Applicants must be enrolled as a UNC Chapel Hill student in the Fall 2026 academic semester.

Positions are available starting from the Fall 2026 academic semester. Students are expected to commit to at least 10 hours each week and up to a maximum of 20 hours a week. In-person work for a minimum of 2 hours a week at our Carolina Square offices are required. Pay for student undergraduate RAs starts at $18/hr (higher for graduate students). 

Position description

The Data-Driven EnviroLab (DDL) is looking to hire a 1-year temporary data/research specialist to support a range of our research projects. The role will include data collection, analysis and designing/maintaining some of the lab’s key data platforms and projects. The role is ideal for someone looking to gain some experience and publications for a strong graduate application or a career pivot into a data or climate/environmental policy role.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a discipline related to the area of assignment; or equivalent combination of training and experience. All degrees must be received from appropriately accredited institutions.
• Coursework or experience in Computer Science, Data Science, Information Science, Statistics, or a related field.
• Proficiency in Python, including experience working in Jupyter or Python notebooks.
• Experience collecting, cleaning, manipulating, and analysing data using Python.
• Strong attention to detail and willingness to manually review and validate model-generated results.
• Ability to work with structured data formats such as CSV, JSON, or Excel.
• Ability to write clear, well-documented, and reproducible code.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently, troubleshoot technical problems, and communicate progress and challenges.
• Create dashboards, visualizations, and other data products that translate complex datasets and findings into accessible information for researchers, policymakers, and the public.
• Contribute to research reports, academic publications, presentations, and other outputs produced by the interdisciplinary team.

Preferred Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Data Science, Economics, Environmental Science, Geography, Public Policy, or another quantitative or computational field.
• Strong programming skills in R and/or Python and experience working with large or complex datasets, including data cleaning, merging, quality assurance, documentation, and reproducible workflows.
• Experience with quantitative or statistical analysis (e.g., regression, panel-data analysis, machine learning) and/or geospatial analysis (e.g., geographic coordinates, vector or raster data, spatial joins).
• Experience with research data tools and workflows such as Git/GitHub, APIs, web scraping, databases, or automated data collection.

To apply, please fill out an application here before October 21, 2026. 

Position description

Environmental academics and practitioners struggle daily to communicate important ideas to a public with increasing demands on their attention. Too frequently, the important findings of the academic world go unnoticed because the text-heavy format in which academics communicate is incompatible with the increasingly visual world from which policymakers and the general public draw their ideas. We’re seeking a student who can help maintain our website in a timely manner to help maximize the impact and reach of our work. 

Our main website uses WordPress but we have other websites built using other content management systems, so the ability to learn and feel comfortable editing and posting content is a must. 

Required Qualifications: 

• Ability to use WordPress and other content management systems to manage website content. 
• Be responsive and able to update website content quickly and efficiently
• Proactivity and strong communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Communications or journalism major, or environmental studies.

To apply, send a resume, cover letter, and relevant work samples to ddl@unc.edu with the subject “DDL Website Manager application” before October 16, 2026. Please indicate in the body of the email your availability to start, expected graduation date, and the number of hours you could commit to.

The Net Zero Tracker aims to increase transparency and accountability of net zero targets pledged by nations, states and regions, cities and companies. We collect data on targets set and on many factors that indicate the integrity of those targets — essentially, how serious the entity setting the target is about meaningfully cutting its net emissions to zero.

The Net Zero Tracker was born of necessity. Net zero targets have proliferated massively over the last few years, especially in the wake of the 2018 IPCC Special Report on 1.5°C. But the accountability and transparency architecture has simply not been able to keep up, leading to the absence of a way to differentiate between targets that come with plans, accountability mechanisms and a serious commitment, and those consisting of mere rhetoric. We see ourselves, then, as an important foundational element — one among many — helping to build and ultimately strengthen that architecture, enabling interested parties from all walks of life to understand, evaluate and assess the state of play globally, regionally or sectorally.

The Tracker’s data is updated on a rolling basis by our volunteers, some of whom are in Oxford and some of whom are around the globe. Updating the data involves checking that the information we have in our database reflects the current targets of the relevant entities. This might involve a bit of research to see if there have been any updates in the time between the last time the entity was updated and now, as well as checking that the existing data is correct. In some instances, this usually involves some net zero sleuthing/googling/ecosia-ing.

Our wonderful volunteers update one entity when they have a moment. Usually, this is once a week but some volunteers help out a bit more infrequently. If you join us, every Tuesday you’ll be assigned an entity that needs to be updated. Each new draft will need to be approved by a fellow volunteer – so this is really a global team effort.

How do I get started?

If you’re interested in being a volunteer, let us know if you would like to focus on any languages (e.g., perhaps you’re a French speaker) or any types of entities (e.g., African cities, Brazilian states, island countries or fashion companies? You tell us). Email us at updates@zerotracker.net to get involved, or explore our website.