Student & Graduate Placements

Environment Protection Policy Intern

The post holder will work closely with policy leads across Scottish Government to help develop and deliver the Scottish Government’s policies across this fast-paced policy area.

• Applications Close: 28/04/2024
• Working Hours: 37 hours p/w 
• Length of placement: 12 weeks (with potential for extension)
• Wage: £12 an hour (Tax and NI exempt)
• Working pattern: Hybrid
• Location: Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ

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 and cover letter as your application. Please email isabella@thebusinesspartnership.org.uk if you experience technical difficulties.

The Organisation

The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland and has a range of responsibilities that include: the economy, education, health, justice, rural affairs, housing, environment, equal opportunities, consumer advocacy and advice, transport, and taxation.

The Environment Protection Team, sits within the Environment and Forestry Directorate, with an overarching aim to protect the environment and human health, putting in place policy frameworks to:

• ensure that Scotland’s air is clean and healthy,
• reduce environmental noise experienced by our communities; and
• clean up historically contaminated land.

The successful placement will work alongside policy colleagues who manage the delivery of a range of Scottish Government key policies: including the Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 (CAFS2) strategy which contributes to air quality objectives and national efforts to reduce carbon emissions; providing policy support to local authorities and SEPA in the clean-up of historically contaminated land; and meeting our statutory commitments on noise mapping and coordination and oversight of Scottish noise action plans.  A key role for the team over the next year is to develop our communications strategy, looking for new ways to engage the public and wider stakeholders.

The Role

As a member of the Environment Protection Team, the post holder will work closely with policy leads across Scottish Government to help develop and deliver the Scottish Government’s policies across this fast-paced policy area. There will be opportunities to engage with stakeholders and provide advice to senior colleagues and Ministers.

The Environment Protection Team has responsibility for policy development on air quality, contaminated land and noise mapping, with key objectives:

• Achieving Scotland’s ambition to have the cleanest air in Europe, through continuing to deliver improvements in Scotland’s air quality and meeting our statutory commitments.
• Develop strategic noise maps for major roads, major railways and Scotland’s largest urban areas to meet requirements under the Environmental Noise (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and to assist Scottish Ministers in the production of action plans informed by those noise maps.
• Inform future policy direction following the release of the WHO Environmental Noise and Air Quality Guidelines; and
• Provide the policy framework to effectively support local authorities and SEPA to clean up contaminated land where it poses unacceptable risks to human health or the environment.

The project tasks will be to:

1. Update and develop the team’s communications strategy covering noise, contaminated land and air quality, looking at new ways to engage stakeholders and the public through social media channels, and taking a lead in refreshing and developing content for our webpages.
2. Support delivery of our public engagement framework for the Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 (CAFS2) strategy, focused on supporting several consultation events.
3. Co-ordinate the delivery of activities for future Clean Air Days.

The Candidate

Candidates should be qualified to HE graduate level or equivalent.  Understanding and experience of environmental issues and the Scottish Government’s ambitions on clean air, noise and contaminated land is desirable but not essential. 

The Scottish Government’s IT system is supported by Microsoft Systems.  Applicants should be experienced in the use of Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel.  Training in internal systems and intranet will be provided.

We are looking for candidates with the following skills and experience:

• Ability to collate and analyse a wide range of information to draw out key messages and findings.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to clearly communicate often complex information to a range of audiences, including senior colleagues and external stakeholders.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build good working relationships and to work positively and constructively with a range of people such as delivery bodies and stakeholders with different priorities and perspectives.

Desirable: Experience of co-ordinating messaging via a range of media channels including social media.

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 and Cover Letter as your application.

Note:

All communication is via EMAIL so always check your JUNK MAIL/SPAM folders for our responses.

Important

a) This opportunity is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who applied for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS). Apply to the EU Settlement Scheme (settled and pre-settled status): Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals.

b) You must available the full length of your placement and be able to travel to the location

c) We will hold your application on our systems for 6 months from submission. This ensures your application can be considered for relevant roles where appropriate. If you would prefer us not to store your information for this period, please inform us.

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

We welcome applications from all suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status or pregnancy, and maternity.