Independent platform for impactful jobs in the built environment
"build_shift" is an independent platform that publicizes jobs in the built environment sector that are serious about sustainability and fairness. Since its launch in July 2022, we have published around 500 impactful jobs from more than 20 European countries. The platform's ultimate goal is to bring together committed individuals and organizations as we believe that we can only achieve a climate-friendly and socially just transformation in the building industry if we team up and work together.
Cross-border/international
Germany
Luxembourg
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Austria
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Belgium
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Cyprus
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Denmark
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Estonia
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Finland
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: France
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Hungary
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Italy
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Netherlands
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Sweden
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Spain
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Slovakia
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Portugal
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Romania
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Ireland
Our platform works across Europe (we have included the countries that have been touched by our mission so far). We are currently based in Berlin and Luxembourg.
Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
As an individual in partnership with other persons
First name: Melana Last name: Jäckels Gender: Other Nationality: Germany Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Feldzeugmeisterstraße 5 Town: Berlin Postal code: 10557 Country: Germany Direct Tel:+49 176 82147127 E-mail:melana@build-shift.com Website:https://build-shift.com/
First name: Vadim Last name: Bordiniuc Gender: Male Nationality: Romania Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: 18 Rue André Duchscher Town: Luxembourg Postal code: 1424 Country: Luxembourg Direct Tel:+49 1520 6777968 E-mail:vadim@build-shift.com Website:https://build-shift.com/
First name: Ginevra Last name: Agosti Gender: Female Nationality: Italy Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Feldzeugmeisterstraße 5 Town: Berlin Postal code: 10557 Country: Germany Direct Tel:+39 347 881 0191 E-mail:ginni@build-shift.com Website:https://build-shift.com/
More and more people working in the built environment sector are becoming aware of the urgency of reacting with vision, creativity, and courage to the omnipresent challenges of an unleashed environmental disaster and increasing inequities. However, with many corporations, contractors, clients, and political actors continuing to choose the most profitable and simplest path, it is difficult to find a position that confronts this attitude and pushes for fundamental change.
By publicizing job offers in the built environment sector that are serious about sustainability and fairness, we wish to bridge this gap and enable committed people and initiatives to find genuine allies and team up. Since the launch of the platform “build_shift” in July 2022, we have published around 500 impactful jobs from more than 20 European countries.
We carefully review every job offer to ensure that sustainability is not simply announced as a trendy buzzword, but that it is at the heart of the respective organization. To be featured on “build_shift”, the organization must fulfill our criteria regarding the social and ecological sustainability of its projects while also emphasizing fair remuneration and a healthy working environment.
The platform’s ultimate goal is to form a community and alliances and to foster exchange and collaboration to amplify the voice of a truly sustainable and honest movement. We want to highlight that we need to join forces even beyond the traditional building professions and that job profiles need to be re-imagined, as existing ones may not be adequate to handle the challenges ahead. But with all the pressure and dystopia lurking, we also wish to create space for positive emotions, inspiration, motivation, and the belief that it is not too late.
Finally, to ensure that no one is denied access to our platform, be it a job seeker or an organization pointing out suitable opportunities, our platform is free and built on voluntary payments.
job platform
community building
sustainable architecture
circular construction
inclusive urban development
We believe that in order to attain sustainability within the built environment, it is necessary to dismantle the systems that have so far guided the creation of buildings and spaces. We cannot carry on as we have been doing the last decades and permit the same harmful practices to dictate our future spaces and the loudest voices to control the conversation about what sustainability means.
That's why on our platform “build_shift” we only allow job offers from organizations that we believe are serious about the environmental and climate impact of their work and projects. By establishing a catalog of criteria and carefully reviewing each job offer, we ensure that sustainability is at the heart of the organization and not just touted as a fashionable buzzword.
We use our criteria to check whether the organizations of each job posting are serious about minimizing the environmental impact of their work and projects, or even whether they have a regenerative impact on the environment. This means, among other things, that they give priority to rebuilding and adapting existing structures rather than building new ones, and that they use materials that are recycled, natural or local. Other important criteria include striving for zero emissions through design and the use of renewable energy sources, as well as their handling of waste or its avoidance strategies. We also look at whether they are experimenting with new concepts and creating innovative buildings and spaces that incorporate nature conservation, biodiversity and high-quality green spaces.
