farming and land use policy across the EU, European member states, UK and
  devolved nations.
• An interest in, enthusiasm for and knowledge of environmental and / or climate policy in
  the UK and / or the EU.
• Experience of project management, including budget management and a proven track-record in
  task delivery and impact.
• Experience and aptitude in using MS Teams, Zoom, Miro or other online meeting, webinar and
  facilitation tools, as a participant and as an organiser.
• Experience of working with parliamentarians or other decision-makers to support policy
  development.
• Confidence to put forward a case in meetings with people from diverse roles and
  backgrounds.
• Experience in arranging, chairing and/or facilitating meetings and events.
• Experience of working on a funded project and reporting to funders.
• Skills in digital communications and social networking.
• Availability to commence work promptly following the recruitment process.

Application Process

To apply for this position, please email [email protected], clearly marking the title of the
email: ‘IEEP_UK – SPA’ [YOUR NAME], with the following:

• a CV (maximum two pages)
• a Covering Letter telling us about your experience and how this relates to the personal
  specification (maximum two pages)
• a completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

Application deadline: 10AM, Monday 15 July 2024

Interviews: Week beginning 22 July 2024

Our ideal candidate would be able to start in September/October 2024.

IEEP UK is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes offers from candidates of diverse
backgrounds and relevant experience, respecting best practices in the recruitment process.

IEEP UK is recruiting for this role as part of our Ethnicity Confident and Disability Confident
schemes. Applicants who meet all the essential criteria, and who let us know voluntarily (via
our Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form) that you would like to be considered in this way, will
have an enhanced chance of gaining a first-stage interview. 

Our Privacy
Statement explains how IEEP handles and uses personal data we collect about our applicants.

For further information on IEEP UK, please visit our website at ieep.uk

[1] IEEP UK is our trading name – the organisation is registered as
IEEP London