Research Lead — Transforming Value Chains and Nature Finance

Research Lead – Transforming Value Chains and Nature Finance

Location: Flexible (UK South East preferred); work will mainly be remote, home-based.
Salary: Competitive, commensurate with experience
Contract: Full-time, one year contract (with potential to renew)
Start Date: as soon as possible

About Ostara

We believe a deeper crisis lies behind today’s global challenges, which explains why progress has stalled: a crisis of separation and imagination. Separation from ourselves, each other, and the natural world has fuelled extractive and exploitative systems, leading to fragmented efforts and a weak basis for collective action. At the same time, our inability to see beyond existing paradigms—the crisis of imagination—keeps us locked in cycles of incrementalism.

Ostara was founded in 2024 to address these dual crises. Our mission is to restore relationships to ourselves, each other, and the Earth, building engaged communities of changemakers to reimagine and catalyse the emergence of an economy in service of life.

Our work centres on convening diverse stakeholders in Imaginal Studios—collaborative spaces where diverse stakeholders come together to unlock latent potential, explore new possibilities and co-create solutions applied to discrete complex environmental challenges, such as value chain transformation and nature finance. Each Imaginal Studio blends immersive, nature-based experiences with design thinking and systems analysis to catalyse new ideas and invite participants to rethink their roles and agency for long-term systemic transformation.

The Role

The Research Lead – Transforming Value Chains and Nature Finance will play a critical role in shaping Ostara’s foundational work in 2025. This role will synthesise the latest thinking on food value chain transformation and reimagining nature finance, identifying systemic barriers and emergent opportunities. The research will inform Ostara’s Imaginal Studios, providing the context for collective re-imagination of future possibilities.

Key Responsibilities

• Critical Analysis: Synthesise cutting-edge research on food supply chain transformation and nature finance, identifying learnings from past successes and failures, gaps, and promising but underexplored ideas / nascent solutions.
• Knowledge Sharing: Present findings in accessible, compelling formats that can be used to inform and inspire stakeholders and participants in the Imaginal Studios.
• Collaborative Research: Work closely with Ostara’s core project teams and partner organisations to collect insights and ongoing learnings, and build an evolving emergent collaborative knowledge base supporting systems change objectives.
• Tracking Trends: Stay ahead of emerging trends in sustainability, economics, and nature finance to ensure Ostara’s work remains innovative and impactful.

Required Skills and Experience

• 10-12 years experience in research, analysis, and synthesis, with a background in sustainability, economics, or related fields.
• Experience working in food systems, value chains, and/or nature finance.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to translate complex ideas into actionable insights.
• Demonstrated ability to engage experts, conduct interviews and capture insights during workshops and interactive discussions.
• A collaborative mindset and ability to work across diverse teams and geographies.
• Passion for innovation, imagination, and systemic transformation.
• This role is best suited for someone who can work independently, yet deeply values collaboration and thrives in an agile and emergent start-up setting.

We are committed to ensuring our team is representative of the diverse world around us and therefore we encourage candidates with a diversity of backgrounds to apply.

Why Work With Us?

• Ostara is a new organisation building its team and growing its first initiatives in 2025. We are a small dedicated team driven by our values and vision. Joining as one of Ostara’s first team members is an opportunity to be part of an exciting period of development in an emergent start-up setting.
• Work with a passionate, values-led team committed to fostering creativity, collaboration, and systemic change, and advancing bold new approaches.
• Contribute to transformative work that addresses some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

How to Apply

To apply for this role, please send your CV and a cover letter to Bekah at rebekah@ostaracollective.org, ideally by 20th January 2025. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.