Projects & References
A few voices from former clients, employers and colleagues about my work.
And an overview of my main tasks and responsibilities in each project.
(For full references and letters of recommendation, please send me an email to request: pia@impacthills.com)
The DO School Fellowships
Learning Design
Sustainability Trainings
Development & implementation of a global, 1-year-long incubator program for 100+ young eco-entrepreneurs.
Main tasks and contributions:
- Designing and facilitating online and in-person programming to upskill 100 young leaders on sustainability knowledge and skills
- Development of environmental sustainability curriculum that was relevant for highly diverse participants and cultural contexts
- Enabled 100 participants to create plans for sustainability projects with measurable environmental impact (problem statements, value propositions, etc)
- Guided a multidisciplinary team to develop project milestones for early-stage founders that integrated sustainable business principles, leadership development, and entrepreneurial skill-building
- Co-created organizational values including sustainability and integrity
As a sustainability specialist and program designer, Pia showed topical expertise, strategic planning, stakeholder management, and a spirit of collaboration and integrity that upleveled the entire team.
~ Eva Van der Gießen, Director of Impact
The DO GmbH
Consulting
Trainings & Workshops
Innovation Tool & Mindset
Learning Design
Leadership Development
At the DO I worked in the field of intrapreneurship. Through employee engagement programs, we equipped employees and leaders from different industries with the necessary skills to drive positive change in their organisation towards a more sustainable and equitable economy by unlocking their innovation potential and leadership culture.
I accompanied clients from different industries like fashion, logistics, mobility and consumer products on their transformation journeys.
The topics focused on leadership, climate initiatives, sustainable innovation, and culture change.
My tasks involved:
– user research
– concept design of engagement formats
– co-creation processes with stakeholders and partners
– facilitation of workshops & learning journeys
– personal coaching
– …
(Testimonial & Feedback requested)
Forever Day One
Project Management
Business Case Assessment
Operational Set-Up
Stakeholder Engagement
Client Management
The main project that I was working on was about co-creating with the client from the consumer goods sector a Holistic Engagement Program for Sustainability to empower employees to integrate sustainability practices into their daily doing.
The goal was: Engaging up to 53.000 people at the client’s company to create sustainable value.
Another project was about accelerating the agile transformation of an insurance company by staffing their teams with our experienced agile coaches.
Overall my tasks included:
– controlling the resources & capacity
– on- and off-boarding new team members
– managing budgets
– tracking and controlling the project timeline
– finding solutions to risks
– identifying opportunities
– supporting the team by setting up the relevant project structures, tools and touchpoints
– documenting progress & results
– contributing to a trustful relationship with all stakeholders
– supporting the sales processes
Additional internal projects that I am especially proud of:
– establishing project standards through the project managers circle to professionalize the start-up structures
– in the role of sustainability value owner bringing forward organisational development by exploring the opportunities of an advising culture board
– bringing purpose and impact on the frontline of projects
“She consistently used her extremely comprehensive expertise successfully and profitably for the company. An exceptionally high degree of initiative and commitment always distinguished Ms. Hillebrecht. She was extremely reliable, and her work style was always characterized by very careful planning and systematic approach.
Her work results were always very high quality, even under changing requirements and very difficult conditions. She was always able to cope with even the most demanding time pressures and workloads.”
~ Florentin Schmoeckel, CFO
180 Degrees Consulting
Consulting
Social impact
Human-centred design
Agile project management
180 Degrees Consulting is the world’s largest university-based pro bono consultancy and is globally recognized for its merits as a premier social impact consultancy.
I am involved as Consulting Director.
My tasks include:
- Account management of clients
- Mentor engagement
- Consultant supervision, coaching & quality assurance
- Program management and workshop design & facilitation
“The team benefits greatly from the commitment to high quality that Pia Hillebrecht brings to every task. She is always very inclusive, open, friendly and communicative while pushing the team to deliver the best possible results.
Communicating with clients, mentors and consultants, she shows utmost professionalism whilst creating a good atmosphere for collaboration.”
~ Charlotte Steinbock, Managing Director
Business of Purpose & TrendWatching
Research
Trend Analysis
Community Building
Business development
Innovation Methodologies
I provided the Research & Insights team with relevant information, content and resources for the purpose-driven professionals of the BoP community to equip them with valuable tools and inspiration to grow purpose-driven businesses and facilitate positive impact in the world.
Together with the core team, I developed a new organizational structure and fine-tuned the brand identity and services to ensure a strategic and sustainable business development.
Furthemore, I was part of the creation of a new purpose-driven innovation methodology for the Academy of Opportunity where participants can learn how to spot meaningful business opportunities. My role was to set the tone and focus on purpose and frame the methodology within boundaries of sustainable development.
“I wholeheartedly recommend Pia Hillebrecht.
