Job Summary: Do you see commercial finance as a critical element of scaling climate progress? Are you looking to leverage your expertise in the financial sector to hasten progress on today’s most important issues, including climate change, protecting biodiversity, and ensuring a just energy transition? As the Senior Sustainable Finance Consultant, you will lead analysis and influence institutional relationships under the Climate Solutions Partnership. You will advise on the role of financial institutions in scaling climate solutions and strategies for achieving their net zero ambitions through sectoral transition pathways. You will provide ad hoc and ongoing support and recommendations to the Strategic Partner as it develops a series of internal climate/energy policies, navigates the partnership/NGO landscape and implements its evolving net-zero strategy. Through thought leadership and timely insights, you will provide strategic input on how large commercial banks can shift their businesses to align with net zero commitments and act as trailblazers in steering trends in the broader financial system. Your analysis will inform policies and activities to accelerate the global transition to a low carbon, clean energy future.
Job Responsibilities:
- Serve as WRI’s primary sustainable finance/ banking expert vis a vis the Signature Partnership – helping coordinate and leverage WRI’s expertise and resources to hasten our Partner’s – and the broader financial sector’s – net-zero journey
- Provide ad hoc and ongoing support and recommendations to the Strategic Partner as it develops a series of sectoral transition policies, navigates the sustainable finance consortia landscape and implements its evolving net-zero strategy
- Strengthen relationships within commercial banks, developing and implementing strategies to better inform related work at WRI. Help identify targets of influence in the broader financial sector and implement associated influence strategies
- Develop and execute a strategy, working with Energy and NBS teams, to drive lessons and insights from the Partnership into the greater financial sector to hasten net-zero ambitions, which may include through trainings, capacity building, materials development, and other events
- Flag relevant new initiatives and emerging trends in financial sector decarbonization, drawing connections and applications to the Partnership’s workstreams.
Job Qualifications:
- 10-15 years of relevant, full-time professional experience, with at least 8-10 years working with/within banks and other private sector financial institutions
- Master’s degree in sustainable finance, banking, or a related field (or a bachelor’s degree with two years of additional relevant work experience)
- Keen understanding of the landscape of sustainable finance/banking consortia (e.g. GFANZ, Net Zero Banking Alliance, etc.)
- Experience with how banks make lending decisions, and a solid grasp of sustainable finance challenges and opportunities and the latest innovative project financing mechanisms
- Demonstrated ability to work well in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams, manage multiple priorities, and work under tight deadlines
- Collaborative problem solver who can take initiative and set priorities
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Ability to present complex information in a clear and concise manner
- Detail-oriented, organized, and independent thinker
- Experience working with international organizations
- Work authorization in your current country location. WRI may not be able to provide visa sponsorship for this role.
How to Apply:
Please submit a resume with cover letter. Applicants must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.
Program Overview:
WRI’s Corporate Relations team works with many of the world’s largest companies, connecting them to WRI’s global constellation of experts in pursuit of scaling progress on a wide range of sustainability issues. This team serves as relationship manager to WRI’s deepest corporate partnerships – seeking to create and grow impact with leading multinational corporations. Within WRI, the Corporate Relations team is truly cross-cutting; working across every one of WRI’s programs, centers and International Offices. Externally, we work closely with a wide range of partners, from C-suite execs to marketing leads to technical experts within corporate sustainability teams. Corporate Relations plays a series of important roles in support of WRI’s mission: part relationship manager, part matchmaker, part intra-prenuer, part facilitator, part strategic advisor, part fundraiser. This dynamic team enjoys the high-paced nature of our work and the incredible breadth of partners, initiatives and topics we touch.
WRI Overview:
World Resources Institute (WRI) is an independent, nonprofit global research organization that turns big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity, and human well-being. We are working to address seven critical challenges that the world must overcome this decade to secure a sustainable future for people and the planet: climate change, energy, food, forests, water, sustainable cities, and the ocean.
We are passionate. We value our diversity of interests, skills, and backgrounds. We have a flexible work environment. And we share a common goal to catalyze change that will improve the lives of people. Our shared ideals are at the core of our approach. They include integrity, innovation, urgency, independence, and respect.
The foundation of our work is delivering high-quality research, data, maps, and analysis to solve the world’s greatest environment and international development challenges and improve people’s lives. We work with leaders in government, business, and civil society to drive ambitious action and create change on the ground. Equally important, we bring together partners to develop breakthrough ideas and scale-up solutions for far-reaching, enduring impact.
We have been growing rapidly: our staff has doubled in size over the past 5 years, and our operating budget is nearing $200 million. Founded in 1982, WRI has a global staff of over 1,600 people with work spanning 60 countries. We have offices in Africa, Brazil, China, Europe, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia and the United States, as well as a growing presence in other countries and regions.
WRI is committed to advancing gender and social equity for human well-being in our mission and applies this principle to our organizational and programmatic practices.