Internship Opportunity: Calling all Aspiring ESG/Sustainability Researchers IRAS is recruiting! (open to applicants worldwide)

Integrated Reporting & Assurance Services (IRAS) is seeking two ESG/Sustainability Research Internship candidates, to assist us with our annual research.

Having conducted Sustainability Data Transparency Index (SDTI) reviews for all 252 JSE listed companies within our 2023 research population sample, IRAS is currently pulling the data together for our 2024 research report, to be published in August.

To complete our 2024 report, IRAS is seeking two Research Interns for a start date of 01 March 2024, for a period of three months.

Candidates must have completed no less than an Honours degree in any subject, with preference given to Sciences (including Environmental Science) and Business (BCom or other), and must be able to analyse data, use Excel (preferably beyond a basic open/save/print skill level), write effectively and both walk and chew gum at the same time (i.e., “multi-task”). It’s worth noting that almost ALL MBA graduates proved themselves to be ineffective, whereas BCom graduates have been very successful, and that one of our all-time BEST interns was a guy who had an undergrad degree in Outdoor Recreation (i.e., He was able to survive a canoe trip and write about it)…so we’re not painfully exclusive on who can apply.

Internship Details

• Local candidates will be paid a reasonable starting wage (R7 500 per month), with the potential to obtain significant increases and more permanent employment upon completion of the internship period.
• International candidates will be afforded flights, accommodation and a basic monthly stipend (R5 000) in exchange for a minimum 3-month commitment, with the potential to extend the position for up to 6 months.
• Pre-COVID, our interns came from Canada, the UK, France, Italy, the UAE, Guadeloupe, Iran and Ethiopia, with more than 30 internationals having cycled through our programme (one ultimately working with us for nearly three years).
• Our interns are afforded opportunities to participate in client-facing work, volunteerism activities, and various Learning & Development activities.

About IRAS

Beyond the information shared on our website, it’s important to note that IRAS is a very small company with what we believe to be a very large impact. Our research exceeds that of any of our local and/or international peers by a wide margin and is used by numerous stakeholders to effect change with respect to Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) transparency and accountability. We tend to work in an extremely informal environment – when not at client sites – and try to engage each other in a manner that seeks to develop employee-specific ESG interests.

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Our hours are from 08h00 to 17h00 daily (sometimes a bit longer if/when we’re under pressure to complete assignments), and our goal is to avoid weekend work (with very few exceptions).

Our offices are based at the boss’s home, in a neighbourhood that lends itself well to team lunches (mostly at the boss’s expense), and work-from-home scenarios occur on a fairly regular basis (post-internship).

The job is based in Johannesburg, with zero potential for change within the first year of employment.

Site visits are always the ultimate prize, noting that anyone who’s ever watched Discovery Channel’s “How It’s Made” will have a sense of how our team benefits from doing the work we do for our clients.

Our team members are encouraged to self-educate whenever possible, noting that a demonstrated commitment to personal and professional Learning & Development (L&D) is rewarded through irregular bonuses and/or salary increases. More importantly, our team members are encouraged to identify projects that they want to develop, using our extensive experience and contacts to help facilitate the sort of career development larger firms cannot easily facilitate.

How to Apply

Interested candidates are asked to send a short CV (max 2 pages) to [email protected].

To gain an understanding of what we intend to produce, our 2023 research report can be found on our website at https://iras-esg.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IRAS-2023-SDTI-Research-Report-Current-Draft-08-November.pdf