Tobacco Free Future
Fellowship
Cigarettes still kill 8 million people every year. The industry that sells them turns over $900 billion annually, spends billions on marketing, and has decades of experience dodging laws and regulations. Most people think this is a battle we already won. It isn't.
The Tobacco Free Future Fellowship places you inside the European organizations taking on the tobacco industry through policy advocacy, legal challenges, and communications campaigns. Seven months, a full salary, and a cohort of ambitious professionals from across Europe. You start contributing from day one.
The Program
Seven months. A full salary. A direct path into Europe's tobacco control movement.
Selection
Our application process focuses on skills over credentials, with multiple rounds to identify the right talent.
Training
One month of intensive preparation including a training week in the Netherlands: tobacco control policy, industry tactics, regulatory frameworks, advocacy strategy, and — for the journalism track — investigative methods and accountability reporting.
Placement
Six months inside a leading tobacco control organization. Not an internship — live policy, active campaigns, real challenges from day one. You're matched based on your skills and the organization's needs.
Guidance
Regular sessions with your cohort throughout the placement. Share what you're learning, work through challenges together, and build a network that lasts beyond the program.
Outflow
80% of our first cohort stayed in the field they entered. We ensure you keep access to an unmatched network, and provide ongoing career support to help you land your next role.
I have to say, the whole experience left me wanting more.
We Offer
.jpg)
We're looking for
Eligibility
- Minimum of five years' experience in [relevant fields]. Non-linear careers welcome. We select on skills, not credentials.
- Eligibility to work in the EU (UK applicants welcome). We're particularly looking for professionals based in or connected to Germany, Poland, Romania, France, Lithuania, Greece, and Italy.
Profile
- Law, strategic communications, marketing, policy, health or fiscal economics, or strategy consulting. Legal expertise is especially in demand. See [detailed profile descriptions] for the full breakdown.
- You don't need a background in tobacco or public health. This is a career transition program — we're looking for transferable skills, not subject-matter expertise.
- Self-starting and entrepreneurial. Fellows in this program work as a project team — you won't just be placed at an organization, you'll be building the movement together with your cohort.
Good To Know
...
What Happens After You Apply
Submit Application
Submit your application by April 27. This takes approximately 1.5 hours.
Skills Assessment
A 3-hour practical test.
Interview Round 1
45-minute case scenarios & fit
interview round 2
Selection Results
Late May / Early June.
Why tax fairness?
This fellowship puts you on the frontlines: fighting industry disinformation, strengthening regulation, changing the public narrative, and building the European network for a tobacco-free future.
this is bridging the gap into action
Frequently Asked Questions
The selection process is skill-based, focusing on the relevant skills crucial for success in the role rather than just academic credentials. After the initial application, the process includes a three-hour skill test, a 45 minute online interview focusing on case scenarios and personal fit, and a final one-hour interview with a potential host organisation.
Moral Ambition Fellowships are an opportunity to radically transform your career and be prepared to contribute at the highest level to urgent global issues. The fellowship is a seven-month program, including a one-month intensive training that sharpens you into an effective advocate for positive change, followed by a six-month placement at a leading NGO or think tank working in the field of a Tobacco Free Future or Food Transition.
You can apply for the second edition of the EU fellowship during the application round from April 2 to May 12, 2025. The first round of application will take approximately 1.5 hours.
By the end of the program, fellows are expected to have developed comprehensive skills in advocacy, made substantial contributions to their field, and prepared a foundation for a career focused on making a difference in global issues related to their fellowship topic area.
During our selection process we focus on skills instead of traditional credentials.The School for Moral Ambition embraces diversity and inclusion, welcoming applicants of all races, religions, gender identities, sexual orientations, ages, national origins, abilities, and other diverse backgrounds.
.jpg)
They Went Before You
Meet our EU fellows: a group of professionals from different backgrounds who are currently fighting Big Tobacco and helping transform the food system in the EU.
.jpg)
From the Field shares personal insights and stories from people working on some of the world's most pressing challenges. It is run by our our Moral Ambition Fellows: professionals who left successful careers to work on challenges that are sizable, solvable, and sorely overlooked.
other Fellowships
.jpg)
.jpg)
