Kate McCauley

    Sustainability Officer
    KSG
    Dublin
    Hospitality, sport, leisure and tourism
    Geography
    BA Geography (Major) Music (Minor)
    MSc Climate Change
    2020

    I was a part of the major minor class of 2019. My highlight was our overseas field trip to Nice and Samremo. I also enjoyed my masters in Climate Change in 2020. During my masters, I was a tutor for first years. This was an enjoyable experience and has been great for my CV.

    I was awarded a Taught Masters Scholarship for my MSc Climate Change.

    Maynooth is small compared to some other colleges. I felt that this meant you could get to know your classmates and lecturers really well. In turn, this helped develop ideas and team work skills.

    Teamwork, Communication, Presentation, Writing, Research, Computer, Problem Solving, Time managment

    1. Make sure to plan and be aware of your deadlines. In doing lots of modules, deadlines can overlap. It is important to be aware week-by-week of what is coming up.
    2. Make sure you pick a thesis topic that you are interested in and one that will be useful in the career you want. If your thesis relates to a job you apply for, it will be a great interview talking point.
    3. Always ask lecturers/tutors for help if you're not sure about an assignment/exam topic. They will always help.

    I finished my masters in Aug 2020 and went straight into a job as a GIS Technician at Icon Geo in Dublin. This job involved working on projects for the Department of Agriculture where I analysed satelite imagery of farms to see if they were eligible for grants. I enjoyed this job and learned lots of skills.  I feel that having office experience made me more employable when applying for new jobs. I finished up in this job at the beginning of March 2022 so I had over a year and a half there. I recently started looking for jobs which I thought suited my degree more. I am intereted in a career in sustainability/environmental services. I started applying for jobs and ended up getting three interviews and two job offers. The job I chose was the one I am currently employed in, as a Sustainability Office in KSG.

    I suppose my career highlight would be having such success with my recent job search. As I said, I had three companies interested in me and with that I got two job offers. This obviously shows the value of my Maynooth degrees along with past employment.

    The key responsibilites include:

    • To oversee the overall execution, mission and efficacy of the sustainability programme
    • To collaborate with appropriate departmental managers to facilitate performance evaluations on sustainability targets, that are timely and constructive
    • Lead and co-ordinate company sustainability projects in partnership with operational personnel – i.e Origin Green Targets, Business in the Community, IBEC, All Ireland Pollinator Plan
    • Establish baseline figures, lead in target setting and monitor the effectiveness of the company’s sustainability programmes
    • Provide support and coaching to Managers to influence and implement decisions on key company projects
    • Draft and implement sustainable organisational policies that address KSG business activities, company targets and environmental concerns
    • Evaluate efficacy of sustainability programs; recommend and implement improvements as necessary
    • Communicating and reporting of sustainability activities at KSG, internally and externally
    • Conducting ongoing research to identify environmental and sustainability concerns, interests, and issues

    I found it on the job searching website Indeed. I also have used Linkedin to find jobs. When searching for jobs I use key words such as 'climate change', 'environmental', 'sustainability'.

    1. Make sure your thesis relates to a job you want. This can be a great inteview talking point.
    2. Try and get any experience you can in the field you want. I regret not getting work experince in an environmental based internship etc before I entered the job market. I feel this gives an advantage when you are looking for jobs.
    3. Use LinkedIn! Make sure it is always up to date with anything you are doing inside or outside of college. I got my GIS job from an employer messaging me on LinkedIn because my page was always active and up to date. 
    4. Keep your CV to two pages, use an online CV maker to make it look more professional
    5. Don't let job rejections get you down, what's for you wont pass you :)