Apprentice Sustainability Professional Level 4

Summary

Join Bristol City Council as an Apprentice Sustainability Professional and support climate action, environmental performance and nature recovery across Bristol. Gain hands-on experience with our Environmental Performance, Sustainable City and Climate Change teams while working towards a Level 4 Sustainability apprenticeship.

Wage

Competitive

Competitive wage offered

Pay will be reviewed annually in line with National Joint Council (NJC) pay award.

Training course

Corporate responsibility and sustainability practitioner (level 4)

Hours

Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. This role involves a blend of office-based working and working from home, with a minimum expectation of working from the office at least once per week.

37 hours a week

Start date

Monday 26 October 2026

Duration

2 years

Positions available

1

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

You will support real sustainability work across a leading local authority, developing practical skills in areas such as environmental audits, carbon emissions, climate action, nature recovery, clean air, project support, data handling and stakeholder engagement.

You will develop practical skills that support the council’s work on climate action, sustainability and nature recovery, while also gaining wider workplace skills in administration, communication, data handling and project support.

Your working week will include a varied mix of sustainability practice, business support and apprenticeship learning.

You will work closely with colleagues in the Environmental Performance, Sustainable City and Climate Change teams and may be involved in activities such as:

• Supporting green audits of council building
• Helping assess the environmental impact of policy decisions
• Supporting work to calculate and understand carbon emissions
• Working with colleagues on nature recovery, clean air and city decarbonisation activity
• Helping organise cross-team meetings and sustainability-related work
• Updating records and supporting accurate data handling
• Supporting project finances, including raising purchase orders and processing invoices
• Communicating with colleagues and stakeholders about sustainability work
• Building a professional portfolio of evidence for your apprenticeship assessment

You will also spend part of your working hours completing off-the-job apprenticeship learning. This may include attending training sessions, completing assignments and applying your learning in the workplace.

Where you'll work

City Hall
College Green
Bristol
Somerset
BS1 5TR

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

Training provider

LDN APPRENTICESHIPS LTD

Training course

Corporate responsibility and sustainability practitioner (level 4)

What you'll learn

Course contents

• Select and implement project management and planning tools applicable to the type of project/ campaign lifecycle.
• Assess the effectiveness of change and identify opportunities to improve outcomes, guiding and supporting others to deliver results.
• Balance own CR&S workload to prioritise competing demands and achieve key performance indicators.
• Utilise strengths of internal organisational structures to help build self-sustaining CR&S populations.
• Tailor approach to maintaining new/existing external stakeholder relationships to achieve progress on plans (e.g objectives, key initiatives and shared interests).
• Contribute to the negotiation of external CR&S projects of mutual benefit.
• Adopt a communication method that takes account of the audience and is suitable for the circumstances.
• Recommend opportunities for external engagement, articulating the mutual benefits and risks.
• Contribute to written reports on CR&S performance in line with organisational requirements.
• Contribute to the drafting of the CR&S strategy.
• Adjust leadership style to achieve results, having regard to the needs of the individual/teams involved.
• Select data that is relevant to the CR&S issue being considered.
• Analyse data to form evidence-based conclusions on CR&S performance.
• Deliver CR&S events in accordance with contractual arrangements.
• Quality assure own and others work in accordance with organisational requirements
• Contribute to reporting externally on CR&S Strategy and delivery in line with industry and legislative requirements.
• Identify own organisations CR&S opportunities and threats. Escalate risks within own organisation when needed.
• Research the CR&S landscape, escalating best practice opportunities within own organisation.
• Apply management techniques needed to deliver CR&S projects within budget.
• Train colleagues in CR&S techniques, tailoring the learning style to the circumstances.
• Identify and deliver initiatives that may raise funds for CR&S projects.
• Identify and apply relevant IT solutions to CR&S issues.
• Select and implement project management and planning tools applicable to the type of project/ campaign lifecycle.
• Assess the effectiveness of change and identify opportunities to improve outcomes, guiding and supporting others to deliver results.
• Balance own CR&S workload to prioritise competing demands and achieve key performance indicators.
• Utilise strengths of internal organisational structures to help build self-sustaining CR&S populations.
• Tailor approach to maintaining new/existing external stakeholder relationships to achieve progress on plans (e.g objectives, key initiatives and shared interests).
• Contribute to the negotiation of external CR&S projects of mutual benefit.
• Adopt a communication method that takes account of the audience and is suitable for the circumstances.
• Recommend opportunities for external engagement, articulating the mutual benefits and risks.
• Contribute to written reports on CR&S performance in line with organisational requirements.
• Contribute to the drafting of the CR&S strategy.
• Adjust leadership style to achieve results, having regard to the needs of the individual/teams involved.
• Select data that is relevant to the CR&S issue being considered.
• Analyse data to form evidence-based conclusions on CR&S performance.
• Deliver CR&S events in accordance with contractual arrangements.
• Quality assure own and others work in accordance with organisational requirements
• Contribute to reporting externally on CR&S Strategy and delivery in line with industry and legislative requirements.
• Identify own organisations CR&S opportunities and threats. Escalate risks within own organisation when needed.
• Research the CR&S landscape, escalating best practice opportunities within own organisation.
• Apply management techniques needed to deliver CR&S projects within budget.
• Train colleagues in CR&S techniques, tailoring the learning style to the circumstances.
• Identify and deliver initiatives that may raise funds for CR&S projects.
• Identify and apply relevant IT solutions to CR&S issues.

Training schedule

You will work towards the Level 4 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Practitioner apprenticeship with LDN Apprenticeships whilst gaining practical experience within Bristol City Council's Environmental Performance, Sustainable City and Climate Change teams.

Training will be delivered through a combination of:

• On-the-job learning within Bristol City Council
• Off-the-job training delivered by LDN Apprenticeships
• Regular progress reviews with your manager and training provider
• Development of a portfolio of evidence to support your apprenticeship assessment

More training information

As part of the apprenticeship, you will develop knowledge and skills in sustainability strategy, environmental and social impact, stakeholder engagement, project management, data analysis and reporting. You will apply your learning directly to real sustainability projects supporting Bristol's climate and environmental ambitions. The apprenticeship also includes free affiliate membership of the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP), with the opportunity to progress to Associate level upon successful completion of the programme.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

5 GCSE's including Maths and English at grade 4/C in:

OR Functional Skills (grade level 2)

Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.

Skills

• Communication skills
• IT skills
• Attention to detail
• Organisation skills
• Problem solving skills
• Analytical skills
• Team working
• Initiative
• Interest in sustainability
• Willingness to learn

Other requirements

You will need to be committed to completing the apprenticeship programme and able to balance work responsibilities with study requirements.

You should have a genuine interest in sustainability, environmental issues and supporting positive change.

You will also need to be confident using Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and SharePoint, or willing to develop these skills.