How to get your first board role. Protect 100 castles from Climate Change. And what even is a Chief of Staff?

Opportunity Seeker highlights ways you can grow your career and personal impact. We’re here to open up opportunity so more of us can belong in spaces that need us.

¡Hola! from a tiny schoolroom turned co-working space in Spain 👋! I’m here for the next month as a Fellow of The Break — joining an incubator for a 1000 female entrepreneurs across the EU.

But opportunities stop for no one. Here’s a round up of what to expect from this week’s newsletter…

• Chief of Staff - here’s how to pivot into tech’s hottest new role

• 5 ways to get your first board spot

• Protect Stonehenge + 100 castles from climate change… 🏰

• And get ready for the board room with the Financial Times’ Non-Executive Director training

Before we dive in, here’s some words of power from civil rights leader, John Lewis…

Global climate opportunities…

September was a month of record breaking temperatures across Europe. Climate remains at the front of the agenda, and for those wanting to up skill or pivot into a climate focused roles here’s some of the latest opportunities…

• Climate Corps Fellowship: Applications have now opened for the Environmental Defense Fund’s fellowship programme. The fellowship will run over the summer where you’ll be placed with a climate focused org for 10-12 weeks. To apply you’ll need to currently be studying a graduate certificate or degree within the USA.

• Berlin: Ready to put your media, advocacy and content skills to use in the campaign against fossil fuels? Beyond Fossil Fuels is hiring a Communications Director with significant experience in advocacy and campaigning — you’ll work in English across multiple countries.

• Hybrid/UK: This one is for the history lovers. English Heritage is looking for a Head of Climate and Sustainability to create and lead a Climate Action Plan like no other, you’ll work to protect 400 heritage sites across the country, including Stonehenge and over 100 castles 🏰.

• Climate Reality Leadership Training: The Climate Reality Project was set up by Al Gore fifteen years ago to increase knowledge around climate and how a just transition can be facilitated. This November a free leadership training summit will take place in Accra, Ghana. You can also sign up to hear about other future global training events here — New York’s one is already in the calendar for January 2024.

How to become a Chief of Staff…

• New York: One of the top startup accelerators, Entrepreneur First is looking for a Chief of Staff for their US General Manager, Joe Ros. You’ll have ideally worked across different startups and be strong on turning strategy into action.

• New York: Also in New York, but for those with an arts background, the Whitney Museum of Contemporary Art is hiring a Chief of Staff to work with their newly promoted Director, Scott Rothkopf.

• Paris: Want to be hands on in the French startup scene? Join Y-Combinator backed startup, Lago and support CEO Anh-Tho Chuong as her Chief of Staff. 

• Sydney: One of Australia’s scaling solar startups, Sundrive is wanting a Chief of Staff to work with their new COO, Natalie Malligan.

• Germany: For those living in France or Germany, it’s highly likely you’ve made a doctor’s appointment using Doctolib. They’re now hiring for a German-speaker to be the Chief of Staff for their MD, Nikolay Kolev.

• Chief of Staff Summit: Want to learn more about what’s involved in a Chief of Staff position before pivoting into the role? Chief of Staff Network is a community of +800 people working in the position and they’ve having a virtual summit at the end of October.

How to get a first time board role…

• Brighton: In the UK, Brighton Fringe is looking for new trustees with finance, legal or fundraising experience. The festival has significantly scaled with 880 events in 2023, the next fringe festival will happen in May.

• London: Care deeply about human rights and have experience in your day-job working across finance and accounting? Amnesty International UK is recruiting for a new Treasurer to join its board.

• Amsterdam: The dating app, PlanetRomeo has a foundation which gives grants to grassroots LGBTQIA+ organisations. They’re now looking for a new trustee with communications experience, you don’t need to speak Dutch but will need to attend in-person board sessions.

• Remote/Australia: The Jane Goodall Institute Australia is looking for two Non-Executive Directors with skills in education policy, business development, or experience working in First Nations contexts.

• Remote/USA: Gender Justice is a non profit advocating for reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, particularly around trans inclusion. They’re looking for a number of new board directors.

✨Want to keep an eye on board and trustee roles? Good job sites for paid UK roles include DynamicBoards and Nurole. In the US, role postings are less centralised, but non profit positions can be found at BoardAssist, and for Australians, EthicalJobs is a strong resource.

Opportunity of the week

• Remote/New York: NowThis News is the #1 news account for young people across the US, getting around 70M monthly TikTok views. They’re looking for a new CEO with extensive experience (think +10 years) in social, digital media and news. You’ll also need a strong understanding of youth audiences and substantial profit and loss experience. It’s a big role that’s going to ask a lot of the successful candidate, but with a salary of half a million to compensate you might just find the energy.

Learning opportunities

• Shift the needle on climate: Columbia Climate School is running a 3-month virtual programme for those who want to learn how to effect change through strategic climate communications. Sign up before October 26th to join.

• Learn how to be a trustee: Inspired by our section on trustee roles today, but still not sure how to approach a board role? One organisation pushing for more women and diversity on boards is Getting On Board. Every month they run a free session What is a trustee and how do I become one — the next one is tonight (October 4th).

• So you want to be a Non-Executive Director: For those who are looking for paid and corporate board roles, The Financial Times runs a number of training courses to develop your board skills. Coming up in November is a half day virtual workshop for those who want to take their first steps into corporate governance.

Next week

Next week is a 💸money💸 special, we’re going to look at opportunities in FinTech, ways to upgrade your skills in climate finance, and how to start investing ethically as an individual.

Signing off from a tiny village in Spain ☀️…

P.S. Got a spare second and feeling generous of heart?

This week Australia goes to the poles in a referendum to decide if First Nations people should have a Voice in parliament. It’s a chance for those born in the country to also reflect about what steps they’re personally taking to effect positive change, and address the huge harm brought on by Australia’s colonial history.

One non profit fighting systemic racism in Australia is the National Justice Project. They’re a legal org that takes on causes and cases that others turn down. In 2022 they won over 2.9M in redress for First Nations clients who had received inadequate medical care.

You can support them as a volunteer, or donate to fund their casework and advocacy against systemic injustice.

Want to know more before supporting? Read their 2022 impact report.