Careers in Sustainability

Sustainability is an exciting and dynamic field

There are many career opportunities that are directly tied to sustainability throughout the private, public, and non-profit sectors. There are also many ways to integrate sustainability into your existing work. Each year UCLA hosts a green jobs fair and green career panels that provide information about some of these opportunities. The button below lists the active job and internship positions that are shared with our office, on a career page in partnership with UCLA Extension. Lower on this page, you will also find a list of a variety of sustainability-minded job sites.


Overview of careers in sustainability from UCLA’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Nurit Katz

Finding a job after graduation can be a daunting process. For some tips on how to start looking, check out the UCLA Post-Graduate Guide to Navigating the Job Search.


Job Sites


Corporate Social Responsibility

BSR Jobs – Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) is the largest single employer of US-based CSR consultants. They often have internal openings.

BSR » CSR Jobs Page – BSR lists external CSR jobs on a separate page from their internal listings. This is the single best listing of CSR jobs. Several positions are compliance related.

Coro’s Careers – This page lists Canadian job postings that come to the attention of Coro Strandberg, a Canadian sustainability consultant and strategist.

Net Impact – Net Impact, an association for business leaders. Great resources and job listings in their Career Center.

Social Investors Forum – The best site for Socially Responsible Investing jobs.

Food+Tech Connect – A listing of jobs in the food tech and innovation sector, many of which include sustainability. (via Jeremy Kranowitz)


Environmental Sustainability

Green Dream Jobs – Also known as SustainableBusiness.com, the preeminent site for sustainability jobs.

Allen & York – UK recruiters with environment and sustainability jobs worldwide.

StopDoDo – A portal for environmental and NGO related jobs. Very international. Several Africa jobs. (via Beth Gelfand)

Environmental Career – These jobs are more for people with environmental degrees than MBAs. Sustainable Business – See Green Dreams above. (via Karen Seeh)


Non-Profits

NonprofitJobSource.com – This site has a powerful job searching database for positions in the US and Canada.

Work for Good – Founded as Opportunity Knocks, Work for Good includes both a powerful search engine and a resume posting option for US-based opportunities.

Bridgestar – An initiative of the Bridgespan Group, this site provides nonprofit career-matching services.

Tides Foundation – Based in San Francisco, Tides Foundation is an incubator for social and environmental nonprofits. They list positions for Tides and Tides grantees.

Koya Leadership Partners – Nonprofit search firm with a listing of US-based nonprofit opportunities. (via Jeremy Kranowitz)

Masters in Social Work – Guide to understanding and finding a job in social work.


International Development

Development Aid – Impressive site. Includes a section on tenders/RFPs with a strong search engine but does not include USAID.

OneWorld – Provides listing of job opportunities in a handful of developing countries and the UK.

DevNetJobs – A volunteer driven initiative to circulate job listings.

Global Recruitment – This company is headed by Patrick Shields, an international development recruiter.

VSO – Non-Brits often overlook VSO which opens its door to people from many nations. VSO is similar to Peace Corps but the volunteers have more pertinent work experience.


Philantropy

Foundation Center – With resource offices in major cities around the US, the Foundation Center’s Philanthropy News Digest lists jobs focused in philanthropy and fundraising.

Chronicle of Philanthropy – The Chronicle of Philanthropy lists job opportunities largely in the nonprofit and grant making arena.


Policy & Public Affairs

Opportunities in Public Affairs – Most of these positions are in Washington DC. (via Karen Seeh)

EuroBrussels – EU related policy jobs. (via Brenda Holoboff)