Liaison Officers | Volunteering Opportunities

We are looking for new Liaison Officers! Apply before the 5th of December 2022

YEE believes in empowering young people and the next generation of leaders who will fight for a fair and green transition. We are seeking a new generation of Liaison Officers. Could this be you? Keep reading to find more information on the roles and application process!

Who are we looking for? Our liaison volunteer should:

Be between 16 and 25 years old;
Be available around 7-10 hours per week;
Have a strong interest in advocacy and promoting sustainable policy and green goals;
Be passionate about helping strengthen the voice of youth in European decision-making.
Have strong written and verbal communication skills and a good level of English (the working language of YEE is English so you should be able to clearly express yourself both orally and in writing);
Have basic computer skills (Microsoft Office, Google Drive,..);
Have a good team spirit and be able to be part of a brand-new team;
Be organized and meet deadlines;
Be creative and innovative with how we can advocate for stronger climate targets;
Be committed to the aims of the project and YEE values.

What can you gain from this experience?

The principle behind YEE’s AWG is “learning by doing” – expect this to be a very hands-on role with exposure to political processes and youth movements! It functions as a Leadership program – giving you skills and exposure – over the course of a year. You will also be able to go to international events and conferences such as being part of our delegation UNFCCC COPs.

What we will offer you:

Mentorship from professional staff;
Independence to work on areas you are passionate in;
Opportunities to explore and represent at external international events;
Working in a team for a duration of one year;
Interpersonal and decision-making skills;
Monthly well-being check-ins and reviews;
Supporting letter when requested

What can you expect as a liaison officer?

As a LO on Biodiversity Portfolio, you will lead the portfolio and will have the opportunity to dive into the creation of content (e.g. articles), conduct research on the key thematic areas, represent the organisation in related conferences, explore new partnerships with organisations that are working on Biodiversity issues and scale up your networking skills. Last but not least, in this role you will receive support from the Advocacy team to explore fundraising opportunities for your portfolio and get a hint on how the fundraising world works. The role can be shaped according to your needs and aspirations.

2023 priorities:

Focus on EU Biodiversity strategy 2030
Examine the new Nature Restoration Law
Focus on the findings of COP15 (CBD)

In the role of Liaison Officer on Climate Crisis, you will be leading YEE’s climate crisis portfolio, taking part in the Advocacy Working Group. You will have the opportunity to participate in international conferences, such as COP, in-person and virtually, develop technical content, and policy documents, organize events and build strategic partnerships. You will support the fundraising for this portfolio, as well as the selection, onboarding and leading of YEE’s COP28 delegation.

2023 priorities:

Develop the roadmap of YEE’s activities ahead of and during COP28
Engage with Member Organizations and partners
Build strategic partnerships
Create technical and policy content, organise events
Recruit COP28 delegates, coordinate the activities of the volunteers
Support the implementation of YEE’s campaign on Climate Justice
Support fundraising activities

As a Liaison Officer on Environmental Governance, you’ll be responsible for not only co-creating your own portfolio on the topic, but also for being available to provide guidance about governance to the Advocacy Working group, member organisations and to the YEE network in general. You’ll have the chance to create content, lead projects, use non-formal education to raise awareness on governance, represent YEE in regional and international settings, seek new partnerships for the network and grow as a professional in the environmental field, among many other opportunities. You’ll also represent YEE as the European Regional Focal Point to the United Nations Environment Program’s Major Group on Children and Youth, and your work will be key to ensuring that young people are represented in environmental governance processes.

2023 priorities:

Create regular content to raise awareness on different topics concerning Environmental Governance;
Structure YEE’s participation in the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, which we have recently joined;
Contribute to the new UNECE Education for Sustainable Development youth platform, where we’re one of the few members;
Increase the interaction with YEE’s Member Organisations, being support for matters related to environmental governance;
Collaborate with other liaison officers in projects which can be linked to environmental governance.

As a LO on Green Europe, you will have the opportunity to work primarily on our relationship with EU Institutions and groups, as well as other key green European actors such as Climate Action Network Europe, Generation Climate Europe and more…Projects that fall under this role include our Green Cities project where we work with cities that won green awards to do events for youth, & working on showcasing EU work on the environment such as through our webinar consultation with Frans Timmermans.

