Current Opportunities

Student & Graduate Placements

Current Opportunities

Host Organisation
https://www.brightgreenbusiness.org.uk/

Location
Victoria Quay Edinburgh EH6 6QQ Remote working

Category
Placement

Start Date
September 2021

Length
12 weeks

Salary
£9.50 per hour

Hours
37 hours

Deadline
30-07-2021

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Marine Protected Areas Policy Intern

Deadline 30th July 2021

The Organisation

Marine Scotland is the lead marine management organisation in Scotland. It sits within DG Economy and is a part of the core Scottish Government. Its purpose is to manage Scotland’s seas for prosperity and environmental sustainability, working closely with a range of delivery partners to do so. With 61% of the UK sea area, a fishing and aquaculture industry worth over £1 billion and 50,000 jobs in the marine economy and at least 6,500 species of marine plants and animals this is a high profile and fast paced policy area.

 

The Role

Marine Scotland's purpose is to manage Scotland's seas for prosperity and environmental sustainability, working closely with our key delivery partners and others.  The Marine Planning and Policy Division is responsible for ensuring the sustainable development of Scotland’s marine area.  This intern will be based in the Marine Conservation Team which leads on the protection of marine habitats and species and the ecosystems that support them, so that society continues to enjoy the natural goods and resources provided by our seas. As TV series such as the Blue Planet II have highlighted, this is a high profile policy area with considerable political, public and media interest.

One of the key tasks of the Conservation team is the delivery of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) network and ensuring sites within the network are well managed to achieve their conservation objectives. Features of MPAs include important carbon stores such as benthic muds and biogenic habitats such as maerl beds. The intern will work with the MPA policy manager and biodiversity policy officer to contribute to the development of fisheries management measures in inshore waters and to protect Priority Marine Features (PMFs) outside the MPA network. This will also require liaison with external delivery partners, NatureScot, as well as internal networks within Scottish Government.

To contribute to this work, the intern will assess the blue carbon resource and ecosystem services provided by PMFs, working with NatureScot. This will require a review of current PMF advice to update as necessary, followed by consideration of distribution and quantification of PMF habitats. This project will enable Marine Scotland to work towards calculation of the natural capital value of the MPA network and quantify the potential value of protection.

In addition, the intern will coordinate the input of the Marine Conservation team into COP26, working with different policy areas of the team and with colleagues in the Climate Change division to gather and collate input and prepare materials as required for the events leading up to, during and following COP26.

This role will provide experience in the development of policy using scientific evidence. Outside of the project, the intern will take part in stakeholder engagement, development of legislation, and working with Ministers and Parliament.

 

The Candidate

Essential experience:

  • Must have studied or be currently affiliated with a MASTS or Scottish Blue Carbon Forum organisation.

A list of the MASTS partner organisations is at: MASTS Partner Institutions - MASTS

The SBCF partners are University of St Andrews, University of Stirling, Heriot Watt University, Nature Scot, University of Glasgow, Edinburgh Napier, SAMS, SUERC and the Lyell Centre.

  • Strong written and verbal communications skills with ability to produce clear and concise written material
  • Good planning and organisational skills and ability to prioritise tasks and meet deadlines
  • Ability to work with internal and external colleagues to deliver successful outcomes
  • Ability to work from home and independently
  • Ability to work on a fast-paced multicultural environme
  • Competent in the use of IT systems such as Microsoft Office

The position will be predominantly remote working but and if restrictions allow then there is the potential for some meetings in the Scottish Government Building in Victoria Quay. There might also be the need to travel to Glasgow for COP26 depending if they are helping with COP26 work.  

Application Procedure:

Apply via the Bright Green Business web link provided and click on the APPLY button. You will need to register in order to upload your CV as your application.

NOTE:

  • All communication is via EMAIL so always check your JUNK MAIL/SPAM folders for our responses.
  • Applicants must be eligible to work in the UK and have the appropriate VISA in place at the application stage and certainly before starting any placement offered. Proof will be sought.

CV's applications will be sifted through to create a shortlist of applicants to progress to the next stage of the selection procedure.

Those shortlisted will be issued with further shortlisting questions via email. Responses to these should be returned by the notified date. Those selected from the second sifting will then have their CV and shortlist question responses sent to the recruiting organisation to decide on interview candidates.

Bright Green Business will then communicate the outcome to these candidates.

We do endeavour to let all applicants know of the outcome once the whole process has been finalised.

Note that applicants must be attending UK universities and have a valid visa to work in the UK. Graduate applicants must have graduated within the last 3 years.