Senior Manager, Ireland

Location: Ireland, travel every two months to London (sail & rail), plus travel to Brussels on occasion

Role: Permanent. Employment via an Employer of Record company. 

Salary: €70,000, 4 day full-time work week (Monday – Thursday), plus 10% pension (PRSA)

About us

Established in 2021, Opportunity Green is a fast-growing not-for-profit organisation that helps to identify and unlock opportunities to tackle climate change. We build ambitious coalitions, support climate vulnerable countries in international negotiations and find innovative legal pathways to fight climate change. We are now looking for a new colleague to lead our work on Ireland’s aviation emissions and even more importantly, Ireland’s broader position on climate at the EU.

What’s the role?

The role is a Senior Manager in our newly formed EU team. The Senior Manager will use their EU and Irish policy expertise to work with policymakers in Ireland to increase climate ambition during the period of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with a particular focus on the international aviation sector.

Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2026 (July to December) and be instrumental in guiding the common priorities of the trio presidency (Ireland, Lithuania, Greece) for the following 12 months. This means Ireland will have a key directing role in EU legislative policies for an 18 month period. It has long been clear that Ireland has an outsized European and global diplomatic voice, however, this voice has, to date, not been well used to push for ambitious climate action within Europe and globally.

We believe Ireland’s diplomatic influence can be better deployed for the climate, in particular promoting justice and equity in climate decision making at the European level. This person will work to identify champions within the Irish government for the climate and amplify any ambitious policies. Key areas of focus will be: (1) EU policy on international aviation (for example, its inclusion in the EU Emissions Trading System which will come up for discussion during Ireland’s Presidency); (2) Ireland’s position on financing for climate action, especially from the shipping and aviation sectors; and, (3) ensuring that the non-market barriers to Ireland maximising its offshore wind potential are removed, especially in the context of helping Ireland become a producer and champion of green hydrogen for aviation & shipping.

We are looking for someone who can think strategically about Ireland’s role within international climate diplomacy to work with those who can amplify ambition. The role will provide a substantial opportunity to shape OG’s strategy on improving and amplifying Ireland’s ambitious position on climate.

About the candidate:

We are looking for a candidate with:

• A passion for using their skills to tackle climate change, with an ability to strategically work with policymakers to provide them with the support they need in order to increase their ambition.

Desirable skills and experience:

We do not expect any candidate to have all skills listed below but rather we look for transferable skills and potential as well as past experience.

• Ability to get to grips with technological and policy detail around aviation, shipping and offshore wind as necessary and to know when that detail is needed in policymaker meetings.
• Experience working with policymakers to improve and drive ambition, especially in Ireland.
• Experience of generating realistic, ambitious and implementable policy ideas to drive climate ambition.
• Passion for climate justice and proven experience incorporating a climate justice framework into relevant projects.
• Ability to provide a platform for voices of countries less represented at international climate discussions.
• Understanding of how policy is made at EU level and Ireland’s position within that. 
• Experience of working with the media to become a trusted contact and generate strategic communications moments.
• Active listening skills, negotiation skills and the ability to work collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders.
• An engaging public speaker.
• Ability to think critically, independently and creatively.
• Effective at building relationships at all levels of the organisation.
• Experience of philanthropy and fundraising for an NGO.

Diversity and inclusion:

Diversity and inclusion are important principles at Opportunity Green. We believe that diversity and inclusion make teams stronger and more effective. We are committed to fair and equitable employment practices, and we are striving to ensure that a variety of voices and experiences are included in our organisation. Our commitment to diversity and our parental leave policy are available to view on our website, here.

We will consider all applicants who meet most or all of the essential competencies regardless of their identity or background. That said, we know that diverse candidates may be reluctant to apply for jobs where they don’t meet 100% of the criteria outlined in the job description. We encourage anyone to apply who can demonstrate the variety of skills and experiences relevant to meeting the requirements of this role.

We recognise that many diverse experiences and perspectives are not represented in our current workforce, and are seriously underrepresented across the non-profit sector in general, and as such, we particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities, people of colour, people from marginalised backgrounds, and members of the LGBTQIA+ communities.

To learn more about our application process and receive advice on how to prepare in such a way as to showcase your full potential, please find our Application Guide here.

What we offer

The successful candidate will be offered an annual salary of €70,000. Please note that Opportunity Green has fixed salary scales, with the possibility of step increases with strong performance. When hiring we always hire at the bottom of a band and do not enter negotiations with new employees as negotiations have been historically shown to disadvantage women and minorities.

We take our team’s well-being and professional development seriously. In addition to a competitive salary, we offer:

• A commitment to work/life balance, with a 4-day work week at 28 hours.
• A generous holiday entitlement of 20 days’ holiday per year, plus bank holidays (in Ireland) and office closure between Christmas and New Year’s that does not count towards your holiday entitlement (and expectation that you fully disconnect when taking time off).
• A market-leading pension of 10%, contributed to a PRSA with Irish Life.
• A progressive family leave policy, including 26 weeks’ paid leave for both parents, as well as other support.
• Lots of flexibility within a hybrid working arrangement, with regular opportunities to come together as a team.
• Support for your professional development as part of Opportunity Green, with a budget to support your learning & development plus opportunities to lead projects, publish content, learn from experts, work directly with policymakers and stakeholders, and take part in conferences and events.

However, it is important to note that while this role is permanent, employment is always reliant on Opportunity Green continuing to receive philanthropic support from our funders, which we expect every member of the team to play their part in working towards.

How to apply:

Please click here to apply

To minimise the risk of unconscious bias, we ask that applicants remove certain identifying elements from their CVs. If you do not remove these details, we reserve the right to withdraw your application from review.

• Photos
• Name – if needed, please use ‘Applicant’
• Age
• Email and/or phone number

We also reserve the right to withdraw your application from review if you use AI tools such as Chat GPT to complete the sift questions / write your CV.

Unfortunately, if you do not already hold the right to work in Ireland and/or require sponsorship to continue working in Ireland, Opportunity Green will not be able to consider your application at this time.

The closing date for applications is 9am GMT 6 January 2025. 

We actively encourage applicants to reach out if there are any reasonable adjustments we can make to help them demonstrate their full potential in the hiring process. 

Please get in touch at recruitment@opportunitygreen.org and we can discuss how to best make the recruitment process as accessible and comfortable for you as possible.

You can read our application guide here.

What happens next?

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an online interview to discuss their experience and suitability for the role. Online interviews are likely to take place w/c 20 January 2025. This would be followed by in person interviews at later date. Travel will be reimbursed.

We reserve the right to ask for references during the recruitment process.

If you have any questions, or you need any reasonable adjustments at the application stage, please contact recruitment@opportunitygreen.org.