2023 priorities:

Lead on organising meetings with experts, YEE members, and Y7 and Y20 leaders
Support the creation of online materials prior to G7 and G20 meetings
Support YEE’s representation to the European Youth Forum
Support work in building partnerships with the EU Commission and the Green Capital Award 2023
Fundraise for organizing event on the Green Capital Award 2023 (Tallinn, Estonia)

As a LO on Intersectionality, you will work on intersectional issues within the climate and environmental crisis. This is a very interesting portfolio as you will have the opportunity to work with all the other portfolios (Climate Crisis, Biodiversity, Oceans, Environmental Governance, Environmental Law) and explore how they link with intersectionality. The two thematic areas that this portfolio will explore are how the environmental change impacts BIPOC communities & women.

2023 priorities:

Organise a training session regarding intersectionality
Conduct research on the linkage of women and environmental issues & raise awareness about key BIPOC figures in the environmental space, their role in the movement and how we can partner up with them to mobilise YEE’s mission and goal, how to integrate the work of BIPOC communities & women into the work being done by Liaison Officers
Create partnerships with other organisations working on BIPOC communities
Mapping European organisations focusing on women and gender issues
Educate internal teams about what we mean when we talk about BIPOC, how to work with them in a way that is not tokenistic and how to centre their needs in collaborative efforts
Fundraising

As a LO on Oceans, you will have the opportunity to dive into the environmental topics related to the arctic and oceans, the marine environment and environmental concerns linked to the shipping sector. You will spread and support initiatives around ocean literacy across Europe, by continuing and strengthening participation in EU4Ocean activities and contribution to UN Ocean Decade projects. You will follow the UNFCCC developments and planning for COP28 and engage with members working on with members involved on Ocean and marine issues to present the priorities and identify synergies.

2023 priorities:

Support YEE’s ocean advocacy initiatives, especially via our participation in the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC)’s campaigns.
Bring forward previous advocacy work on the High Seas Treaty via the BBNJ Youth Network.
Develop new educational projects, events, or educational content, based on YEE’s priorities.
Liaising and co-organising events with major partner organisations and youth constituencies in the UN system.
Importantly, you will also be able to participate in ocean literacy projects and activities of the EU4Ocean Coalition for Ocean Literacy, a project supported by the European Commission’s DG MARE, and foster new forms of partnership and collaboration with its members.
Contribute to the creation of social media content and website articles related to your Portfolio.
Represent YEE in Ocean-related high-level events on Ocean governance, policy, and literacy, at the EU and UN levels.

In close collaboration with the Advocacy Working Group as well as the Project Lead on Sustainable Energy, the Liaison Officer will provide support in the organisation of YEE’s upcoming energy project which focuses on the European energy crisis and coal phasing out messaging. However, creating your own projects and campaigns will be encouraged and supported by YEE.

2023 priorities:

Support the organisation of YEE’s energy-related events, meetings and workshops (both online and onsite)
Carry out research, develop educational materials and create social media content in order to increase energy literacy among young people
Officially represent YEE at the energy-related events
Help to liaise with our existing partners and build new partnerships

In achieving the objectives of the Advocacy Leadership Program (see above), the LO on Environmental Law will be a member of the Environmental Law team, working on the Legal Seeds 2 project. The project has been running for two years already, with the aim of “empowering young people to use the law in their political advocacy”. The main focuses are climate litigation, the Aarhus Convention processes and EU climate laws.

2023 priorities:

Contribute to writing articles, handbooks, social media posts and policy updates to enlarge the knowledge bank explaining the law in simple terms;
Conduct non-formal education workshops on environmental law (both online and on-site);
Contribute to developing a network of youth, lawyers, scholars, activists, NGOs and other actors active in (EU) environmental law: e.g. reach out to EU universities to build a group of volunteers led by YEE;
Liaising with YEE Member Organisations on environmental law issues: engage them in YEE activities and participate in theirs;
Be initiated and contribute to fundraising for the project for the year 2023-2024.