Vacancies

Internships

We regret that the OSPAR Commission Secretariat is unable to offer internships.

Vacancies

Coordinator - OSPAR's Intermediate Assessment 2029

We are looking for a highly motivated, outcome-focused Coordinator with a can-do attitude and excellent team working skills to oversee the development of OSPAR’s Intermediate Assessment 2029 (IA 2029).

Closing date for applications: 9 September 2026
Start date and duration of contract: January 2027 – August 2029
Location: OSPAR Secretariat offices, London
Basic salary: Approximately £41,200/year (exempt from UK income tax)

Profile: University graduate (preferably in natural/environmental sciences). Minimum of five years’ relevant professional experience.

Complete job description

Specific duties and responsibilities: Responsible for supporting the work of OSPAR’s ICG-QSR[1], the IA 2029 Coordinator will work with national experts, taking a supporting role to facilitate their work, and will help draw the many strands of the IA 2029 together. The IA 2029 Coordinator will coordinate work across OSPAR’s Committees and working groups, and will be responsible for supporting delivery of the following elements:

Key Findings and ‘Bright Spots’ report;
Integrated Indicator Assessments;
Common Indicator Assessments;
Candidate Indicator Pilot Assessments; and
Non-Indicator Assessments.

The IA 2029 Coordinator will need to become familiar with the full range of activities related to the development of the various assessments. This means understanding the detail of the IA 2029 deliverables, and making connections to the relevant wider work within OSPAR. Work to deliver the IA 2029 may include involvement in the drafting and editing of the assessments, and the organisation of workshops/meetings to disseminate and discuss them. The Coordinator will provide regular updates as the work progresses.

Required competencies:

Project management experience, including monitoring and analysing project development, implementation and delivery;
Strong communication skills (in English) and good interpersonal skills. Additional languages are advantageous;
Experience in synthesising complex information for technical reports, and a demonstrable understanding of policy needs related to evidence (such as monitoring and assessment);
Experience/knowledge of applied marine science or marine policy;
Familiarity with working with design and spreadsheet software. Working knowledge of SharePoint is an advantage;
Experience of working in teams, particularly with international, cross-sectoral or cross-institutional teams;
High level of organisation, thoroughness, attention to detail, and ability to deliver to tight timelines.

[1] Intersessional Correspondence Group on managing delivery of the Quality Status Report

job_description_ia_2029_coordinator.pdf (190.1 kB)

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Closing Date: 09/09/2026

Junior Postdoctoral Research Associate - Fixed term (Project funded). Funded by the European Union

Closing date for applications: 6 September 2026

Start date and duration of contract: January 2027 – August 2029 (possibility of extension, subject to funding)

Location: OSPAR Secretariat offices: The Aspect, 12 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1AS

Basic salary: Approximately £41,200/year (exempt from UK income tax)

Funded by the European Union

A complete job description with instructions on how to apply^{^[1]} is here: https://www.ospar.org/organisation/vacancies.

We are looking for an ambitious early-career researcher with an interest in developing and applying novel environmental science to real-world sustainability challenges. This role is part of European Funded Research Project OceanSOS, to undertake activities of Work Package 5.

Profile: Postdoctoral (or PhD close to completion) in marine ecology, oceanography, Earth system science, environmental science, environmental modelling, or a closely related discipline.

Specific duties and responsibilities: Working at the interface of environmental science, policy and international collaboration, the postholder will contribute to the scientific development of regional Safe Operating Space frameworks while playing a central role in building productive relationships with project partners, governance organisations and other stakeholders. They will help ensure that scientific knowledge is developed collaboratively and translated into approaches that can support evidence-based decision-making across regional and global ocean governance. The postholder will collaborate closely with other work packages to integrate ecological indicators, model outputs, cumulative impact assessments and governance information into an operational framework for regional ocean management, and will collaborate with policy makers within OSPAR. Technical expertise and interpersonal skills to facilitate dialogue across disciplines, sectors and cultures is essential. Key responsibilities of the role include:

Contributing to the development of methods for translating the Planetary Boundaries Safe Operating Space framework to regional ocean and ABNJ contexts.
Supporting the development of new control variables describing regional ocean ecosystem health and food-web integrity.
Integrating outputs from ecological models, risk assessments and cumulative impact analyses into regional Safe Operating Space assessments.
Working collaboratively with researchers across OceanSOS to integrate ecological, modelling and governance outputs into practical decision-support frameworks.
Working with project partners and stakeholders to co-design decision-support approaches relevant to regional and international ocean governance.
Representing the project at workshops, stakeholder meetings and international conferences
Contributing to scientific publications, project reports, policy briefs and presentations for both academic and non-academic audiences.

Required competencies:

PhD (or close to completion) in marine ecology, oceanography, Earth system science, environmental science, environmental modelling, or a closely related discipline.
Demonstrated research experience in one or more relevant fields, eg., marine ecosystems, ecosystem functioning, environmental indicators, cumulative impact assessment, Earth system processes or marine conservation.
Evidence of scientific publication or equivalent research outputs appropriate to career stage.
Excellent stakeholder engagement and relationship-building skills and, ideally, knowledge of co-production and participatory research approaches.
Strong facilitation and listening skills, and excellent communication skills.
Ability to work independently while contributing effectively within a multidisciplinary international research team.
Quantitative and analytical skills, including experience analysing complex environmental datasets.

[1] Applicants’ data will be handled in line with the OSPAR Privacy Policy, https://www.ospar.org/privacy