About Project Iris

The Iris Project is an inspiring youth-led initiative dedicated to protecting and restoring nature, while improving the lives of those committed to environmental stewardship. Our inclusive and paid Advisory Panel consists of climate activists from all over the world, including Nepal, Indonesia, Brazil and Costa Rica. We are currently looking for ONE new Board Member under the age of 30 to join our team and support our mission.

The paper

As a consultant, you will collaborate with a diverse group of passionate individuals, gaining access to a global network of organisations and experts. You will play a key role in identifying and supporting future environmental leaders through the annual Iris Prize. This position offers valuable leadership, mentoring and skills development opportunities, including monitoring and evaluation, communications and capacity building.

Eligibility criteria

• Age: Less than 30 years old.
• Region: Applicants must be resident in Southern Africa, West Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe or Central Asia.
• Expertise: Proven experience in nature management (e.g. marine, terrestrial, rainforest), active land management (e.g. agriculture, human-wildlife conflict) and climate and environmental activism.
• Skills: Proactive self-starter with strong links to youth networks and excellent written and verbal understanding of English. Additional languages such as Spanish, French, Portuguese or Arabic are beneficial.
• Commitment: Willingness to contribute to shaping the Iris Project and ensuring that it continues to be led by young people.

Main responsibilities

• Disclosure: Raise awareness of the Iris Project and recruit candidates for the annual Iris Prize through physical and digital publicity.
• Analysing applications: evaluate and analyse the Iris Prize applications, interview the selected candidates and help create the final shortlist for the judging panel.
• Mentoring: Mentor Award Winners in grant management, project development and evaluation of their impact. Work closely with the Prize winners to provide guidance and identify their capacity-building needs.
• Community management: Collaborate with the Iris Project core team to manage community connections, organise events (e.g. conferences), share learnings and emphasise the importance of youth-focused environmental philanthropy.
• Protection: Follow the protection standards by completing a protection training session and following  the Iris Project's data protection policy and safeguard policy .

Time commitment

• Deadline: Minimum of two years with scholarship.
• Monthly commitment: Approximately two days per month, including a one-hour meeting with all the panellists every six weeks, contributing to the Iris Project's overall work strategy and raising awareness through networking and youth events.
• Peak period: Availability during the award assessment process in May is critical. Successful candidates may be required to attend calls outside normal working hours due to different time zones. Occasionally, a call may be made at midnight or 5am (depending on your time zone).

Registration process

Applications will be analysed continuously and may be closed as soon as the position is filled. Interested candidates can sign up here .

Deadline: 0h BST, 26th August 2024.