Director, Climate Consulting

Governance & Accountability (G&A) Institute is a fast-growing corporate sustainability consulting firm. The company is seeking a Director, Climate Consulting, to join the team full time.

In this fully remote position, the candidate will help to build G&A’s climate change consulting division and to coordinate and execute our corporate clients’ needs related to navigating the risks and opportunities of a changing climate.

This candidate will have an incentive that will be aligned with the growth of the division.

While the candidate will serve as a director leading and building the division, it’s important to note that they will also be working on the ground directly with clients on complex detailed data and analysis, and helping to build out tools and systems (sometimes from scratch) for other G&A members to utilize when serving clients. 

The candidate will be working closely with clients directly, as well as training our client servicing teams to provide expertise and support related to things such as:

• conducting GHG Protocol based corporate inventories for Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3,
• structuring and executing Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs),
• assisting in setting Science Based Targets (SBT), renewable energy targets, Net Zero targets and other climate related goals,
• organizing and executing plans to meet these goals through efficiency / mitigation strategies, RECs, Offsets, V/PPAs, etc,
• assisting with TCFD / climate-related reporting,
• conducting climate scenario analysis,
• supporting the completion of CDP responses and other investor and customer climate data responses,
• coordinating programs to engage with stakeholders in the scope 3 value chain such as supply chain and customers, with the goal of enhancing the quality of calculations moving from estimations to more actual data to better track progress,
• other climate related needs of our corporate clients.

The candidate will work to help develop new business opportunities as well and hold the primary responsibility to ensure that our client’s needs in this area are met.  Client relationship management skills will be necessary as this will be a client and public facing role conveying, building upon, and enhancing G&A’s leadership profile in this area.

G&A anticipates that this business division will be growing significantly in the near future, and the person who leads the division will have an incentive as part of their compensation, that will align with the growth of the division.

SKILL REQUIREMENTS (MUST HAVES)

• GHG Accounting – At least 5-10 years of performing inventories of Scopes 1, 2, and 3 for both small regional organizations and multi-national large entities with complex / global supply chains from a wide array of sectors.   This includes experience from the start of an inventory to the end -- developing an inventory management plan (IMP), setting boundaries, collecting primary data, creating and executing quality control (QC) processes, developing estimation approaches, sourcing emissions factors, calculating emissions, and structuring and presenting inventory data and results. 
• GHG Protocol – Candidate must be an expert in all aspects of the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and Value Chain Standards and have at least 5 (preferably 10) years of experience utilizing these protocols for corporate inventories.
• GHG Auditing Experience – Must be familiar working with auditors on GHG inventories and proper inventory management procedures and controls, either as an external auditor or working with auditors to verify inventories that they have structured and executed.
• Developing Custom Tools & Software – Candidate must be able to create tools from scratch customized for client needs to utilize for all stages of a GHG inventory process, including data collection worksheets / tools, emissions calculations tools, and data analytics tools.  Experience with climate accounting and strategy related software is a plus. The candidate will be working with the G&A team to further develop relationships with leading ESG software providers and develop and use new tools and software to meet clients’ needs.
• Climate Related Disclosure Frameworks – Necessary to have strong familiarity and experience with climate related disclosure frameworks such as the Task Force for Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the CDP Climate Survey.
• Scenario Analysis – Must have strong familiarity with the aspects of climate related scenario analysis including assessing different potential climate change scenarios, and potential physical and transitional risks.
• Target Setting – At least 3-5 years of helping organizations identify and set climate targets including Science-Based Targets (SBTi), Renewable Energy targets (RE100), Net Zero, and other targets.
• Life Cycle Analysis – Must have experience with developing processes, gathering and leading product and service life cycle analysis and / or carbon foot printing.
• Strong Communications & Credibility –Needs to be able to confidently discuss this topic with our clients, command a professional presence and establish expertise / credibility quickly and consistently. This person will build upon existing client relationships, find new opportunities, and develop new relationships with other important stakeholders.
• Training & Team Building – Needs to demonstrate experience and effectiveness in building, directing, and working in teams. Must be willing and able to train other analysts on client facing teams to enhance their knowledge and capabilities in the climate related G&A service areas.
• Client Presentations – Ability to collaborate with analyst and design teams to develop concise and powerful deliverables and presentations that communicate results and recommendations.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Extremely methodical and detail oriented
• Very strong quantitative (and qualitative) analytical skills and excellent conceptual thinking aptitude
• Strong consulting skills
• Self-motivated – passion for the work you will be doing
• Self-directed – able to take initiative and effectively work remotely
• Experienced communications and presentation skills (business writing, speaking, and slide deck presentations)
• Capable of building new systems, tools, and methodologies to make processes more efficient, standardize and ensure quality outputs
• Multitasking / ability to simultaneously manage multiple project workflows, priorities, relationships with clients, and meet deadlines
• Collaborative team player -- work closely with G&A team members, clients, and partner organizations
• Has high integrity, a high bar for quality and rigor, hands-on, proactive attitude
• Master’s or bachelor’s degree (preferably in business, climate, environment, or sustainability-related field) with at least 5-10 years of work experience related to the subjects discussed in this job description, with a preference for consulting experience or managing complex internal programs across large organizations

