Aimed at people with a passion for sustainable food and drink development, Bord Bia’s Origin Green Ambassador Programme is your recipe for success. The 22-month programme, which is currently open for applications, provides participants with a fully funded master’s degree; an MSc in Business Sustainability from the prestigious UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.
The programme provides you with the opportunity to undertake international placements with world-leading international food and drink businesses and a bursary worth €32,100 per 12-month period, covered placement airfares and more.
Being accepted on to the programme in 2019 helped Mairéad Comerford transition from the world of finance into the international food sector. Based in Dublin, today she is a senior manager for responsible sourcing at Kellogg’s.
It’s a dream role for Comerford, who studied business and Italian in UCC and already had a master’s in international business from Queen’s University Belfast, from which she graduated in 2014.
She grew up on a farm in Kilkenny. And while she enjoyed her time in finance, specifically fund accounting, after five years she felt an increasing desire to move into food sustainability but didn’t know how.
“The financial services company I worked for was amazing and I learned so many skills which still benefit me today but by the time I was in my mid-20s I was starting to think this isn’t for me forever,” explains Comerford.
“I realised I wanted to contribute more meaningfully to society and was looking at the food industry and sustainability but wondering, how do I go from working in finance to doing that? It was at that point that I came across Bord Bia’s Origin Green Ambassador Programme, which proved to be a huge turning point in my life.”
The fact that the programme provided high-level academic teaching with international industry experience, would result in a master’s degree, and help her build a strong network within an entirely new sector – as well as being fully funded – meant it ticked every box she could think of.
“I actually thought it was too good to be true,” she says.
It wasn’t and right from the start she thrived, undertaking her initial placement with food giant Nestlé at its global headquarters in the beautiful Swiss town of Vevey.
While there she had the opportunity to work on farm level carbon emissions and regenerative agriculture.
“It was such an amazing experience that I ended up doing two placements with Nestle, because I wanted to stay and learn more. I was working with really incredible people who are leaders in industry,” she explains.
On graduation Comerford was offered a job with Nestle in Panama. She spent a year there working on sustainability within procurement before leaving to take up her current role with Kellogg’s, based in Dublin.
“Dublin is our European headquarters and my role today focuses on driving sustainable sourcing across our key agriculture ingredients,” she explains.
She highly recommends the Bord Bia Origin Green Ambassador Programme to anyone interested in food and drink sustainability.
“It has had a huge impact on my career, giving me the skills and experience I needed to undertake a complete career pivot into sustainability. I honestly can’t credit it enough,” she says.
“The placements give you exposure to sustainability strategy at a high level, with practical, international industry experience you can speak to. On the academic side you benefit from really cool lectures from experts brought in from leading universities across the world.”
She believes it not only helped her to switch sectors but, having done that, accelerated her career progress.
“It’s really well respected at a global level. Certainly my hiring manager at the time really rated the programme. I know it brought a lot of credibility to my CV,” she adds.
What’s on offer, for whom?
The Bord Bia Origin Green Ambassador Programme is designed for graduates coming from a broad range of areas, with four- or five-years’ experience in the workplace, now looking to develop a career in food sustainability, an increasingly important sector offering enormous opportunities.
In particular, it is aimed at high achievers with the potential to be industry leaders.
Conor Heavey, client director at UCD Smurfit Executive Development, said: “The Origin Green Ambassador Programme, which began in 2013, offers participants a unique opportunity to accelerate their careers in the food industry. What sets this programme apart is the combination of education from some of the best educators in the world, overseas assignments with leading food organisations, and a leadership-driven professional development coaching programme.
“Participants gain the skills, insight and confidence to become highly attractive candidates for employers across the food sector,” says Heavey.
The next programme starts in January 2026. All tuition fees are paid and, in addition, participants receive a bursary of €32,100 per 12 months, as well as a laptop and flights to and from your placement location.
On top of that you’ll receive tuition from some of the world’s best food industry educators from such business schools as Harvard, IMD, NYU Stern and UCD Smurfit School.
You’ll also have the opportunity to partner with global brands such as McDonald’s, Nestlé, Tesco, Burger King, Aldi Sud, Danone, Lidl, Ocado, Whole Foods, Pizza Hut, Costco, Starbucks, Unilever and Mars.
Almost all Origin Green Ambassadors go on to secure excellent food industry roles upon graduation, as well as membership of the Bord Bia Talent Academy Alumni, a powerful industry network.
‘I’ve learned a whole new skill set, I’ve learned about a whole new industry, and about a sustainability challenge that is not going to go away any time soon’
Dubliner Andrew Wafer is currently on the programme. A Trinity College Dublin graduate, he studied economics and political science, graduating in 2017, before moving into a career in public relations and communications, working most recently with IT company Salesforce.
Having come from a family that ran its own restaurant, the food industry was something he long had an interest in. Now aged 30, he also wanted to gain a master’s degree. “It gives you a leg up in the jobs market,” he explains.
The fact that the Bord Bia Origin Green Ambassador Programme comprised a fully funded scholarship and bursary made it easier to do.
He began the programme in September 2023 and was placed with international fast food giant McDonald’s, initially in London, where he spent nine months contributing to a sustainable sourcing project.
He then moved to McDonald’s global HQ in Chicago, where he currently consults on global impact sustainability.
For him a huge part of the appeal of his placement with McDonald’s is that, as a large organisation, his contributions can have a significant impact.
“It’s an amazing company to work for and a genuinely impressive operation, with an operating model that is so efficient and so consistent, that they can deliver at scale like nobody else,” he says.
He delivers on a global strategy that includes everything from regenerative agriculture to reducing packaging and improving sustainable sourcing.
All this experience will stand to him when he graduates this summer and enters the job market, looking to combine his communications experience with his sustainability skills. As part of the programme, candidates receive enormous support developing their CVs, he points out.
“It has been a really great career move for me personally. I’ve learned a whole new skill set, I’ve learned about a whole new industry, and about a sustainability challenge that is not going to go away any time soon,” says Wafer.
“It’s been brilliant and I’m so fortunate in terms of the investment they put into us. Both financially and just in terms of support generally, it has been second to none.”
Make your application today at bordbia.ie
