The current opportunity is available for current Manchester Met students, to apply you must be based in the UK for the duration of the role.
About Responsible Futures:
As part of our longstanding commitment to sustainability, Manchester Met and the Students’ Union are Responsible Futures accredited. This international accreditation is awarded to universities that can evidence significant progress in embedding environmental sustainability, social responsibility and global citizenship into the curriculum and student experience. To find out more about Responsible Futures, click this link: https://www.responsiblefutures.org.uk/. The University and Union have been working in partnership to deliver the Responsible Futures initiative since 2014, first achieving accreditation in 2015, and achieving re-accreditation every two years since then.
Information about role:
We are a seeking an enthusiastic and passionate student, from any subject, to help us maintain our Responsible Futures accreditation. Framed by this overall purpose, the specific priorities and duties will be negotiated taking account of the successful applicant’s interests and abilities. Previous post-holders have had the opportunity to complete a mini-project linked to their personal sustainability interests. However, across the full duration of the role, duties will likely be a combination of:
1, Encouraging active student engagement with sustainability issues;
2, Promoting and raising awareness of our Responsible Futures achievements, including to students;
3, Supporting the collation of evidence and examples for our next re-accreditation application (Spring 2028).
Anyone with an interest in student engagement is particularly encouraged to apply, allowing them to build on the impactful work of the student who held this Project Assistant role during the 2025-26 academic year.
Oversight of the post holder will be provided by Professor Liz Price (Dep. Pro-Vice-Chancellor Sustainability), with Dr Chris Ribchester (Sustainability Project Officer) acting as the first point of contact on weekly work tasks. The post holder will have the opportunity to work with a range of staff from across the University and Students’ Union, including through attendance at the in-person Responsible Futures Working Group (meeting every six weeks) at which they will provide a valuable student perspective.
The role will start during week commencing 14 September 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter, and will run until the end of August 2027.
The Responsible Futures Project Assistant role provides a significant and distinctive personal development opportunity. If you aspire towards a sustainability-related career and are keen to enhance your understanding of sustainability issues in a large organisation, make a positive impact, network with students and staff from around the University, and enhance your communication, team-working and time management skills, then this role is likely to be of interest to you.
Details:
Dates: 14 Sept 2026 - August 2027
Hours of Work: Up to 3 hours per week. The exact weekly working days/times will be arranged with the hiring manager, and these may vary. There will be flexibility to work around studies, coursework, and exams.
Details of briefing: An introductory briefing will take place during week 1, and further training will be provided as needed.