Policy Specialist

The Good Food Institute Europe

www.gfi.org/
Closing date 27 April 2020
Location Brussels
Position type Permanent
Role Operations
Education Bachelor's
Experience 6-10 years
Salary
Benefits

Job description

Helping people, animals and the planet by delivering supportive public policy for plant-based and cultivated meat in the EU 

Industrial animal agriculture is at the root of many of the most pressing global issues of our time, from climate change and global hunger, to antibiotic resistance and poor animal welfare.

The Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe) is at the forefront of the movement to use food technology to replace the products of industrial animal agriculture with plant-based and cultivated alternatives. Please check out our U.S. affiliate’s website (gfi.org) and read the 2019 Year in Review (gfi.org/2019) to find out more about who we are and what we do.

We are at an exciting stage in our growth, and are looking for a Head of Policy to lead our team in Brussels. For more information about this role, please read the Head of Policy job brochure: shorturl.at/kFGOV

How You Will Make a Difference

Your role will have high responsibility and high impact. You will significantly influence how quickly Europe and the world moves to a more ethical and sustainable food system. 

You will be responsible for driving policy impact in Brussels on alternative proteins. This will include, amongst other things, working to deliver a fair, evidence-based regulatory path-to-market for plant-based and cultivated proteins in the EU, driving significantly more public investment into Research and Development for plant-based and cultivated meat, and ensuring that the labelling of plant-based food products is not unfairly restricted. To achieve this, you will: 

  • Develop and execute lobbying strategies, based on thorough research and mapping of decision-makers. 
  • Build and maintain relationships with senior politicians and officials of the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Council of the EU, and other public institutions.
  • Build alliances and work cooperatively with other organisations, companies and stakeholders, and engage respectfully with people who are still to be persuaded. You will cultivate relationships with other nonprofit organizations, including those focused on the environment, global hunger, public health, animal welfare, and food safety.
  • Closely monitor and stay abreast of relevant policy and legislative proposals, spotting opportunities and pre-empting threats. 
  • Deliver positive policy change to support plant-based and cultivated protein at the EU level, and, where the opportunity arises, at the national level across Europe. 
  • Create persuasive letters, factsheets, policy briefs, and other material. 
  • Together with colleagues, work with the media and use social media to help deliver our objectives.
  • Represent GFI Europe in meetings with stakeholders and at public events.
  • Perform other tasks as required as a member of our small, start-up team.  

Who we’re looking for

You must have:

  • A passion for GFI’s philosophy and mission.
  • Enthusiasm for driving policy change at EU level.
  • 3 or more years of experience working on EU policy or at the national policy level, for example in a government, public institution, NGO, think tank, industry association, consulting firm or other relevant institution. 
  • Comfort and confidence in interacting with senior officials and politicians.
  • Excellent people-skills - the ability to influence, network, build alliances, and work well in a team.
  • Enthusiasm, a strong work ethic and self-motivation; a sense of ownership and responsibility to drive outcomes. A positive, can-do, hands-on attitude. You will be working in a small, start-up environment and must be willing to help with a range of tasks, some of which may not be directly related to your core areas of focus.  
  • Fluent English, both written and spoken.

The ideal candidate would also have:

  • 5 or more years of experience working on EU policy; experience in one or more of the following EU policy areas would also be desirable: research and innovation, food and agriculture, climate change, and public health.
  • Up-to-date knowledge about current EU policy initiatives, for example the Novel Food Regulation, the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programmes, the European Green Deal, and the Farm-to-Fork Strategy.
  • A strong network of contacts in the EU.
  • A demonstrated ability to build alliances with NGOs and industry actors.
  • Fluency in major EU languages other than English.

We want the best people and we don’t want biases holding us back. We strongly encourage people of every colour, orientation, age, gender, origin, and ability to apply. Because we value a diverse workplace, we prioritize an inclusive climate absent of discrimination and harassment during the application process and after you join the team.

How to apply

Please complete this short form, and upload your CV and cover letter, here: https://forms.gle/ANyFh3wK8cy9Xk5g8 - thank you. Your cover letter (of 1-2 pages) and CV should set out:

  • what motivated you to apply for this role
  • how you meet each of the requirements for the role as listed in the job description
  • and which bit of the job description energises you the most.

Any questions? If you have any questions about this role, please do reach out to us at [email protected]. If you’ve read this far but decided not to apply, please feel free to share this job description with someone else in your network who you think might be a good fit for the role! Thank you.