How to upgrade your strategy skills. 3 ways to nurture your business idea. And a climate fellowship

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.

Hello hello, it’s time for your weekly dose of opportunities… new roles, fellowships, courses, and ways to grow your network. If you had this forwarded to you, you can subscribe (or find out more about me first).

Also, I wanted to say a big thank you, as this past week I’ve been sent some fascinating roles by readers of Opportunity Seeker 🙏. If you’ve got an interesting course, event or job you’d like to share in the next newsletter send me an email.

This week we’ll be diving into…

• An opportunity for documentary lovers 🎥

• A climate fellowship for next spring

• 5 opportunities for the communication fiends

• A chance to head to Italy this November 🇮🇹

• And built a 1000 LEGO castles as a kid? Now they need your strategic, grown-up brain to solve their climate challenges

Before we dive in, here’s a wordy pearl of wisdom from one of the North American literature greats…

Global communication & marketing opportunities…

Calling all those building a career in media, communications or marketing. Keep reading if you love documentaries, are passionate about mental health, or want to shift the narrative on green energy…

• Stockholm: For those who are at an earlier stage in their marketing career, Norrsken Foundation is looking for a Digital Marketing Manager with skills in socials and email marketing. It’s a role with 7 weeks of paid leave and you’ll report in to senior leadership.

• Hybrid/London: I had to put this in partly because of the charity name, Campaign Against Living Miserably aka CALM, but also because of the impact you can have with their Head of PR & Communications role. CALM provides non-clinical mental health support and reaches audiences through sport, music, comedy and fashion.

• Remote/USA: Get right to the heart of the climate energy issue with this role as Managing Director of Communications for Climate Power. You’ll be working to shift the conversation around climate, energy and push back against climate denial and delay in the political space. Need some more convincing? The advisory board is a climate action dream team…

• Amsterdam: Launched in 2020, WaterBear is a streaming platform for documentaries, short-films and series focused on the future of our planet. They’re hiring a Director of Community & Marketing, you’ll be looking after both earned and paid media, and growing their community. The role reports directly into their Chief Growth & Impact Officer, Poppy Mason-Watts.

• Australia: On the journalism side of the communications fence, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation is looking for a Climate Lead, you’ll be working with editors, digital specialists and stakeholders to break climate stories. It’s a new role for the ABC and they’re looking for someone with climate expertise.

3 ways to nurture your business idea…

• Turning ideas into reality: This 8-part Entrepreneurship course focuses on turning passions, hobbies and a germ of an idea into a viable business. Offered by Open University it’s a free resource for those in the idea stage.

• Startup School: I’ve mentioned Y-Combinator before as they’re the top accelerator for startup founders. Thankfully someone in their team was recording all the lectures and workshops over their 15 years of operations. This course pulls together the best ones into 7 modules, added bonus is that it well help explain all the terminology used in tech and venture capital fundraising.

• Alternative Funding School: Not every business is going to raise VC money — thankfully there are other funding options available. This cohort based course helps you figure out how to raise other forms of capital to help your business idea scale. Set up by the excellent Esme Verity, the next cohort starts in February.

But what’s our strategy?

• Remote/London/NYC/Colorado/Brazil/Netherlands: The B-Corp movement has grown exponentially since 2007 and they’re now looking for a Head of Strategy and the B-Corp Movement. While this role is remote you can see from the giant list of location options that they want you within commuting distance of one of the B-Corp offices. You’ll be working closely with the Lead Executive, Eleanor Allen and prepping strategy updates for the board. It’s a role which requires global experience and a numbers driven mindset.

• Bonn: Meanwhile, Fairtrade International is looking for a Head of Global Strategy based in their German HQ. Working in English, you’ll need to have experience in global strategy, project or program development. While understanding of global trade isn’t essential, they would like to see experience in social justice, environment or human rights. There will be frequent travel with this role.

• Billund: Ready to move to Denmark and embrace your childhood all over again? LEGO is looking for a Director of Operational Impact Strategy — the role is focused on delivering zero impact operations for the company. Heads up you might have an uphill battle on your hands as they’ve flagged your role is to bring consensus across different company viewpoints. Plus have a read of this news before applying.

✨Want to deep dive more into why many strategies fail? This Harvard Business Review article is illuminating 💡

Opportunity of the week

• Impact Fellowships: You’ve got a couple of days left to apply for Halcyon’s Climate Fellowship (or get your startup friends to sign up). It’s aimed at global climate founders who already have a minimum viable product. As well as providing non-equity funding the programme will have an 8-week residency in Washington, DC in May and June next year. Halcyon also runs three other fellowship programmes for impact founders.

Learning opportunities

• Hello sunshine: Passionate about impact and fancy a November trip to Italy🇮🇹? Impact Week Torino has free registration available until Oct 23rd via this link. After that ticket prices jump to €1200. It’s a workshop heavy event, with lots of hands-on skills development.

• Upgrade your strategy skills: Inspired by this week’s section on strategy? INSEAD, one of the top international business schools, has an online course on Rethinking Global Strategy running this November. It’s aimed at executives, but open to all.

Next week

Next week I’ll be in Madrid visiting one of my favourite social businesses, CrowdFarming and heading to the monthly Climate Coffee meetup. If you’re in town send me an email and let’s connect.

Signing off from a cloudy village in Spain ☁️…

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

It has been an incredibly tough last two weeks as the world’s attention has shifted to the crisis unfolding between Gaza and Israel. It’s easy to feel helpless when you’re faced with the pain of friends, rolling news updates, and the knowledge that you’re watching a humanitarian crisis unfold in real time.

As many of you know from reading this newsletter, I’m passionate about refugee rights and supporting those facing forced migration. One organisation providing urgent food, water and medical supplies is to those displaced by the conflict is UNRWA - you can support their Gaza appeal here.

Their work is under immense strain right now, with the UN reporting team members have been killed in the bombardments of the last few days. Over a quarter of a million people are currently in UNRWA shelters across Gaza.

Want more details on the organisation? Have a listen to one of their team, Hani Almadhoun talking to NPR this week.