Irene, Climate Policy officer, SEO BirdLife

I coordinate an EU Life project which aims to accelerate the implementation of EU climate policy by 2030. The project is composed of a consortium of environmental NGOs from 13 EU Member States. Specifically, I am responsible for tracking the implementation of Spain's National Energy and Climate Plan and the peripheral legal frameworks that compose the EU climate policy architecture, with particular attention to financing, transparency and public participation.  

The most fascinating part of my job is working at the intersection of national and EU policy. In my day-to-day work, I get to collaborate with experts based in Brussels, across other Member States, and here in Spain. Moreover, working in climate policy for a conservation NGO enables me to approach mitigation and adaptation through the broader lens of the biodiversity crisis and its links to different ecological transition pathways.

Prior to this job, I worked as a consultant for UNESCO, a position I found thanks to the guidance of my PSIA mentor. 
I also completed the Karlspreis Research Fellowship, which I learned about via one of PSIA’s newsletters. 
Both experiences were instrumental in building the skills and experience that helped me secure my current position.

Don't be too narrow-minded in your job search, especially if you have a generalist background (such as international relations, political sciences), as this can open more doors than you might think. My current job opened after I had applied to a different position within SEO Birdlife, one that didn't correspond exactly with my profile, but I applied anyway. In the interview, they told me about my current position, which was a better fit for me, and I would have never found out about it if I hadn't gone out of my comfort zone. 

My second piece of advice is for students interested in EU policy. Before I started my current job, I wasn't aware of how dependent EU civil society organisations in Brussels are on national-level organisations for their monitoring efforts. In this current period of policy simplification, where Member States have increasing autonomy to shape EU policy implementation, there is a real need for young people working on EU policy from national-level organisations in all Member States, so look beyond Brussels!