Friday, February 15, 2008

SustainAbility internship: Deadline Feb. 28, 2008

Sustain Ability internship
www.sustainability.com
Summer Associate – Washington, DC
About Sustain Ability
Established in 1987, SustainAbility advises clients on the risks and opportunities associated with corporate responsibility and sustainable development. Working at the interface between market forces and societal expectations, we seek solutions to social and environmental challenges that deliver long term value. We understand business and what society expects of it.

With offices in Europe and the United States and team members representing more than ten nationalities, we work with leading companies, NGOs and influencers around the world. Our mission and rules of engagement put a challenging frame around our client work, helping ensure tangible progress. A global network of experts and partners helps us to track emerging agendas, evaluate the market implications and engage business and its main stakeholders worldwide.
SustainAbility believes that diversity adds value to our business. We hire team members who reflect the rich array of diverse cultures, ideologies, and values that are part of the broad global workforce. SustainAbility does not discriminate on the basis of race, religious beliefs, gender, age, national origin, sexual orientation, citizenship status, marital status, political beliefs/affiliation, disability, or social or cultural background.

Internship Overview
As a hybrid think tank and consultancy, our research and client work have a symbiotic relationship. Our client work informs our research (e.g., unearthing questions that are in need of exploration), and our research informs our client work (e.g., bringing cutting edge thinking to our clients). This relationship is a key point of differentiation from other consultancies, and allows us to explore critical corporate responsibility and sustainability issues (e.g., What is the business case for sustainability in emerging economies? How might corporations engage social entrepreneurs? What’s next for the SRI field?). Our entrepreneurial approach to business encourages continuous creation. Over the last two decades this has resulted in the development of numerous powerful tools and frameworks used by our clients and many others to assess, analyze, challenge and re-think. These tools and frameworks have not been sufficiently leveraged internally; consequently we have valuable, untapped intellectual capital that could be more effectively employed to help us better serve our clients and society (see, for example, our “gearbox” framework here and here).

Our summer associate will be responsible for capturing the latent value of our existing tools and frameworks. Primary responsibilities will include: - Reviewing SustainAbility’s past research and client work to identify and compile tools and frameworks - Engaging SustainAbility consultants and possibly clients to select the tools and frameworks that are most valuable (and needed) - Analyzing and refining the most promising tools and frameworks. - Providing recommendations on how to improve these tools and frameworks. - Designing a process for institutionalizing such tools and frameworks, incorporating how consultants can utilize them most effectively - Assisting in the creation of a knowledge framework around SustainAbility’s research products, with emphasis on identification, classification, and re-use - Assisting in the creation of an evolving Research and Knowledge Management Infrastructure - Presenting results of the work to SustainAbility’s CEO and leadership team In addition to the above responsibilities, it is likely that the intern will be involved in other projects during the summer, including client projects, research and other internal improvement initiatives.

Key Requirements
The successful candidate will be enrolled in an MBA or other relevant graduate degree program, and: – Have a solid understanding of the sustainability / corporate responsibility agenda, including coursework, internships or work experience – Have a passion for sustainability issues and for effecting change in organizations – Have experience working with corporations, either in-house or as a consultant – Are proven self-starters who can manage projects in an entrepreneurial setting – Have experience in managing projects to deadlines – Possess strong analytical and communications skills – Demonstrate a strong commitment to quality – Will be comfortable in a small and dynamic office environment This position will be located in Washington, DC.

Contact and Deadline
Please submit a cover letter and resume to washington@sustainability.com by February 28, 2008. Interviews will be conducted in early March.

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