Urban Futures Graduate

Remuneration:	R10000 - R11000 per month
Benefits:	22 days leave, 1x menstrual day leave monthly, R900 monthly therapy stipend, R600 monthly WiFi reimbursement, Flexi-Friday work policy.
Location:	Remote
Remote work:	Only remote work
Education level:	Degree
Job level:	Student
Type:	Permanent
Reference:	#OCLProdGrad
Company:	Open Cities Lab

Job description

Are you passionate about being part of a dynamic team dedicated to transforming urban environments through data and technology? Do you thrive in a collaborative setting where innovation and excellence drive impactful change in city living? If so, this is the opportunity you've been waiting for! Join us in our mission to enhance urban governance and create more resilient, inclusive, and vibrant cities.

We are looking for a graduate whose primary responsibility will be to assist our Product Managers. The ideal candidate will have a deep interest in social impact combined with a belief in the role that data and technology can play in effecting change in urban environments. Perhaps you recently completed a degree that includes credits in subjects like governance, public policy, urban planning, development studies, anthropology or sociology and are looking to join a cutting-edge NPO. We’d be very interested in seeing your CV and you might like to take a look at some of our work:

• An example of our data-sharing product is The Durban EDGE Open Data Portal. 
• An example of one of our data governance grants 

As a graduate working in our product team, you will gain significant experience and insight into the world of civic tech and urban impact. You’ll be assisting our product managers, who are the de facto experts on the offerings in our portfolio. You will need to be highly responsive to their requests and to be proactive in identifying ways that you can free them up to do what only they can do. You will gain varied experience and learn a huge amount about our emerging science.

Our Product Managers are responsible for managing the release of our products and facilitating their implementation in use-case environments in a growing number of cities. They work closely with the Chief Product, Strategy and Operations Officers, the Technical Team and Partners. You'll be responsible for assisting them, organising and documenting a lot of these activities. You’ll also help them with research and communications and numerous other varied tasks. You will contribute to building the aspirational OCL culture and will continually develop your professional competence.

We reserve the right to redeploy the successful candidate into any other role, as required.

Responsibilities:

• The responsibilities of this role are varied and dependent on the needs of the Product Managers. Amongst other tasks, the graduate will be involved with
• Written and verbal communications on instruction from Product Managers.
• Organising meetings and events.
• Drawing up and communicating agendas.
• Documenting meetings and events.
• Report writing.
• Providing content to the Communications Team.
• Conducting and documenting interviews.
• Research.
• Fulfilling this role according to OCL’s aspirational culture and team brand.
• Growing professionally and developing personal competence to fulfil this role in a rapidly scaling and increasingly impactful organisation.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in governance, public policy or urban planning or related field OR equivalent experience.

Skills and technical expertise:

• Very strong written and verbal communication.
• Ability to understand and implement instructions.
• Ability to accept direction.
• Decision-making
• Strong interpersonal skills and assertiveness.
• Organising skills and time management.
• Basic understanding of civic environments and/ or data governance.
• Report-writing skills.

Experience:

This is an entry-level role. Although we do not expect that you will necessarily have formal work experience, we are interested in learning how you have gained your insights, knowledge and skills. Please include this information in your application.

Culture and values:

• Personal values aligned with OCL's aspirational culture.
• High ethical standards, integrity, and a strong desire for continuous learning and growth.
• Commitment to ongoing performance improvement and coaching programmes.

The salary for this position will be determined based on the candidate's experience and qualifications, as well as our internal guidelines. This is a full-time, 1-year contract with an option to renew based on performance and funding. Due to the volume of applications received, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. Position looking to be placed by 1 October 2024. 

Please note: Before clicking 'Click Here to Apply' below, please complete this short questionnaire first.

Company Description

We believe that through empowering citizens, building trust and accountability in civic space, and building capacity with government, we will enable participation in decision-making, evidence-based urban intervention, and inclusive co-design that will improve the lives of residents in urban spaces.

Our organisation is made up of Researchers, Software Developers, Economists, Data Scientists, Designers and Product Managers who get to constantly expand their knowledge and learn peripheral skills as part of the job. We are all driven by a common purpose as a non-partisan community founded on the belief of equality and inclusion through openness across all aspects of society.

Join us at Open Cities Lab and be part of a dynamic team dedicated to shaping the future of urban living through technology and design. Apply now to contribute your expertise and creativity to our impactful projects.

All applicants who are drawn to serve the mission of Open Cities Lab will enjoy Equality of Opportunity and fair treatment without regard to:
• Race
• Colour
• Age
• Religion
• Pregnancy
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
• Disability
• Gender identity
• Gender expression
• National origin
• Genetic information
• Marital status
• Prior protected activity

Women, Nonbinary, BIPOC, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Posted on 17 Sep 10:39, Closing date 30 Sep