Of course, no job or organization can fully address all the issues posed on the built environment by the ecological crisis and climate change. However, no organization or job should purposely or knowingly breach any of the aforementioned standards and criteria without being banned from our platform.
We know that the difficulties the people working in the construction and planning sector face concerning social injustice, environmental breakdown and climate disaster can be so daunting and troubling that some people may just want to give up. By showcasing a colorful variety of noteworthy organizations, we wish to spread optimism and convey the idea that solutions and sources of inspiration are out there, that something is happening, and that anyone can join the movement. We want to show that transforming buildings, cities and places in these times does not necessarily have to be painful, but that creating a more sustainable and egalitarian future can be fun and enjoyable.
Furthermore, many sites dedicated to sustainability look boring, conservative, and uncool. With our site, design, tone and branding, we want to tap into the positive energy we want to unleash to show that sustainability doesn't have to be dull or ugly. We want to rewrite the narrative that sustainability can be fun and rewarding. At the same time, we want to rewrite the way work, careers, and impact are talked about and put meaning and trust at the center of the conversation, creating a sense of community and belonging.
We want to make the entry into the movement simple, flexible and adaptable, so that everyone can find what works best for them. Therefore, our design, usability and filters are very important and we adapt them to the needs of both job seekers and companies. By posting weekly, job seekers and businesses can trust that we will be there to help whenever they need our services.
Finally, by choosing to be an independent player, we want to create a space of trust and reassure our users that what they see on our platform is real and honest, and that there are no hidden interests or misleading green-washing attempts behind our project.
For us, inclusion occurs on three different levels. First, we determine whether the work and projects of the organization whose jobs we wish to to post on our platform address inclusion and social equity: do they openly and actively involve diverse people in their processes, do they use co-creation and participatory processes, do they empower underrepresented communities and place them at the center of their processes? And do they critically reflect and prevent social green-washing, i.e. anything that is environmentally sustainable but comes at the expense of marginalized people?
The second point is the inclusivity of the workplace itself - it starts with taking a look at the company's values and whether they are explicit about an open and fair work environment: are there any team members —including those in leadership positions—who are women, queers, BiPOC, disabled, or any other group that is typically underrepresented in the workplace? Are they encouraged to apply? Are power structures being challenged and fairer organizational forms being tested or applied? As women, coming from a working class context or having a migration background, we experience the very omnipresent classist, sexist system that the built environment sector still is, but we are well aware of the privileges that come with being white, European, abled, cis and heterosexual. We won't advertise any open positions for an organization if we find out that it exhibits certain structures and doesn't try to be more inclusive in its work practices or its output.
And the third is the operating form of our platform. With the free-to-use concept, we give anyone who meets the sustainability criteria, regardless of their resources, the opportunity to use our platform to promote their work and reach potential employees.
Fair and ecological change in relation to our buildings, villages, cities and spaces can only happen when people with the same spirit and complementing skills find each other and work together. Our platform starts exactly here. By bringing people together, we aim to enable and promote good and transformative practices that create better and healthier spaces for all people and prevent the worst effects of climate change. And that, of course, is a direct benefit to society.
If the voices of these truly sustainable initiatives become louder and stronger, not only the awareness of the urgency to change the way we think about building and beyond can be raised, it will actually strengthen the whole movement for a better future and sustainable social change and set things in motion.
Our criteria for good workplaces in the built environment include a commitment to collaborative, participatory and empowering processes, this underlines the importance of involving different stakeholders, including civil society.
Furthermore, job seekers are citizens as well. On one hand we help actual building and planning professionals to find an impactful job. On the other hand we post jobs in other disciplines or for career changers who wish to contribute to engage in the transformation of the built environment with their unique skills and talents. Because we have the impression that for many people designing and creating buildings and spaces seems to be a field in which they cannot directly participate, that it is a field that is only accessible through very specific channels. Through our platform, we wish to demonstrate that there are many different ways to get involved and encourage people who previously thought that there was no place for them in this cause.
