Job vacancy: Project Manager / Legal Expert for the Horizon Europe PROTECT BALTIC project

CCB • June 30, 2023

Background


The International Secretariat of the Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB), a grass-root environmental NGO network for the Baltic Sea Region, is now seeking for a new colleague to join the team Project Manager / Legal Expert, to work as part of our CCB team for the Horizon Europe PROTECT BALTIC project within its Legislation Work Package, dealing with legal challenges linked to a network of multinational marine protected areas in the Baltic Sea.


The position will manage and apply legal expertise to improve understanding of, and propose solutions to address, barriers in the legislative framework affecting marine protection in the Baltic Sea. Moreover, the selected applicant will contribute with the identification of potential legal obstacles to achieving the protected area targets of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) and EU Biodiversity Strategy in international and EU legal frameworks, and to identify best practices and solutions to overcome legal barriers in the field. 


Moreover, the Project Manager / Legal Expert will make sure CCB's responsibilities within the PROTECT BALTIC project run smoothly and deliverables are achieved on time.


Information about the PROTECT BALTIC project


The PROTECT-BALTIC project is a large-scale pan-Baltic project focused on marine protection. The overall aim of the work in PROTECT BALTIC is to enable sufficient spatial protection and restoration of the marine environment to secure positive biodiversity outcomes, ensuring that the function of the ecosystem is maintained, thus securing production of ecosystems services and enabling sustainable use both short and long term. The project is managed by the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM).


Who are we?

CCB is a politically independent, non-profit association and unites Member and Observer organizations, as well as partners and individual experts in all countries of the Baltic Sea Region (Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and Ukraine). Combined, the CCB member organizations have almost 1 500 000 members in all countries surrounding the Baltic Sea.


The main goal of CCB is to promote the protection and improvement of the environment and natural resources of the Baltic Sea region for present and future generations.


More information is available at: https://www.ccb.se/


Job description


Key responsibilities:

  • Legal expertise and comparative analysis (see the scope above) in the field of EU environmental legislation, preferably with a focus on Birds and Habitats Directives and EU marine legislation
  • Management, monitoring and evaluation, including reporting on CCB's activities in the project for goals, progress and results.
  • Analyse project progress and ensure deadlines are met
  • Assign tasks and control schedules
  • Initiating, supporting and being responsible for arrangements for meetings and events linked to the PROTECT BALTIC project
  • Support communication activities related
  • Support to other CCB's tasks related to biodiversity protection and nature conservation 


Qualification requirements:

In order to qualify for the position, the applicant should have at least a Master's degree and, preferably, experience in environmental law and policy, marine environment, nature conservation.


Core competences/skills:

  • Legal expertise in the field of environmental legislation, preferably with a focus on EU marine environment law 
  • Knowledge of Baltic Sea policy instruments and programmes of measures (e.g. BSAP)
  • Ability to write reports
  • Excellent communication and organisational skills
  • Excellent oral and written knowledge of English is required for the position
  • Computer proficiency in MS Word, Power Point and Excel.
  • Team work


Desired competences/skills:

  • Project management skills
  • Ocean governance and marine protection (EU and Baltic Sea level)
  • Knowledge of the EU Common Fisheries Policy
  • Other language skills, e.g. other Baltic Sea languages, are seen as an advantage


Duration: 3-year position with possibility of extension


Location: CCB’s office is located in Uppsala, Sweden.


The applicant is preferably based in Sweden or within the Baltic Sea Region and should have a right to work in Sweden.


Availability to travel is required.


Modality: Hybrid. Both work in CCB office in central Uppsala and remotely is possible. 


Contract terms: part-time (75%)


A successful candidate is expected to start as soon as possible, given necessary notification time to her/his/their current employer.


Application


Kindly send your CV and a motivation letter (max. 2 pages) application to secretariat@ccb.se.


Being an international organization, CCB’s work is carried out in English and we expect you to submit your application accordingly.


It is responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application complies with the documents required in the job advertisement and that these are submitted before the specified deadline.


Closing date: 1 September 2023.


Applicants are encouraged to send their application at the earliest possibility since interviews with suitable candidates can be scheduled already during the application period.


Salary: Salary comparable to NGO staff in Sweden and in accordance with the Collective Agreements of the respective Unions. Subject to adjustment depending on experience and annual increase.


