Senior Project Manager / Senior Project Manageress

Senior Project Manager at sus.lab (KTT Expert)

80%-100%, Zurich, fixed-term

Join us at the Sustainability in Business Lab (sus.lab) at ETH Zurich and help us enable leaders in industry, policy, and society to address systemic sustainability challenges and drive the transition to a net-zero and circular economy.

Project Background

We are seeking a Senior Project Manager to lead two projects, each at a 40-50% level of engagement.

KTT Expert, ACHIEVE Consortium

The primary focus of this role is to serve as the Knowledge and Technology Transfer (KTT) Expert within the ACHIEVE consortium as part of the SWEET funding programme of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE). ACHIEVE supports Switzerland's transition to net zero by collaborating with stakeholders from industry, policy, and society to co-develop scientifically grounded roadmaps to reach this goal. In this capacity, you will ensure that research insights are translated into actionable knowledge, tools, and processes for practitioners and decision-makers.

Depending on your experience, you will lead or be supported by more junior sus.lab colleagues.

Additional sus.lab Projects

The other 40-50% will be dedicated to a first-of-its-kind industry-related sus.lab project, with the exact focus determined by your skill set, experience, and the available projects. Examples may include initiatives similar in scope and complexity to our work on the project DemoUpCARMA or the rPET report on the long-term prospects for recycled PET in beverage bottles.

Job Description

• Overall Project Management: As part of the project management team, in strong collaboration with the head of the consortium and the scientific integration expert, you are responsible for the overall execution of the project, ensuring strategic alignment with objectives and expected outcomes, timely achievement of milestones, submission of deliverables, and efficient allocation of resources.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Co-Creation: Lead the planning and implementation of stakeholder engagement formats (problem-framing workshops, roundtables to discuss project results, panel discussions to address stakeholder questions, conferences, webinars), conduct ongoing stakeholder mapping, and document knowledge needs and contributions between researchers and stakeholders.
• Communication & Dissemination: Coordinate the preparation and distribution of stakeholder-facing communication materials (such as policy briefs, industry briefs, website content, social media, outreach notes).
• Monitoring & Impact Tracking: Track stakeholder uptake and integration of project outputs, including adoption of technologies, initiation of pilot projects, and policy developments.

Additional sus.lab Projects

• Lead and manage first-of-its-kind industry-related projects.
• Oversee, co-develop, and publish project deliverables in collaboration with project partners from industry, policy, and society.
• Oversee project budgets and project teams.
• Develop and secure new projects focused on decarbonization and circular economy.

Profile

• You hold a Master’s degree (or higher) in sustainability, environmental policy, engineering, environmental science, business, or a related field.
• You have 3-4 years of work experience in (sustainability) consulting, policy analysis, transdisciplinary research, or a related field.
• You possess excellent stakeholder management skills and can communicate with leaders from research, industry, and policy at eye level.
• You exhibit strong analytical, communication, and organizational skills.
• You have an excellent command of English and at least one Swiss national language (e.g., German, French, or Italian) at a minimum C1 level, both written and spoken.
• You are based in Switzerland and will work in Zurich once you start the position (remote work is not possible).
• You are able to start the position by March 2026 at the latest.

Preferred Qualifications

• You have the ability to design, facilitate, and moderate participatory workshops and dialogues.
• You have experience translating technical content into accessible communication formats (e.g., briefs, presentations, stakeholder updates).
• You are familiar with climate policy, decarbonization pathways, or carbon capture, utilization, storage, and removal technologies.
• You have network or engagement experience with Swiss policy, industry, or civil society organizations.

Workplace

Sus.lab is a "think-and-do-tank" of highly motivated people with diverse backgrounds in engineering, science, management consulting, and entrepreneurship. As part of the Group for Sustainability and Technology (SusTec) within the Department of Management, Technology, and Economics of ETH Zurich, we benefit from an entrepreneurial research atmosphere where our work bridges the gap between the latest academic research and industrial application.

The contract for the position is initially limited to one year (in accordance with ETH guidelines), with the intention of a multi-year employment relationship.

We Value Diversity and Sustainability

In line with our values, ETH Zurich encourages an inclusive culture. We promote equality of opportunity, value diversity, and nurture a working and learning environment in which the rights and dignity of all our staff and students are respected. Sustainability is a core value for us—we are consistently working towards a climate-neutral future.

Curious? So Are We.

If you are interested in shaping Switzerland's transition to net zero, we look forward to receiving your online application using the form below.

• CV (please include the final overall grades of your degrees)

Only applications matching the job profile will be considered. For further information about our sus.lab, please visit our website. Questions regarding the position should be directed to Oliver Akeret at oakeret@ethz.ch (no applications).

About ETH Zurich

ETH Zurich is one of the world's leading universities specializing in science and technology. We are renowned for our excellent education, cutting-edge fundamental research, and direct transfer of new knowledge into society. Over 30,000 people from more than 120 countries find our university to be a place that promotes independent thinking and an environment that inspires excellence. Located in the heart of Europe, yet forging connections all over the world, we work together to develop solutions for the global challenges of today and tomorrow.