Trade and Environment Policy Officer
Trade and Environment Policy Officer
BIR - Bureau of International Recycling
Brussels, Belgium
Schedule: Full-time
Application Deadline: 17 January 2025
Bureau of International Recycling (BIR)
Founded in 1948, BIR is the global federation supporting the interests of the recycling industry on an international scale. BIR represents indirectly 30.000 companies in 73 countries, and counts over 1000 corporate members from the private sector and 37 national associations. Together, these members form the largest international recycling federation.
BIR covers eight material streams - iron & steel, non-ferrous metals, paper, textiles, stainless steel & special alloys, plastics, tyres & rubber, and Electronics & EV Batteries. It also encompasses special committees dealing with shredders, environmental affairs and international trade. The federation provides a dynamic forum for its members to share their knowledge and experience. It serves as a platform to promote the interests of the global recycling industry at international institutions and forums.
BIR is a non-profit organisation under Belgian law (AISBL), with its registered office headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The BIR Secretariat is composed of a small but efficient team of 12 professionals.
We are currently seeking a motivated full-time Trade and Environment Policy Officer to join BIR’s advocacy team based in Brussels.
Responsibilities
We are looking for a candidate that is motivated and comfortable in taking ownership of assigned commodities within BIR. This entails representing BIR in relevant meetings and events with industry experts. The position entails relatively frequent travel within and outside of Europe. Some of the responsibilities include:
- Support the advocacy team and represent the global recycling industry at intergovernmental fora (i.e. UN, WTO, WCO, OECD, and the EU) and contribute to the development of international regulations, guidelines, standards and voluntary agreements, particularly at the UN Basel Convention;
- Specific commodity monitoring responsibilities covering Plastics, Textiles, Tyres & Rubbers and Paper;
- Support BIR assigned Committees in developing their agenda and projects, including by coordinating the preparation of their work for BIR Conventions;
- Monitor and analyse international policies and their legislative processes, advising affiliated members on their implications;
- Handle technical/legislative/trade queries from members;
- Support the Trade and Environment Director and the Director General in developing and coordinating BIR’s advocacy strategies;
- Represent BIR with respect to trade and environment matters in relevant industry associations, platforms and multi-stakeholder alliances;
- Take ownership of BIR advocacy actions in assigned regions (South Asia and Africa);
- Draft reports, position papers, newsletters, presentations and speeches;
- Take part in public speaking and networking opportunities in relevant events and forums;
- Travel to BIR events and relevant stakeholder meetings at various institutions.
Qualifications and Experience
We are searching for a candidate that is motivated to quickly grow into leading BIR commodities with our members and external stakeholders. The candidate should be comfortable with technical content and public speaking as part of the position. We are looking for someone with:
- 3 to 5 years of professional experience in industry associations and/or experience in government relations and public affairs;
- Strong knowledge or willingness to gain expertise on Plastics, Textiles, Paper and/or Rubber recycling;
- University degree material sciences, environmental engineering, political sciences, law or similar;
- Excellent analytical and writing skills, particularly around public policy and technical documents;
- Excellent written and spoken English language skills (C1 level). Knowledge of other languages is an asset;
- Strong communication and public speaking skills;
- Ability to work autonomously and in a team, as well as in an international environment;
- Ability to meet tight deadlines, flexibility for working hours and travel;
- Facility in communicating with people from various backgrounds and cultures;
- Strong computer literacy on MS Office;
- Experience in extracting data from statistical databases (i.e. Eurostat, UN Comtrade) is an asset.
What we offer
The BIR advocacy team is a small but energetic team of experienced professionals within the BIR Secretariat. The team represents the association at international institutions such as the UN, WTO, OECD, and EU, communicating the interests and importance of the global recycling industry. Each member of the team takes responsibility of their assigned commodities and conducts advocacy actions under the supervision of the Trade and Environment Director. Other responsibilities of the team include producing regulatory and business guidance to members, publishing position papers, managing BIR-wide projects, maintaining contacts and networks with relevant stakeholders and policymaking institutions, as well as organising meetings and conference sessions.
Interested? Send us your CV and motivation letter (one page, including your salary expectation) before Friday 17 January 2025 at jobs2025@bir.org.
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