“build_shift” is a platform to connect all initiatives working for a climate-friendly and socially just change in the building industry and we know that this transformation is only achievable if we band together and stand up for our demands.
“build_shift” supports networks that actively speak up to create a more resilient built environment to help identify potential synergies and map potential collaboration and organizations.
To share our experiences and insights, we collaborate with smaller initiatives with a similar approach but a different target audience (e.g., a small initiative collecting funding, study, and work opportunities for African urbanists) to help them build and grow their platform.
We work with inspiring organizations to increase their visibility by portraying them and expanding their reach. And, of course, we collaborate with all organizations that have suitable jobs for our platform; we promote their jobs and encourage them to promote our platform or contribute to it.
On the other hand, we are in contact with our users to learn what they want, what kind of work they want, and what kind of impact they want. To stay in touch with our users we will be launching regular community calls.
Furthermore, as part of soulincubator, we are embedded in a network of impact startups, particularly in the field of circular economy, with the goal of promoting one another, providing feedback, and sharing knowledge, experience, and skills.
Not to mention our existing professional network, which has been anchored in the field of sustainable architecture for several years: to share job postings, promote each other, share feedback, and provide support.
The constant exchange with others with different perspectives is enormously enriching. Only then can we better understand how we can be of real help with our platform to bring people together and advance a more sustainable design of our built environment.
We want to highlight the fact that the built environment is much more than architecture and possibly engineering or construction. We believe that job and activity profiles need to be re-imagined and redefined. Thinking in strict categories of who can do what is no longer expedient; educational and professional paths are blurring and have to blur. With our platform “build_shift” we want to raise awareness that many different fields must collaborate to truly and sustainably transform our spaces and the ways we shape them and live in them.
Having a platform that focuses on sustainable jobs in the built environment, of course we post many offers that are set within architecture, planning, and construction. But a good built environment requires much more than that: good communication, people who know how to establish and grow an organization, lead a team, activate citizens and engage the community, introduce and teach sustainable practices to diverse groups, or ensure that often unheard voices are heard.
For us, this means that if we make sustainable architecture, natural building materials, circular building and the collaborative design of our living spaces our central mission, we need to share all related job postings, be it from the fields of communication, design, web and IT, culture, education, art and more. However, we ensure that all of the jobs we offer are related to the built environment, even if they are not traditionally considered a built environment vocation.
Since July 2022, we have posted more than 500 jobs from more than 300 different organizations in 23 European countries. We have up to 500 daily visits to our website and more than 1000 organizations in our database. Our social media channels are expanding and we are gradually getting more attention from other networks, organizations, and co.
We've had a lot of nice feedback. Former colleagues and friends have told us that they applied for some of the job openings, went to interviews, and possibly even obtained the position. Many strongly recommend the platform to others. Users of our platform frequently express that it was only through our platform that they became aware of how many diverse working opportunities and intriguing organizations exist in the first place. In addition to seeking suitable career opportunities, this provided them with motivation and inspiration to become more involved in sustainability topics, dive into a specific topic, method, or space, or even start their own project.
But more importantly, we want to create a network between all those who want to face the urgent challenge. We want to be the first point of contact to create a community that supports each other and works towards a better future. To make our platform a safe space, it is not just required that we make good connections but also cut detrimental ones. We keep huge and well-known studios and corporations away from our platform which claim to work ethically and sustainably, but a closer look or a short internet search quickly reveals that this is not the case.
Niche job boards are currently popping out everywhere, but what makes our platform special is that we focus on both the built environment AND sustainability. This is something that didn't exist before because when we were looking for a meaningful job ourselves, we would have loved to have such a platform.
At traditional platforms there is often only one category for construction among many other professions. At sustainability platforms sometimes there is a category for "sustainable cities and villages". At architecture platforms often there is no special tab for sustainability. To find good offers often requires long scrolling through many job offers, while many are not even on the platforms, but rather on social media because the organizations cannot afford the ads there.
But on “build_shift”, sustainability in the built environment is the headline, and the already focused specialization allows job seekers to filter out precisely what they are searching for with the help of additional filters. Job seekers can then filter what kind of tasks they would like to do (e.g. designing, management, hands-on, communication) and with what topic they want to deal with (e.g. circularity, building materials, public spaces, community engagement).