I’ve had the opportunity to work with her for three months at TrendWatching and our sister company Business of Purpose, and have been consistently impressed with her ambition, strategic mindset, work ethic, and her unique ability to bring structure, strategy and clear and informed decision making into every project she was involved in.”
~ Thomas Klaffke, Head of Insights
“Pia is a passionate, proactive, honest, and trustworthy young professional. She’s creative and innovative, and at the same time very efficient. This provides her with a great mindset for transformation, putting structure into insights, and promoting methodologies that enhance goal-oriented ideation.”
~ Judit Sáez, Head of Community
Gorenje (ReCiPSS)
Research
Consulting
Circular Economy
Project management
Business development
I was part of the European pilot project “Resource-Efficient Circular Product-Service-Systems” (ReCIPSS) to support Gorenje, one of the leading European household appliance producers, to implement an innovative circular pay-per-wash business model for washing machines in 4 European countries.
I was assisting in the development and implementation of the new business model for Gorenje, contributing in areas such as:
- Project management
- Consumer analysis
- Value proposition development
- Pricing strategy
- Circular supply chain concept
- Marketing strategy (Mock-Up web applications)
- Business use case development
- Stakeholder engagement
“During her work with Gorenje Pia got acquainted with the complex design process in a large company and difficulties connected with the introduction of novel business models where a lot of resistance toward change and moving people from their zones is needed. Pia’s contribution in this process was very important and lead to strategic changes in Gorenje company. Her maturity, communication skills, ability to see big picture and be also able to translate this to smaller manageable steps impressed everyone who met her during her work with Gorenje.”
~ Dr. Aleš Mihelič, Head of Predevelopment
“Pia’s leadership was truly exceptional. She managed to create an atmosphere of creativity and mutual respect, she brought together different ideas, found common ground and created actual progress. Anyone who has been in European project meetings knows that this is a remarkable feat, and the ease and grace with which Pia managed to do this is quite rare.”
~ Prof. dr. ir. Conny Bakker, TU Delft
Krinova Incubator & Innovation Park
Consulting
Innovation
Sustainability Strategy
Organisational development
“Pia is a valuable addition to any team.
Her clear sense of purpose and direction provides clarity while also leaving place to explore new options.
She has incredible workshop desing and facilitation skills, and they come naturally not only when leading a working team but also when addressing clients and other interested parties, always having the bigger picture in mind. It was a wonderful and very enjoyable experience working with her.”
~ Daniela Stange, Project Lead
Klimapatenschaft GmbH
Consulting
Strategic Development
Sustainability Management
Klimapatenschaft GmbH is a sustainability consultancy in North Germany and advices a wide range of clients in all areas of corporate-governance to establish a sustainable management.
I assisted in the following projects and areas:
- Development of a sustainability assessment concept for tourist destinations to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses in contributing to a sustainable development of the region
- Conceptual design of service proposals for clients, offering guidance in developing sustainability strategies, including CO2-, water-, waste- and employer brand management
- Support in the development of a CO2-calculator and event-management (afforestation)
“Pia Hillebrecht possesses a very extensive and well-founded expertise in sustainable development and principles of management for sustainability which she knew to put into practice at any time. She tackled difficult tasks with great vigor and had the exceptional ability of always finding creative, practicable and suitable solutions. She always acted deliberately and goal-oriented. Foremost, we appreciated her critical and
reflective mind.”
~ Jan Sadowsky, CEO
NaLe
Sustainability Education
Project Management
Development of a 4-year project week concept for students (13-17 years) in cooperation with the eco-village “Sieben Linden”: How to live sustainably?
“Hillebrecht has consistently performed remarkably well.
Within this project aiming to explore sustainable lifestyles conjointly with the adolescents, Hillebrecht showed a collaborative, open-minded and self-reflecting attitude cooperating with her fellow student team, the school teachers and ecovillagers.
She is a receptive, sociable person who has a great capacity to inspire others. During the planning, execution and evaluation of the project I could recognise her exceptional leading qualities in motivating her student team, in her time and task management and her determination in bringing this ambitious project to a real-lab success story.
Likewise she proofed her capability to select and apply appropriately methods and experiences gained during the seminar in moderating participative and collaborative processes, for instance in various activities in the school class.
I have found her ideas to be very innovative and creative in solving unexpected problems.
She is fully devoted to her work, and on the same time able to share her enjoyment in the process of accomplishing her high goals.”
~ Stella Veciana, Program Lead, Researcher
FORIG
Risk Assessment
Nature Conservation
Research & Data Analysis
I supported the local researchers in their studies on Mahogany trees, including aspects of cultivation (like insect attacks), wild logging and illegal commerce of rainforest woods. I was responsible for data collection on the fields and data analysis.
“She is courteaous, friendly, hardworking, efficient and has an aptitude for learning.
Her time with our division at CSIR-FORIG has been very impressive as she acquired a lot of knowledge, skills and improved her interactive abilities while impacting positively on our research program.”
~ Dr. Opuni Frimpong, Scientist