Team Lead – Nature

Team Lead - Nature

About Metabolic

Metabolic’s mission is to transition the global economy to a fundamentally sustainable state. We advise governments, businesses, and NGOs on how to adapt to a fast-changing global context. Combining systems thinking and data science, we map and understand local and global systems to assess where to intervene and develop solutions that can dramatically shift how the economy functions.

We are an international and dynamic team of around 90 people who share an ambition for catalyzing a sustainable future. Based in the Netherlands, we work at the cutting edge of sustainability initiatives for a broad range of global clients.

Metabolic Consulting

Metabolic Consulting is part of the larger Metabolic ecosystem, which engages in advising key decision-makers, applied research, creating digital solutions, and venture building. These entities work together to identify, scale, and implement innovative solutions to global problems.

Read more about Metabolic’s impact in our latest impact report. 

About the Team

The Nature team is part of our Agrifood & Biodiversity Division, alongside our Landscapes team. We give strategic advice, and provide our clients and partners with the knowledge and tools they need to become more sustainable, and speed up the transition to a nature-positive economy. Together, we are 15 people, and we collaborate closely across these teams and work interdisciplinarily on many of our projects. 

Our division works with a wide variety of corporate, public and non-governmental organizations, and works exclusively on sustainability and systems change topics. We are members of the Science-Based Targets Network, the Taskforce for Nature-related Disclosures, and the Capitals Coalition. We work closely with and are partners of the WWF.

About the Position

In the position as a Nature Team Lead you’ll be both a great mentor and strategist. You will work together with the Division lead and team members to improve on the strategy, evaluate and sharpen our services and value add for and with clients. You will be a coach and mentor to the team and help them grow and reach their personal development goals. You work closely with the other team leads to align on capacity needs and how best to achieve the objectives for the division as a whole. 

Together with the Division lead, the Commercial lead and the Partnerships lead, you will help bring in new jobs, develop new partnerships, and elevate the work of Metabolic in key spaces. You will work with the Communications lead to develop thought leadership in the nature space. You will also use your experience as a project manager and lead key projects in the agrifood sector.

You will have the following responsibilities within an interdisciplinary group of co-workers:

1) Project Management ± 40%

  • Work closely with our clients to actually help make the change possible and take real-world action
  • Lead project teams and provide expert input
  • Ensure projects are run according to timeline, budget, and quality and ambition standards 
  • Maintain key accounts, ensure continuing excellence and innovation in our service delivery, and grow our brand and impact with our clients

2) Team management ±30%

  • Bring on and train new team members to do the work and make an impact
  • Coaching and growing your team, helping with capacity needs, evaluate and execute their personal development plans, provide mentoring and help them grow in their role and careers
  • Guiding their research in nature-related topics

2) Business Development ±30%

  • Guide the strategic direction of the team, in line with division strategy
  • Set up annual objectives and key results relating to our strategy, track and monitor the progress towards success
  • Create new job opportunities, bring in sales and set up new partnerships, in collaboration with our business development and partnerships team
  • Help shape the narrative of what you do as a team and work closely with the marketing and communications team to tell these stories to the world

Your Profile

We are looking for a strong leader, who is passionate about Nature and biodiversity, eager to learn, and is driven to join and guide our mission to work towards a global sustainable economy. You are somebody who can connect the dots and has a multidisciplinary way of thinking. You are somebody who understands the role of the private sector in the sustainability transition and has had experience organizing this change. 

Above all: you understand people and their needs, can be a leader and mentor to your team, are open to give and receive feedback, and create a safe, fun and inspiring work environment. 

Requirements

  • Fluency in English is an essential requirement
  • 5+ years project management experience, ideally in the field of sustainability consulting 
  • Experience with leading and developing a (small) team
  • Great coaching and mentoring skills
  • Knowledge of and experience with nature and biodiversity relating to corporates
  • Educated to Masters level (or equivalent) in a relevant degree, for instance: Industrial Ecology, Environmental sciences, Governance of Sustainability, Sustainable Policy or related field
  • A good understanding of both quantitative and qualitative research skills, and experience with policy analysis, transition- and systems thinking
  • Experience with project- and program management
  • For non-EU/EEA applicants: The role is dependent upon obtaining a visa to live and work in the Netherlands. Metabolic is a recognised visa sponsor and may support the successful candidate’s application for a work visa.

Our Offer

Be part of a dynamic, ambitious and international team that is passionate about sustainability, policy and technology and making an impact. Collaborate and work alongside world-class experts in the fields of sustainability and circularity from our sister companies in the wider ecosystem. We are growing fast and are very passionate about changing the world together.

This opportunity will place you in an environment that values people with their own ideas and initiatives. We believe in flat hierarchies, shared decision-making and impact over profit. You will be able to participate in an evolving decentralized governance system and be part of a close-knit community of people with shared interests and a strong company culture. 

You will also be encouraged to grow and develop, have time and space to experiment with new ideas and have dedicated time set aside for training and personal development.

We are based in Amsterdam, but operate a hybrid working model, giving you the freedom to work both at home and at our vibrant office. The position can be four or five days a week, with the preferred starting date as soon as possible. It requires you to be based within the Netherlands. 

How to apply:

Please submit your CV and letter of motivation in English via the Apply button below. In case of questions, please feel free to contact [email protected] .

The deadline for applications is Monday, 29th of May 2023, at 23:59 CEST. 

Apply now