The Irish Wildlife Trust is hiring a Marine Advocacy Officer 

*** This job application is now closed ***

Job Title: Marine Advocacy Officer 

Organisation: The Irish Wildlife Trust, 8 Cabra Road, Dublin 7, Ireland 

Salary: €30,000 – €35,000 per annum subject to experience

Hours: This is a full time 5 days per week post    

Contract Type: Fixed term contract until end of 2023 (with the option of continued employment subject to project funding) 

Closing date for applications: 01st November 2022, 18:00 GMT 

Start date: As soon as possible.

About the Irish Wildlife Trust

The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is a non-governmental organisation and charity founded in 1979. The Irish Wildlife Trust aims to conserve wildlife and the habitats it depends on throughout Ireland while encouraging a greater understanding and appreciation of the natural world and the need to protect it.

The Irish Wildlife Trust works to create a better future for Ireland’s biodiversity by motivating and supporting people to take action to protect biodiversity. We achieve this through wildlife walks and talks, citizen science projects, community & school education, practical conservation activities, and biodiversity campaigning and advocacy.

About the role 

The Irish Wildlife Trust is a partner in two campaigns seeking greater protection of marine life by advocating for the designation of new marine protected areas (MPAs) and improved management of existing MPAs. The two campaigns are “Fair Seas” (Ireland) and “From Paper Parks to Effective Protection” (Europe-wide).

Fair Seas is a coalition of Ireland’s leading environmental non-governmental organisations and environmental networks. Fair Seas is calling for 30% of Ireland’s ocean territory to be fully protected by 2030. Fair Seas’ aim is to see Ireland, with a renewed appreciation of the ocean, become a world leader in marine protection, giving our species, habitats and coastal communities the opportunity to thrive. The IWT is a lead partner organisation in Fair Seas.

“From Paper Parks to Effective Protection (An NGO alliance to protect and extend European MPAs)” is a coalition of European environmental organisations led by Seas at Risk and Oceana. This campaign is seeking to improve the management of marine protected areas in Europe to bring about effective protection within MPAs. The IWT is the Irish partner organisation in this project.  

Overview of the role: 

The focus of the Marine Advocacy Officer role is to lead the delivery of IWT’s objectives in the two MPA campaigns, working on the two complementary campaigns side by side and acting as a liaison point between them. This role will appeal to a candidate with a strong knowledge of marine conservation and a desire to communicate the importance of marine protection to a variety of stakeholders and audiences from the general public to government representatives. 

Responsibilities: 

A detailed programme of work will be agreed with the successful candidate at the outset. The successful candidate will report to the IWT Coordinator as well as working closely with the Fair Seas and Seas at Risk campaign teams. Responsibilities include; 

Advocacy 

• Researching and writing submissions to public consultations on policies, legislation and developments affecting MPAs in Ireland 
• Advocating for a strong EU Nature Restoration Law, including meetings with EU Members of Parliament
• Analysis of management issues in Irish MPAs in the context of existing legal protections such as the Habitats Directive (with support from legal experts) 

Stakeholder Engagement & Communications 

• Organising stakeholder engagement events, such as workshops, talks and outings to communicate the importance of MPA designation in Ireland
• Supporting the delivery of Fair Seas events such as seminars and conferences 
• Identifying and communicating opportunities for collaboration between our Irish and European campaigns
• Attending occasional in-person meetings in Brussels with our European partners 
• Engaging international NGO partners working in MPA advocacy
• Supporting the production of Fair Seas reports, policy position and website articles
• Communication of reports, press statements, policy positions and outputs from both campaigns to the IWT network and beyond through social media, press releases, IWT magazine articles and talks

Reporting 

• Tracking campaign activities and deliverables, assisting in writing reports to project funders 

Essential skills or experience:

• A relevant university degree or equivalent qualifications or experience 
• Experience working as part of a team
• At least three years of experience working in marine science or nature conservation advocacy
• Experience in research and report writing
• Experience organising meetings and events
• An understanding of marine ecosystems and marine conservation biology 
• Knowledge of the EU and Irish policies and legislation affecting the marine environment
• Understanding of the roles and interactions of various marine stakeholders such as: civil society groups, researchers, commercial interests, state agencies and politicians
• An ability to communicate effectively, both written and verbally
• Skills in communicating scientific information to a diverse range of audiences
• Organisational and time management skills and the ability to manage and prioritise workloads and deadlines
• Proficiency in working across software platforms: video meetings, word processing, spreadsheets, social media

Desirable skills or experience:

• Advocacy and lobbying experience in an environmental NGO
• Strong knowledge of the Irish and EU legislative process 
• Experience of analysing data from the marine environment including GIS analysis 
• Experience writing evidence based submissions to public consultations

Personal attributes and competencies

• Passion for wildlife conservation and the mission of the IWT to engage people with nature conservation
• Enjoy working as part of a team
• Ability to use own initiative and work independently

Conditions of Employment

This role allows for remote working options, however the successful candidate will be expected to attend occasional meetings / workshops in person at our Dublin office. Full time desk space will be provided in our office if requested. The IWT office is in Phibsborough in Dublin City one minute from the LUAS line and close to Dublin City Centre. 

The successful candidate will be required to be available for occasional travel within Ireland and internationally when necessary. 

How to apply

To apply for this position please email your CV and cover letter to jobs@iwt.ie

Your cover letter should be in pdf format and a maximum of two pages in length. In your letter, please outline your motivation for this position and why you feel you have the skills and experience to succeed in the role. Please put Marine Advocacy Officer in the email subject line. 

For queries about this position or terms of employment please email jobs@iwt.ie 

Deadline: 01st November 2022, 18:00 GMT. Applications submitted after this time will not be considered.