Intern, Projects Delivery
South Pole is an energetic, global company offering comprehensive sustainability solutions and services. With offices spanning all continents across the globe, we strive to create a sustainable society and economy that positively impacts our climate, ecosystems and developing communities. With our solutions, we inspire and enable our customers to create value from sustainability-related activities.
Job summary
As an Intern in Projects Delivery, you will support the Projects Delivery team in the generation and delivery of emission reductions across our African Sustainable Technologies portfolio, which includes safe water supply, borehole and efficient cookstove projects in Tanzania and Mozambique. Reporting to the designated Line Manager in our Florence office, you will contribute to several full certification cycles under the Gold Standard, from monitoring data analysis and report drafting through to responding to Validation and Verification Bodies (VVBs).
This is a six-month internship offering hands-on project work, structured coaching and the opportunity to be assessed for a future permanent role.
Main tasks and responsibilities
Support the third performance certification of the Tanzania safe water project and the design certification of its project extension, including analysis of monitoring surveys, water consumption field tests, census and baseline survey data.
Draft the Project Design Document (PDD) for the Tanzania safe water project extension, building on the original PDD.
Support the first and second performance certifications of the safe water project as well as the third performance certification of the improved cookstove project in Tete, Mozambique, including drafting the Monitoring Report.
Contribute to the design certification and first performance certification of the new improved cookstove project in Maputo, Mozambique, and to the fifth performance certification of the original project.
Analyse monitoring surveys and project KPIs, and draft monitoring reports to the quality required by South Pole and the relevant standards.
Support the team in responding to requests and findings from VVBs and the Gold Standard during validation and verification.
Carry out research for additionality analyses and perform QA/QC checks on project data.
Use internal and external tools (e.g. the CarbonSink app and our internal project management tool) and keep project information, milestones and documents up to date and accessible on the drive.
Coordinate with internal colleagues, project owners and other stakeholders to gather data and keep deliverables on track.
What you will learn
Technical / domain: carbon market fundamentals, the full carbon certification cycle, and statistical analysis of survey data.
Professional: technical writing, stakeholder communication, project planning and the use of carbon project tools.
Analytical: additionality research, QA/QC of project data and data analysis.
You will be supported by a dedicated manager with weekly 1:1s, a buddy from the Carbon Technical team for day-to-day questions, and structured mid-point and final reviews.
Requirements
Essential skills and experience
Currently enrolled in, or recently graduated from, a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Environmental Sciences, Engineering, Sustainable Development, Statistics, Data and Analytics, Economics, Monitoring and Evaluation, Tropical Rural Development or a related field.
Strong interest in carbon markets and in project development in the African context, in particular Sustainable Technologies such as safe water supply and efficient cookstoves.
Good analytical and quantitative skills, with confidence working with survey data in Excel or similar tools.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to produce clear, high-quality technical documents.
Highly organised, with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage several priorities at once.
Proven team player, able to work effectively across cultures, teams and organisations.
Proactive problem solver, able to build on existing knowledge and templates to develop new deliverables.
Desired skills and experience
Basic knowledge of carbon standards (e.g. Gold Standard, Verra) or of carbon methodologies for water or cookstove projects.
Good statistical skills (e.g. sampling, survey analysis) and experience with statistical or data tools.
Working knowledge of Portuguese, French or Italian.
Previous experience (including academic or volunteer) in development or sustainability projects in Africa.
What we offer
At South Pole, we care about our employees as much as we care about the planet. South Pole is not just an employer, we are a Team. By joining our team, you will find strong purpose and deep meaning in everything you do. You will have the chance to make a real difference for our clients and for the planet, working alongside a passionate team of like-minded colleagues, while building your knowledge and skills in a fun, dynamic, international organisation.
We're a planet of billions of unique and different people. Our recruitment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business needs.
- Department
- Certificates
- Location
- Florence, Italy
- Employment type
- Internship
Florence, Italy
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Work-life balance
From flexible working hours to flexible workplace (home office), with above-average vacation allowances, we strive to make the work and family life puzzle an easy one for our employees.
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Flexible Vacation Benefits
Options to buy up to 5 extra days of time off.
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Life Insurance
Available to all employees across the world.
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Care for your Wellbeing
Access to mental, physical and financial wellbeing support through our Employee Assistance Program (TELUS Health).
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Parental leave
Should any of our employees need to take time off the Iceberg as a result of a new addition to their household, we are happy to be able to offer competitive Paid Parental leave to support them during this time.
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Compassionate Leave
Sometimes life is unpredictable, and when unfortunate events occur, we want to give you peace of mind so you feel fully supported during this time.
What makes us unique
At South Pole, we are first and foremost a purpose-driven Company. People join us because they believe in our mission and want to be part of a community that fights together for our shared values and beliefs. But that is not the only reason why working at South Pole is such a rewarding experience.
- We know that our vision to help create a greener world is both bold and challenging. To achieve it, we settle for nothing less than the absolute best. We form a Community that is stronger than the sum of its parts.
- Entrepreneurial at heart. It’s not just our founders who are entrepreneurs. We actively promote an innovative mindset at all levels of the organisation, where each and every employee is encouraged to challenge the status quo and empowered to make decisions.
- Growing employees in a growing company. With a team of smart, passionate and engaged colleagues, as well as increasing demand from our clients, opportunities to learn, develop our skills and grow our careers are endless.
- All for one, and one for all! Above all other things, what truly drives our dedication and commitment to our purpose is our colleagues. We learn from each other and grow together. Because that is who Penguins are.
About South Pole
Our story began in Zurich, with 5 friends* in 2002. They had a belief and a vision to shape and change the future of the world through climate empowerment, education and projects with their non-profit organisation; MyClimate. These ‘social entrepreneurs’ went on to pioneer climate change with the introduction of South Pole in 2006*. More than 20 years on, with the support of some of the most passionate and talented entrepreneurs around them, who are empowered to all play their part and with their founding belief in aligning purpose with passion, people and profit, they have created South Pole, an organisation that has gone onto positively impact the lives of over 20 million people across the world through its projects, saving over 20,000 km2 of forests from deforestation.
*Patrick Bürgi, Thomas Camerata, Renat Heuberger, Ingo Puhl, and Christoph Sutter
*2006 Joined by Marco Hirsbrunner and Christoph Grobel