We have a brand new and exciting opportunity for a Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Apprentice to join us.

This is a new role, supporting our Responsible Business Manager, to engage our colleagues in fundraising, volunteering and pro bono, and working closely with colleagues to progress our firmwide sustainability goals – in particular our commitment to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2030. You will help drive social and environmental change forward, working closely with colleagues and the local community to make a real difference.

Our commitment to being a responsible business is at the heart of what we do.  We take our responsibilities very seriously and care about the impact of our actions on our people, our local community and the environment. Building sustainable relationships through partnerships with charities, community projects and our own initiatives, we are determined to play a strong role in creating better places to live, work and do business. 

At WBD we empower and encourage our people to get involved in a wide range of Responsible Business activities – and they really do. 

The role

Reporting to our Responsible Business Manager, you will support them in ensuring our areas of responsibility are communicated both internally and externally. We have dedicated Fundraising, Volunteering, Pro Bono and Environmental pages on our Intranet which you'll help maintain, update and enhance as necessary. You'll also contribute to relevant campaign pages.

You'll work collaboratively with our Corporate Responsibility Committees and Environmental Reps to help drive forward exciting sustainability and responsible business initiatives (such as campaigns, events, volunteer days and more). As part of our strategy, we have key objectives including; increasing our volunteering and pro bono hours across the firm, focusing our charitable giving efforts, reaching net zero emissions by 2030, and more. With all environmental activity, your role will involve supporting the Environmental Management team, working closely with colleagues from across the business to ensure we achieve and communicate progress on key environmental targets and maintain our Environmental accreditations – particularly ISO 14001.

You'll also record and track volunteering requests, co-ordinate and manage our raffle licence and record and track our match funding requests from colleagues.

What are we looking for?

It goes without saying that you'll be passionate about social and environmental change. You should be an excellent team player with great communication skills, both written and verbal. Strong IT skills are a must for this role, in particular MS Word and Excel, as is the ability to multi-task and prioritise your own workload.

Above all, we're looking for someone who has enthusiasm to learn new skills and a willingness to 'get stuck in'.

What is in it for you?

This is a fantastic opportunity to have a positive impact on your local community and the environment.

You'll also gain a formal qualification, undertaking the Level 4 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioner Apprenticeship and will be supported along the way by our Responsible Business Manager, Charlotte and the Early Talent Team. We have an Apprenticeship Network open to all apprentices across the business so you'll have lots of opportunities to build relationships with colleagues.

Who are we?

A Top 100 law firm globally and Top 20 law firm in the UK, Womble Bond Dickinson has more than 400 partners and 1,000 lawyers based across 19 US cities and seven UK cities including a significant presence in London. The firm's reach also extends to Europe where it has strategic partnerships with other law firms in Germany and France.

In the UK, Womble Bond Dickinson advises in excess of 40 FTSE 350 companies, many of the largest businesses in the country, government organisations and wealthy individuals. With a focus on eleven key sectors (Energy & Natural Resources; Financial Institutions; Healthcare;  Insurance, Manufacturing;  Real Estate; Retail and Consumer; Transport, Logistics & Infrastructure; Life Sciences & Pharmaceuticals; Technology and Private Wealth) the firm's experience allows it to build strong relationships and deliver an excellent service to clients.

What makes it great to work here?

We continually work hard to create an open culture that sets us apart from other firms. Our culture gives us much more of a human feel, emphasising that we're more than just suits!  We like and make time for each other enabling us to establish professional relationships that can often become lasting friendships. 

Through our D&I initiatives we create an environment in which difference is valued.  We have a Diversity and Inclusion Group, led by our Board Sponsor, which works with our colleague networks (we currently have firm supported networks for ethnic diversity, LGBTQ+, disabilities, families, and women's career development and we're in constant dialogue with our people about how we expand our networks to better support everybody).  We encourage applicants from all social backgrounds, ethnicities, disabilities, gender identities and sexual orientations.

As signatories to the Mindful Business Charter, it's important that our people are able to maintain healthy and happy lives, both in and out of work.  We have a number of resources and initiatives designed to support health and wellbeing, including our team of dedicated mental health first aiders.  We recognise that getting the right work life balance is a priority for all of us and we're very happy to talk flexible working, full-time or part-time working patterns.  We also recognise the challenges of relocation and post-pandemic return to the office.

And that's not all, alongside a competitive salary you'll receive a flexible benefits package so you can choose and vary the benefits that matter most to you.

Next steps

If this sounds like your next career move then please get in touch to find out more. No agencies please, we're an in-house recruitment team!

If this isn't the role for you (or the right time) why not connect with us on LinkedIn or follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@WBD_CareersUK) to keep up to date with all of our opportunities.  We also have a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/womblebonddickinsoncareers/)