SPOTT Palm Oil Research Assistant (Full-Time / 3 Months Fixed-Term Contract)

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL), a charity founded in 1826, is a world-renowned centre of excellence for conservation science and applied conservation. ZSL’s mission is to promote and achieve the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. This is realised by carrying out field conservation and research in over 50 countries across the globe and through education and awareness-raising at our two zoos, ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, inspiring people to lead more sustainable lives and to support and enable direct conservation action.

ZSL recognises the significant threat posed by irresponsible and unsustainable business practice to global biodiversity and the landscapes in which we work. The Business and Biodiversity programme works to address these threats and to deliver a ZSL mission target to ensure best practice becomes business-as-usual. SPOTT is ZSL’s flagship initiative to deliver this, addressing the lack of corporate transparency and accountability that hinders progress towards sustainability. Our vision for SPOTT is that companies report transparently on the implementation of best practice and can be held accountable to this. SPOTT currently monitors 70 oil palm producers and traders representing over half of global oil palm landbank, 50 timber producers and traders and will shortly be releasing assessments of rubber companies against a framework of best practice. The tool provides resources and guidance for the companies and investors to monitor and manage ESG risk. SPOTT has more than 200,000 website views from over 32,000 unique users and is an established and trusted dataset enabling informed engagement between financiers, producers and traders.

ZSL’s Business and Biodiversity programme is looking for someone to join the team temporarily to support with the assessment of palm oil companies. The SPOTT Palm Oil Research Assistant will be responsible for conducting in-depth assessments of company policies and commitments, disclosures of their operations, and progress reporting. The Research Assistant will also provide support with additional tasks, including but not limited to researching media reports on SPOTT companies, communicating with companies on their assessment results, and other research and communication tasks to support the assessment process. The position is to start as soon as possible and will be based in the ZSL London offices at Regent’s Park.

Ideally the successful candidate will:

• Hold a BSc/BA Degree in a relevant subject or equivalent relevant work experience.
• Have a good understanding of sustainability issues, particularly as they relate to palm oil and/or other tropical agricultural commodities.
• Be able to demonstrate strong research and data management skills.
• Have excellent written and spoken English. Working proficiency in other languages (Indonesian, Malay, Spanish, Portuguese, and/or Mandarin) is strongly desirable.

Please note: This is a full-time, 3 months fixed-term contract position which will be based at ZSL London Zoo, Regents Park. Candidates must have the legal right to work in the United Kingdom and the position is to start as soon as possible.

What's on Offer:

This role offers a competitive salary plus a comprehensive benefits package including 25 days holiday (pro-rata), stakeholder pension where the employer minimum contribution is 7%, complimentary zoo tickets and more!

For a full Job Description please click here.

Applicants will need to upload their CV and covering letter (detailing relevant experience and skills, stating why they want the position and including details of availability) and can do this by clicking the "Apply for this job online" button below. If you have any queries regarding these positions or when applying through the system please contact Human Resources at hr@zsl.org.

Closing date for applications: Midnight (23:59) Sunday 7th July 2019.

Anticipated interview date: week commencing 15th July 2019

The Zoological Society of London is a charity registered in England and Wales: no. 208728.