The Future Leaders Programme is run by Cambridge Zero in collaboration this year with the Centre for Landscape Regeneration. This page details the four paid summer project assistantships offered by Cambridge Zero. If you’d like to find out more about the roles available with the Centre for Landscape Regeneration, please see here.
Future Leaders Programme - Cambridge Zero
This summer, Cambridge Zero and the Centre for Landscape Regeneration are collaborating to offer seven paid project assistant positions to undergraduates and recent graduates. These roles present an opportunity to get involved with these organisations at a critical time for climate and environmental issues globally. Project assistants will be given the opportunity to gain experience of working on current research in climate change, biodiversity and environmental science in an impactful way.
Within Cambridge Zero, the available positions are as follows:
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Research Communications Project Assistant
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COP28 Network of Networks Project Assistant
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Student Communications and Branding Project Assistant
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Climate Education (Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology) Project Assistant
Details:
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These positions are for current undergraduates, or candidates who have graduated from an undergraduate degree in the last year.
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Please note we cannot offer sponsorship for this role as it does not meet the minimum salary requirements to obtain a Skilled Worker Visa.
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The positions are open to ALL undergraduate students, not just students from the University of Cambridge.
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The Future Leaders Programme runs for 8 weeks, from 17 July to 15 September.
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These roles are paid the Cambridge Real Living Wage, at a rate of £10.90ph, administered via the Temporary Employment Service. Project assistants will work 37 hours per week over 8 weeks.
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Cambridge Zero project assistantships are open to hybrid working. Project assistants are required to work in person in Cambridge for the first and last weeks of the programme, but beyond this can work anywhere else in the UK.
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Project assistants will need to be resident in the UK for the duration of the programme.
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All project assistants will have a line manager who will provide mentoring and guidance on the project. They may also receive support from other staff and contacts outside of the University.
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All project assistants will be required to produce a high-quality written report at the end of the 8-week programme summarising their work. They will also be required to present this to the Centre for Landscape Regeneration and Cambridge Zero wider teams.
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You are welcome to apply to more than one position, but you can only be accepted for one.
The final deadline for applications is 9am on 27 March. Interviews will be held online in the week commencing 17 April.
How to apply
Please fill out the application form listed with each role by 9am on Monday 27 March. If you have any questions, please contact elizabeth.simpson@admin.cam.ac.uk
Student Communications and Branding Project Assistant
The purpose of this project is to support branding and communications work at Cambridge Zero with a specific focus on the student audience.
Cambridge Zero will be undergoing a brand refresh in the next months, and as part of this, new resources will need to be developed. The project assistant may be tasked with contributing to general brand guidelines to be applied across the team, but particularly they will be working on developing branding resources for a student audience in line with the refresh. This may include development of multiple student segments, guidelines, resources and design templates. Following on from this, the project assistant will be tasked with building a portfolio of student-facing communications that will be used throughout the following academic year(s) for the promotion of student engagement programmes. This may include researching best practice for student-facing communications, building a student-centred photo/video library, contributing to communications strategy and developing written or visual promotional materials. Materials developed by this project assistant will be used in Cambridge Zero’s communications over the next years, giving the successful applicant the opportunity to see their work reflected in the organisation beyond the 8-week programme.
The project assistant will be co-managed by the Head of Digital Programmes, Communications and Publications and the Student Engagement Coordinator and will sit across branding, communications and student-engagement workstreams within Cambridge Zero. This gives the project assistant the opportunity to develop relationships in different teams and build technical knowledge and experience with branding and communications work.
Person specification:
Applicants must have:
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This position is not degree specific, but applicants must have a knowledge of climate and environmental issues as well as a passion for the subject.
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Good visual presentation skills.
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Good interpersonal skills; confident in meeting and working with people from a range of backgrounds and disciplines.
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Well-developed organisational skills.
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Ability to prioritise own workload as not continuously supervised.
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Competent in standard software packages e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams.
Applicants would benefit from:
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An interest or background in communications, branding or design.
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Skills with Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva, photography, videography and video editing.
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Experience of developing visual resources for communications purposes.
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Ability to communicate complex concepts in a user-friendly way which is appropriate to the target audience.
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Experience in social media content creation and familiarity with social media trends and tools.
All applicants must be undergraduate students who are current or recent students (graduated from their undergraduate degree within the last year).
Please note we cannot offer sponsorship for this role as it does not meet the minimum salary requirements to obtain a Skilled Worker Visa.
Application form: https://forms.office.com/e/QT9wU96cxZ
Application deadline: Please submit completed application forms before 9am on Monday 27 March
COP28 Network of Networks Project Assistant
This project assistant will support the development of the “Network of Networks” (NofN) – a forum comprised of representatives of over a dozen international higher education climate networks, with a specific focus on enabling greater communication, coordination, and collaboration, and facilitating university led climate action in support of Paris Agreement objectives.
The University sector is transforming itself in response to climate change: reducing its emissions, developing new research and solutions, and imbedding climate learning across educational provision. Yet we have an opportunity to do even more. Through our institutional relationships, our trusted status as knowledge creators and disseminators, and our extensive convening power, we can work with stakeholders across government, business and civil society to accelerate equitable climate action. The NofN has been setup to strengthen the higher education sector’s shared voice and facilitate improved exchange and information sharing, enabling greater impact and engagement at and between the UN Climate Change Conferences (COP).
A significant aspect of the work will involve taking forward the conclusions from the initial consultation with networks, the COP27 workshops, and an agenda setting event with the Egypt and UAE Climate Champions and subsequent consultations with the NofN team and co-intern based at the University of Toronto. The project assistant will help to plan and coordinate meetings and their inputs, develop project proposals for discussion and agreement at the next in-person meeting of the networks at COP28. A key outcome of the project will be a mini research project on the NofN rationale, including interviews with partners and the core stakeholder group.
