The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a global, CEO-led organization of over 200 leading businesses working together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world. We help make our member companies more successful and sustainable by focusing on the maximum positive impact for shareholders, the environment and societies.

Our member companies come from all business sectors and all major economies, representing combined revenues of more than USD $8.5 trillion and 19 million employees. Our global network of almost 70 national business councils gives our members unparalleled reach across the globe. WBCSD is uniquely positioned to work with member companies along and across value chains to deliver impactful business solutions to the most challenging sustainability issues.

Together, we are the leading voice of business for sustainability: with a vision of a world where more than nine billion people are all living well and within the boundaries of our planet, by 2050.

Job Overview

As the Advocacy & Policy intern you will join the Advocacy & Policy team in the Food & Nature program. The Food & Nature program is one of six programs at WBCSD and leads business efforts towards accelerating system transformation in the areas of food, nature and water. We do this by bringing forward strong policy signals, leadership frameworks and projects across the value chain, which deliver impact at scale where the urgent agendas of climate, nature, people and food systems intersect.

The Policy & Advocacy team supports and enables the different projects across the Food & Nature program such as the Food Reform for Sustainability and Health (FReSH) and Scaling Positive Agriculture projects amongst many others. It focuses on advocacy and action on behalf of leading businesses, represents in global forums and shares knowledges and expertise with the business community on how to advance the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement. In addition, we work closely together with external partners, such as Business for Nature, the Food and Land Use Coalition and several of the UN Food Agencies such as UN Food and Agricultural Organization.

Your role within this team would be to support the Advocacy & Policy Director and Manager for ongoing work on the Nature and Food agenda. You will be part of a small core-project team that is responsible of mobilizing the private sector ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit, hosted in 2021.

Responsibilities and duties

• Support our efforts on an as needed basis to mobilize the business community ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit, hosted in 2021. You will become part of a small core-project team that is responsible for organizing events, briefings for CEOs and relevant stakeholders, updating the WBCSD membership on upcoming opportunities, and engaging with the WBCSD external partners.
• Help organize our quarterly policy update webinars for the WBCSD membership. This will include creating a detailed agenda, inviting external speakers, supporting on the creation of slide-decks and other pre-read materials.
• Supporting the development of business leadership examples, such as the collecting and writing of case studies for our website that demonstrate business action.
• Doing research, analyzing and summarizing key publications, articles and other materials that we can either share on our website or with our member companies.
• Supporting the Advocacy & Policy Director and Manager in day-to-day activities where needed, for example collecting and synthesizing input from businesses and helping create a business engagement web site.

Qualifications

• University level education (Bachelor / on-going Master’s degree) with ideally a focus on sustainability.
• Previous experience working with NGOs and/or the private sector is an asset.
• Has a basic understanding of the sustainability challenges around nature and biodiversity loss, as well as the food system.
• Knowledge of the UN system would be an asset.
• Communicates clearly and effectively, especially since communication with the team will happen virtually.
• Has excellent writing skills and Microsoft Office skills (i.e. Word, PowerPoint)
• Is flexible, eager to learn and is not afraid to be proactive.

The position is full-time for the duration of 3 months (with a possibility of an extension) and based in Geneva.

WBCSD is a purpose driven, forward-thinking and action-oriented organization, characterised by diversity of gender, nationalities and work experiences.

THE WORK ENVIRONMENT:

WBCSD offers a competitive, modern, and flexible working arrangement:

• Geneva-based organization with offices in London, New Delhi, Singapore and New York City
• Competitive compensation and benefits
• State-of-the-art facilities and ICT-enabled working tools
• Flex-time and part-time possibilities
• Dynamic working atmosphere
• Open culture encouraging interaction and sharing of ideas and opinions
• International relocation support
• Sustainable commuting incentives

Please also note that WBCSD will only respond to candidates selected for the interview process.