OPTIONAL - BENEFICIAL BACKGROUND / QUALIFICATIONS

• Sustainability reporting and disclosure frameworks especially GRI, SASB, and TCFD, but also others such as IIRC and SDGs
• ESG raters and rankers – especially the work of MSCI, Sustainalytics, Refinitiv, ISS, Bloomberg, etc.
• ESG surveys that companies respond to such as CDP, CSA, EcoVadis, GRESB, and others
• Ability to perform water and waste footprints
• General knowledge of ESG topics, metrics, and data points
• General knowledge of corporate reporting and disclosure
• General knowledge of capital markets, business, and strategy
• Ability to conduct water footprints, waste and life cycle analysis of products and services
• Passionate about corporate and investor sustainability
• Good network in sustainability circles
• Public speaking experience such as speaking on panels, leading presentations, and trainings
• Published research or writing on sustainability topics
• Proposal and/or RFP response writing experience
• Other sustainability-related experience (explain in your cover letter)
• Ability to stay abreast of fast changing trends that affect companies

LOGISTICS

• Location: Fully remote (HQ: New York, NY, USA)
• Travel: Keeping our carbon footprint to a minimum is of utmost importance to us and our clients and partners – as such we always try to minimize travel as much as possible.  
• Schedule: Full time, 9am-5pm EST
• Salary Range: Depending on experience $130,000-160,000+ incentive driven by growth / revenue from the division.

WHAT WE OFFER

At G&A Institute, we care about all our employees and their wellbeing. G&A Institute is not just an employer, we are a family. By joining our team, you will be treated with fairness, respect, and empathy. You will have the chance to make a real difference for our clients and for our planet, working alongside a high-performing and passionate team of like-minded colleagues, while building your knowledge and skills, as well as developing your career in a fun, dynamic, and fast-growing organization. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, among other things, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, status as a protected veteran, or disability.

We offer countless training and development opportunities, and a competitive salary and benefits package.

APPLICATION PROCESS

If you meet the above requirements please click "Apply" below to send:

• A cover letter outlining the specifics of your work experience and expertise that you believe makes you a good fit for this role
• Resume
• Samples of writing or research on sustainability or other topics are a plus
• References and/or letter(s) of recommendation (2)

Applicants should send their cover letter, resume, and background materials to ghgcareers@ga-institute.com.

Applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. without company sponsorship, now or in the future, for employment-based work authorization. the company does not sponsor employment visas. F-1 visa holders with Optional Practical Training (OPT) who will require H-1B status, or current H-1B visa holders will not be considered.

Candidates who do not meet these requirements are encouraged to apply regardless, as alternative contractual arrangements may be possible.

No relocation assistance will be provided for this position.

We treat all applications and related information as confidential and private communications. We regret that it is not possible to acknowledge receipt of every resume due to the high volume of responses that usually result from on-line postings. Eligible candidates will be contacted for interviews.

ABOUT GOVERNANCE & ACCOUNTABILITY INSTITUTE

Founded in 2006, Governance & Accountability (G&A) Institute is a sustainability consulting and research firm headquartered in New York City, advising corporations and investors on devising, and executing winning strategies that help to maximize return on investment at every step of their sustainability journey.

G&A helps corporate and investor clients recognize, understand and address sustainability issues to address stakeholder and shareholder concerns. Our clients are companies striving for excellence and leadership in corporate sustainability, corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, sustainable investing, ranging from large, well-known companies with popular brands to mid-size and smaller firms.

We are a team-based organization that has earned wide respect for the quality of our work over many years. We will add team members to help meet the needs of corporate clients as our business expands.

G&A Institute is growing and seeking new team members to join us on our own sustainability journey.