Technical Product Manager

Location: Hybrid (Basel, Switzerland) or remote

Schedule: Part-time internship (50-60%)

Duration: 6 months, with a possibility of extension

Start date: As soon as possible

Deadline for applications: September 15th, 2023

A Swiss work permit or EU citizenship is required. EU work permits or student visas for non-Europeans are not eligible.

 

About BASE

The Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy (BASE) is a Swiss not-for-profit foundation and a Specialised Partner of the United Nations Environment. BASE was established in 2001 with the objective of mobilising investment and finance into sustainable energy and climate change solutions. BASE is one of the few organisations fully dedicated to develop innovative business models, smart financing and out-of-the box-approaches to drive investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency and green solutions.

 

 

Background

We are seeking a dedicated and enthusiastic professional to join the BASE team for an interim period of 6 months to support the software development activities of Your Virtual Cold Chain Assistant (Your VCCA), one of BASE flagship projects.

 

Your VCCA facilitates smallholders farmers’ access to sustainable cooling with a pay-per-use business model and digitalization, with the aim of reducing food spoilage and increasing farmers livelihood. To this end, we partner with local cooling service providers who own and operate solar-powered, walk-in cold rooms, support their scale-up efforts by developing a mobile application to digitalize their operations, and advise cooling users on the best time to sell to maximise income. The project builds on Cooling as a Service (CaaS), an initiative led by BASE since 2018 to mainstream servitisation in the cooling sector, and leverages data science and physics-based modelling to power the mobile application, named Coldtivate, and advise farmers on when and where to best sell their produce.

Your VCCA has been launched in 2021 as a collaboration between BASE and Empa, the interdisciplinary Swiss research institute for Materials Science and Technology. The team is working in close collaboration with cooling companies operating in India, Nigeria, and the Philippines, to mainstream servitisation in the agricultural sector to improve smallholders livelihood.

 

About the role

Within the Your VCCA project, the candidate will support activities linked to the further development of the Coldtivate app, which is being developed by an external software company. The candidate will support the Your VCCA team in defining software requirements and priorities based on user feedback, and coordinate the day-to-day interaction with the software company. The candidate is also encouraged to support in identifying resources and/or structural changes required to improve the app performance and minimise disruptions, and to support Your VCCA data scientists in the deployment of production-ready code which serves as a backbone of the app.

The candidate will be responsible for: managing communications with the software company, coordinating new features development and feedback collection in collaboration with local cooling companies and Your VCCA team, supporting the team in implementing software development best practices throughout the development lifecycle.

 

Professional requirements

A university degree (BSc. or MSc.) in computer science, software engineering, or equivalent qualification
Exposure to Agile methodologies and interest in project management
Experience with web and mobile app development pipeline, including familiarity with Python, Django, Docker, GitLab, CI/CD pipelines
Enthusiasm for climate change-related projects and interest to understand Your VCCA vision and stakeholder needs
Great communication skills
Full working proficiency in English
Personal attributes

Entrepreneurial mindset: a high degree of self-motivation, positive attitude, drive and the ability to contribute to a multi-cultural, team-based work environment
Enthusiasm for, and commitment to development and climate change work
Ability to multitask, work flexibly, creatively and under pressure in response to changing demands
Extremely well organised
Highest ethical standards
 

Application and Selection Process

Applications to be submitted electronically to: [email protected] prior to the deadline.

 

Please include the following documents in word or PDF format (applications should be a maximum of four pages):

–   Motivation letter briefly outlining your qualifications and experience as it relates to the position.

–       CV and name and contact details of 3 references who may be contacted by BASE.