Research & Innovation Analyst

South Pole is an energetic, global company offering comprehensive sustainability solutions and services. With offices spanning all continents across the globe, we strive to create a sustainable society and economy that positively impacts our climate, ecosystems and developing communities. With our solutions we inspire and enable our customers to create value from sustainability-related activities.

Our Digital & Data Science team helps our clients and South Pole design and execute the most ambitious and scalable climate impact initiatives whilst reducing the administrative effort to zero. Our unique track record of running projects across the globe and delivering verified, high quality carbon credits provides us with valuable data we can leverage to identify new, high impact initiatives. We help companies on a day-to-day basis to drive their carbon neutral strategies with their customers, suppliers and their employees through analytics and sustainability software solutions. If you have the skills, ambition and drive to use the best of digital and AI to protect ecosystems, restore forests, drive sustainable agriculture, and enable climate zero journeys across the globe then please apply or register your interest now!

Job summary:

The Researcher/Innovation Analyst is a new position in the team, and will support the Director of Innovation by driving strategic research that will identify and evaluate business opportunities and support the execution of innovative ideas. Responsibilities will include leading on research and analysis across a range of topics related to climate change mitigation and adaptation. You will mainly conduct independent research tasks but will also work on a number of projects and initiatives with colleagues across South Pole at varying levels within the organisation.

Main tasks & responsibilities:

• Drive strategic research that will identify and evaluate business opportunities for South Pole and support the execution of innovative ideas
• Analyse existing literature, summarise data and draft reports and presentations
• Design and conduct desk research, secondary data collection, literature and evidence reviews
• Conduct market analysis, identify trends and investigate market size and potential, competition locally and globally and derive insights that will help us build new products
• Work with project teams on product development and defining business models, shaping insights into products that will change the market, help determine value propositions, positioning, target market, go to market strategy, business cases and processes for successful MVP launch and scaling of products
• Design and coordinate customer research, including interviews and focus groups
• Support facilitation of innovation workshops that help internal stakeholders identify opportunities for innovation
• Support business development efforts by contributing to proposal- and grant-writing and other business development activities

Requirements:

Essential

• University degree in Environmental Sciences, climate, environmental topics and related disciplines (completed M.Sc. or PhD)
• Relevant professional experience in research, ideally in an innovation context
• Demonstrated interest in climate, sustainability, and innovation topics
• Strong ability to draw tangible insights from wide range of qualitative and quantitative research data
• Developed analytical skills and the desire to constantly deepen these skills
• Solid understanding of research methods, validity and publications of results, consensus, peer-review, etc.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, and ability to clearly pull together a story based on data that will resonate with internal and external stakeholders
• Strong attention to detail and ability to deliver high quality results
• Able to manage your own time, projects and deadlines independently
• Proactive approach and business driven mindset
• Excellent English writing and presentation skills
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced international environment, with evolving research and business development priorities

Desirable

• Experience working on climate, sustainability, and innovation topics in the academic sector, research organisations, or consulting
• Familiar with Google apps (Google Docs, Google Sheets, etc.)
• Experience with quantitative methodologies (e.g. statistical analysis, testing hypothesis, robustness checks, scenario analysis, etc.)
• Experience designing and conducting customer research, including interviews and focus groups.
• Knowledge of innovation and product development processes
• Proficiency in other languages such as German, French or Spanish is a plus

What we offer:

At South Pole, we care about our employees as much as we care about the planet. South Pole is not just an employer, we are a Team. South Pole does not just offer people a job, we offer you a career. By joining our team, you will find strong purpose and deep meaning in everything you do. You will have the chance to make a real difference for our clients and for the planet, working alongside a passionate team of like-minded colleagues, while building your knowledge/skills and developing your career in a fun, dynamic, international and fast-growing organisation.

We’re a planet of 7.5 billion unique and different people. We all have a contribution to make; South Pole is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status or disability. Our recruitment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.