All our jobs are handpicked and reviewed by us. There are no hidden algorithms behind our listing, so users can be sure that there are no scams or catchy things on the platform, but trustworthy offers. If a job can go to our platform, we decide regarding our own criteria, which we developed according to our values and experiences.
Furthermore, “build_shift” is free for everyone, job seekers and employers. However, everyone who appreciates our collection and believes it is a useful tool can support us by making a voluntary contribution. We wish to maintain our independence in determining which jobs to list and which not to offer while remaining ad-free and free for those who cannot afford to pay anything.
“build_shift” is a digital platform that lists job offers from the built environment sector that are truly focusing on sustainability and fairness from committed and trustworthy organizations.
Our main approach is to make visible what is currently happening to make the built environment more sustainable and fair by collecting all these actors and possibilities and bringing them together on one platform. By mapping the job opportunities on our platform, we want to make them more accessible, as they are usually not so easy to find in the overwhelming amount of other job offers. In this way, we want to give visibility to the actors behind it and create a connection between like-minded and committed people. By keeping it voluntary, we want to ensure that no actor is excluded for financial reasons.
The jobs are handpicked. This is how we want to make sure that we create a real and trustworthy collection and keep the shady offers outside. We scan different sites, social media profiles, websites, our database and we get jobs handed in via our formula. First, we review the job vacancies using our developed criteria and then categorize them by job role, subject area, type, location and experience level, so that everyone who wishes to join the mission to create a better built environment can find a suitable opportunity. In the beginning of 2023, every week around 20 to 30 jobs are posted.
With "build_shift" we want to focus on opportunities in Europe and its neighboring countries because we believe that a community and exchange across national borders is crucial to address the current challenges on an international but also on local level. At the same time, we want to show job opportunities that address both international and local realities so that everyone can find conditions that are suitable for them. We will be happy if we can create an intensive exchange between those levels.
Since Europe and its neighboring countries are already a very diverse environment with many different contexts and it is a lot of work to keep track of all opportunities here, we do not want to go beyond this environment at the moment, but of course, it is possible in principle to transfer the concept to other regions of the world. (as we already had requests from people who wish to see a similar project in their respective region).
But besides extending it to other world regions, it can also be enlarged regarding the opportunities that are mapped or listed on the website, such as funding opportunities, educational formats, calls for projects or papers, prizes, collaborations, community exchange, knowledge exchange, etc. - all related to creating a better living environment for everyone. A further possibility could also be to set further filters on the job search that for example focus on specific groups or beneficiaries or offer special support for job seekers that require help with visas etc.
In general, we want to raise awareness about sustainability in the built environment and the possibilities to become active in this field, but at the same time, we want to point out the urgency of cooperation in this field. We want to create a place where the community interested in changing the way we shape the places we live can come together and find inspiration, synergies, and fruitful collaborations. And this is of course transferable to many levels and issues.
The posts we advertise address at least one of the global challenges related to the built environment: Climate change, resource scarcity, waste, social inequalities, etc. but usually address more than one challenge at a time.
With “build_shift”, we are creating a network that connects people and initiatives working toward a common goal, so that our platform can serve as a springboard for many things that arise from their collaboration.
On the one hand, the platform expands its users' reach beyond the local context, allowing them to connect with people or initiatives who may be able to offer their experience from a different but similar setting, or vice versa. This means, our list can be understood as a list with actors who may inspire and support one another.
On the other hand, we wish to feature inspiring initiatives, organizations, and individuals on our social media platforms in order to raise awareness of existing ideas and experiments, exhibit their local practices and share expertise. So the local practices get to know on a more international level and can be an inspiration for other actors in other contexts.
The platform offers the opportunity to create connections that have been missing so far, and to exchange knowledge, experience, and skills that are needed to solve the multifaceted problems we are facing today. What makes it different from many other platforms dealing with sustainability in the built environment is that it really shows many ways of engaging in this movement.
Going forward, we want to enlarge and strengthen the community to amplify the voice of a truly sustainable, disruptive, and honest movement that is changing the way we build and live.