Person specification:
Applicants must have:
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This position is not degree specific, but applicants must have a knowledge of climate issues and a broad understanding of the role of the UNFCCC as well as a passion for the subject.
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Good analytical skills; able to collate, understand and draw conclusions from quantitative and qualitative information.
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Good interpersonal skills; confident in meeting and working with people from a range of backgrounds and disciplines.
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Strong written communication skills.
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Well-developed organisation skills.
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Ability to prioritise own workload as not continually supervised.
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Competent in standard software packages e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
Applicants would benefit from:
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Ability to communicate complex concepts in a user-friendly way which is appropriate to the target audience.
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Experience with event organisation and/or meeting administration.
All applicants must be undergraduate students who are current or recent students (graduated from their undergraduate degree within the last year).
Please note we cannot offer sponsorship for this role as it does not meet the minimum salary requirements to obtain a Skilled Worker Visa.
Application form: https://forms.office.com/e/tv9ehYtpmE
Application deadline: Please submit completed application forms before 9am on Monday 27 March
Research Communications Project Assistant
This project assistant will be tasked with collecting information on research and other activities being carried out across the University on climate change with a view to developing internal and external communications that will benefit the reputation of the University.
The key outcome of this project is a minimum of five good quality stories on relevant climate change work at the University which can be put out as external stories on the University website to demonstrate Cambridge’s commitment to tackling climate change. Other outcomes will also include creating a media plan for selling stories to news outlets and scheduling/coordinating surrounding social media activities with the Cambridge Zero and University Social Media team, creating other assets for use including photos and videos. The communication pieces will ideally be about ground-breaking research, which can be connected to tangible outcomes in the real world that could help drive the rapid energy transition. Some of the difficult parts of this project will be to uncover work and stories that are not technological and have not already been covered by the University’s Research Communications and News teams in OEAC.
The project assistant will also support the Director of Research Strategy to organise the presentation of Cambridge Zero’s research engagements and illustrating the interdisciplinary work Cambridge Zero does in connecting the disparate strands of research and other sustainable activity at the University.
Person specification:
Applicants must have:
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This position is not degree specific, but applicants must have a knowledge of climate and environmental issues as well as a passion for the subject.
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Strong written communication skills.
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Good analytical skills; able to collate, understand and draw conclusions from quantitative and qualitative information.
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Good interpersonal skills; confident in meeting and working with people from a range of backgrounds and disciplines.
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Well-developed organisational skills.
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Ability to prioritise own workload as not continuously supervised.
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Competent in standard software packages e.g. Word, Excel, Powerpoint.
Applicants would benefit from:
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Experience creating written or visual content for social media or media publications would be desirable.
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Ability to communicate complex concepts in a user-friendly way which is appropriate to the target audience.
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Good visual presentation skills, experience of working with developing visual resources.
All applicants must be undergraduate students who are current or recent students (graduated from their undergraduate degree within the last year).
Please note we cannot offer sponsorship for this role as it does not meet the minimum salary requirements to obtain a Skilled Worker Visa.
Application form: https://forms.office.com/e/AnZ7hf7PGe
Application deadline: Please submit completed application forms before 9am on Monday 27 March
Climate Education (Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology) Project Assistant
This project will expand opportunities for Cambridge students to learn about climate and sustainability and to gain related competences within their degree. Its aim is to create materials and identify content to support climate and sustainability learning within the University’s taught programmes.
This project will be conducted in collaboration with the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. The project assistant will consider opportunities for incorporating climate and sustainability teaching and learning within the new Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Tripos (undergraduate programme). They will identify examples of best practice in this area as demonstrated by other institutions globally and compile relevant international case studies that could be drawn on by lecturers across the CEBT for their own teaching needs.
The project assistant will reflect on how university teaching can best deliver knowledge, understanding, attitudes and skills to enable students to best act for a sustainable future. They will have the opportunity to interview or shadow key staff within the University to better understand the various mechanisms for embedding sustainability principles and knowledge within taught programmes.
The project assistant will be invited to combine these two aspects of the project – practical delivery and theoretical underpinning of education for climate and sustainability – by writing a series of proposals illustrating how the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology could consider influencing pedagogical approaches and programme structure to emphasise opportunities for students to develop key competences for sustainability action.
Person specification:
Applicants must have:
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This position is not degree specific, but applicants must have a knowledge of climate and environmental issues as well as a passion for the subject. A STEMM background would be helpful but is not compulsory.
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Good visual presentation skills, experience of working with developing visual resources.
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Good critical and analytical skills; able to collate, understand and draw conclusions from quantitative and qualitative information, particularly information relating to a research-intensive STEMM subject.
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Good interpersonal skills; confident in meeting and working with people from a range of backgrounds and disciplines; ability to effectively engage with people with different values and perspectives.
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Well-developed organisational skills.
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Ability to prioritise own workload as not continuously supervised.
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Competent in standard software packages e.g. Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, Teams.
Applicants would benefit from:
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Ability to communicate complex concepts in a user-friendly way that is appropriate to the target audience.
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Experience with desktop editing and creation tools such as Canva may be helpful.
All applicants must be undergraduate students who are current or recent students (graduated from their undergraduate degree within the last year).
Please note we cannot offer sponsorship for this role as it does not meet the minimum salary requirements to obtain a Skilled Worker Visa.
Application form: https://forms.office.com/e/n37WqAvVjY
Application deadline: Please submit completed application forms before 9am on Monday 27 March