Contact:
For further information please contact CCB secretariat: secretariat@ccb.se and/or Andrea Cervantes, CCB Biodiversity officer: andrea.cervantes@ccb.se 


In the application and hiring process, CCB will not discriminate against any individual on the basis of race, colour, sex, language, religion, national or social origin, property, disability, age, family status, sexual orientation and gender identity, economic and social situation.

COP30 brings ocean and water to the center of climate policy

By CCB • December 5, 2025
In Belém, in the heart of the Amazon, the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference COP30 immediately set the bar high. In his opening speech, Brazilian President Lula da Silva stressed that climate change is no longer a "threat to the future", but a tragedy that the world is already experiencing here and now, and called on countries to accelerate actions rather than limit themselves to promises. However, as is often the case in COP meetings, the political reality turned out to be more complicated than ambitions. Negotiations were difficult: the countries could not agree on a clear and binding plan to phase out fossil fuels. It is important to note that the Global Action Plan has provided a platform for discussing the development of a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change. At the same time, COP30 has brought tangible progress in other areas: the countries agreed to triple the amount of adaptation funding for developing countries by 2035, strengthened the forest and ocean agenda, and expanded the range of practical initiatives under the Action Agenda . COP30 consolidated the trend: from "water at the center of the climate crisis" to a holistic ocean agenda closely related to energy, food, biodiversity and sustainable coastal development. From the COP29 Water Declaration to the COP30 Enhanced Ocean Water Program At COP29 in Baku, the Declaration on Water for Climate Action was adopted , with the aim to applying comprehensive approaches to combating the causes and consequences of climate change for water basins, emphasizing also the need to integrate water-related mitigation and adaptation measures into national climate policies, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). COP30 did not reverse this logic, but expanded it towards the ocean and coasts. Both processes "aquatic" and "oceanic" are moving in the same direction: integration of water, coasts and ocean into the climate plans of countries; development of nature-based solutions; strengthening transboundary management of water and marine systems; recognizing adaptation as an equal part of climate policy, rather than an "adjunct" to emissions reduction. Task Force on Oceans and the Blue NDC Challenge The international Task Force on Oceans , led by Brazil and France, was officially presented at the high-level ministerial meeting "From Ambition to Implementation: Delivering on Ocean Commitments" on 18 November, integrating oceans into a global mechanism to accelerate the incorporation of marine solutions into national climate plans. The Blue Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Challenge encourages countries to set ocean protection targets when updating their NDCs. The goal is to transition the Blue NDC Challenge into an Implementation Task Force. Members of the Blue NDC Challenge, currently 17 countries, can adopt a broad set of actions aimed at the protection and sustainable use of the oceans.These measures include the sustainable management, conservation, and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems, supported by tools such as marine spatial planning, integrated coastal zone management, and climate-aligned marine protected areas. Countries are also encouraged to support sustainable and climate-resilient fishing and aquaculture, ensuring ocean health and long-term food security. B razil has set a clear example: its updated NDC includes a separate chapter on the ocean and coastal zones. For the first time, the national climate plan (Plano Clima) until 2035 includes a thematic adaptation plan for these areas. Priorities include the completion of national Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) by 2030 and major programs for the conservation and restoration of mangroves and coral reefs (ProManguezal, ProCoral).

Pathway to Tox-Free Living: Policy and Action

By CCB • November 24, 2025
Leading scientists, consumer advocates and policymakers gathered on November, 18th in Brussels for the conference "From Evidence to Policy: Toward a Tox free Living Environment" . They warned that exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in homes and consumer products represents a silent but severe public health and economic crisis. New findings presented to over 65 participants by the EU Baltic Sea Interreg project NonHazCity3 , LIFE ChemBee and the ToxFree LIFE for All projects as well as revealed widespread contamination of European households by complex chemical mixtures of hormone system disrupting substances (so called endocrine disrupters – EDCs) that contribute to chronic disease and impose enormous health costs. According to the key note speaker Dr. Aleksandra Rutkowska, the home environment is a significant source of exposure to EDCs through indoor air, dust and daily contact with common products. Current research links such exposure to a shocking amount of lifestyle diseases including 22 cancer outcomes, 18 metabolic disorder outcomes and 17 cardiovascular disease outcomes. Scientists also stressed that the crisis spans generations. EDCs trigger epigenetic changes that not only affect today’s population but also future children and even grandchildren. Other effects include reproduction disorders. Over the last decade, 150 million babies were born preterm, and evidence shows that reducing the use of plastics by half could cut the risk of preterm birth by half as well.