IEMA Competency Framework

Background

IEMA is dedicated to creating a sustainable future and considers it essential that the knowledge and skills that are required by individuals with environmental responsibility are clearly mapped out, understood and recognised.

In consultation with business leaders, employers and individual practising members we know that there isn’t a clear career or development path for the environmental profession. The development of IEMA’s competency framework for the environmental profession will address this need.

For the first time, IEMA will set out a cross sector competency framework to support:

• Anyone planning their own personal professional development;
• Employers recruiting environmental professionals or preparing job descriptions;
• Recruitment agencies advising on recruitment of an environmental professional;
• HR or Department Heads developing a graduate or management development programmes; and
• Organisations delivering environmental or sustainability knowledge and skills within the academic, training and CPD sectors

The framework brings together several years of work, undertaken by IEMA, in the environmental and sustainability skills area.

A key factor of this work is recognition that individuals require not only specific environmental knowledge and tools at an operational level, but additionally, interpersonal, project, and leadership development to ensure that their work makes a strategic difference across the whole of the organisation.

Why it’s important for the environmental profession

• It enables environmental professionals to see a clear pathway of the knowledge and skills they require throughout their careers
• For early career professionals, it provides direction as to the knowledge and skills they will need to develop to progress to more senior positions
• It sets out the key skills required by individuals in leadership positions, ensuring that the environmental profession is striving for senior strategic roles in organisations – supporting individuals who role is developing from ‘greening operations’ to ‘greening organisations’
• Enables IEMA to develop structured programmes of support to develop professionals throughout their careers
• The competency framework, is more than a top level framework – through ‘click throughs’ it provides detail about what an environmental professional at each operational level in an organisation needs to know and be able to do – this is the dynamic part of the framework that we update with current professional development topics
• It provides examples of the types of job titles the environmental profession is using and sample job descriptions
• It provides clear recognition of the role of the environmental professional and the value an individual can add to an organisation
• It recognises the distinct knowledge and skills an individual requires that makes them an effective environmental professional, recognition of the cross functional, diverse, multi-level, change agent role
• The framework communicates the role of the environmental professional to other professions, peers and colleagues

What we would like from you:

Your feedback on the content of the framework- I have included some points to consider below.

• Feedback on the overall content of the framework
• Are the ‘organisational levels’ in the left hand column appropriate?
• Will any sectors or roles feel excluded?
• Are the other column titles – the knowledge and skills, appropriate?
• Do they include all of the knowledge and skills you would expect?
• Is there anything missing or obvious gaps?
• Is the language clear and will it be understood by a non-environmental professional (for instance HR, training managers)?

And your feedback on how it may be adopted, for instance;

• What do you think employers will do with it?
• What do you think members will do with it?
• What do you think universities will do with it?
• What do you think training providers will do with it?

Thanks very much for giving us your feedback – it really helps us to speak with confidence.

Please e-mail me at c.lea@iema.net with your feedback, or call me on 01522 540069.

Professional Standards Framework 2011 V3 0.pdf (39.15 KB)