AddressJoin a global professional services leader. We are committed to solving the world's biggest challenges in the areas of water, energy and urbanisation.
Executive Advisor – UK Decarbonisation Lead
At GHD, we share a single vision – to address humanity’s most urgent needs and ensure water, energy and urbanisation are made sustainable for generations to come. We are an employee-owned company with 11,000+ diverse and skilled individuals connected by over 200 offices, across five continents – Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America, and the Pacific region. Sustainability is at the heart of our business, our strategy, what we value, and what we do every day with our clients and within our business. We are proud to work with clients to embed sustainable business models that drive long-term value.
We are investing heavily in growing our Sustainability, Resilience & ESG practice to help our clients navigate a constantly evolving landscape of risks and opportunities. This role is a key element of our growth strategy. We want to be at the forefront of current trends and are looking for candidates who are dedicated and capable of helping us to develop and grow our practice.
You will be based in the UK, reporting to the EMEA Leader for Sustainability, Resilience and ESG. As a member of our Sustainability, Resilience & ESG practice, you will be pursuing and working on market leading projects, building networks, and consulting on key strategic issues. You will also participate in the research and development required to support the growth of our fields of expertise.
General role description
The primary role of the Decarbonisation Lead is to identify and secure a pipeline of work and oversee decarbonisation related services. These include engagements in carbon accounting and modelling, net zero & decarbonisation strategies, SBTi alignment, and transition planning.
Furthermore, the Decarbonisation Lead:
- Acts as a trusted advisor and actively contributes to thought leadership as an industry leader.
- Is client-centric, responding to their needs and horizon-scans for future developments and trends.
- Adopts new perspectives to identify solutions without the benefit of defined procedures.
- Contributes to business planning and the technical delivery of projects specific to decarbonisation.
- Is highly technically capable and is regularly drawn on for technical knowledge by others.
Responsibilities include:
- Contribute to growing the opportunity pipeline and backlog by leading effective business development activities, leveraging internal and external relationships.
- Leading or providing technical direction and input on major tenders/bids or proactive client proposals relevant to the net zero transition and decarbonisation.
- Oversee projects in the role of Project Director.
- Assess market trends and identify future market opportunities, converting into future projects. Partner with clients to identify and diagnose their needs and pursue opportunities to cross-sell services.
- Create innovative commercial insights for clients and contribute to thought leadership.
- Actively contribute to improving operational efficiency on projects, consistently driving projects to completion making sure that the work delivered is industry leading.
- Work with the EMEA Leader for Sustainability, Resilience and ESG to implement the growth strategy and align with the broader GHD business.
- Connect with regional Decarbonisation Leads to share learnings and leverage skills and resources.
- Working closely with colleagues, you will create a positive learning culture and coach and mentor junior team members and help them to develop their technical skills.
- Establish and maintain effective relationships with clients and colleagues outside of Sustainability, Resilience & ESG to deliver multi-disciplinary and cross-geographical projects.
- Support the GHD Sustainability, Resilience and ESG practice so that we meet GHD’s overall objectives in terms of financial performance, risk management and strategic development, adhering to GHD’s core values.
The successful applicant will be able to demonstrate knowledge/experience in some or all of the following:
- The science of climate change, current and emerging policy and market implications, and drivers for decarbonisation.
- Greenhouse gas emissions accounting (Scopes 1,2 and 3).
- Experience in at least one emission accounting standard (ISO14061-1, GHG Protocol…)
- Knowledge of both sectoral and organisational GHG accounting
- Clear understanding of emissions modelling and pathway development
- Climate risk and opportunity identification, mitigation and management.
- Climate risk modelling and scenario analysis.
- Climate risk quantification.
- Transition plans and net zero roadmaps.
- Financial and cost assessment expertise for decarbonisation pathways (CAPEX, OPEX)
- Science based targets initiative’s net zero standard.
- Renewable and low carbon technologies.
- Carbon offsetting and credit markets, including carbon pricing and budgeting.
- Regulatory requirements related to GHG and climate disclosures.
- Knowledge of reporting mechanisms and alignment with them during inventory preparation (GRI, Climate Registry…)
- EU Taxonomy and SFDR.
- Experience and competence in a technical modelling approach, including Excel and any other tool that could leverage inventory or decarbonisation pathway development.
Skills and attributes for success:
- Strategic thinker regarding emissions reduction option identification & selection, derived from deep sector knowledge, stakeholder consultation and industry best practice.
- Experience of developing / implementing actionable decarbonisation strategies.
- Experience as a practitioner in the field in the public or private sectors.
- Sound understanding of sectors including a selection of: energy & resources, chemicals, Oil & Gas, infrastructure, transport and power, as well as an appreciation for sectoral decarbonisation policy, strategy and/or obligations. Agility to think across sectors to bring value to clients.
- A strong network, and a successful track record of building credibility with clients and winning work reflected in the achievement of revenue and growth targets.
- Exceptional relationship management and communication skills, verbal and written, to complete reports and proposals, and active listening skills.
- Ability to think strategically and see the big picture as well as apply knowledge to real-world problems faced by businesses.
- Inclusive and collaborative approach and ability to engage others on a vision and gain buy-in to achieve results.
- Be a self-starter who takes ownership for tasks and proactively seeks out ways to better address our clients’ needs.
- Ability to manage complexity and ambiguity to deliver under pressure with sound judgement, and to deliver complex projects linked to company strategy.
- Intellectual curiosity.
- Strong problem-solving skills.
- Share our passion for helping businesses and other clients become more sustainable.
- Willingness and ability to travel within the UK, as necessary, and connect with colleagues globally when required.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to both inspire and interact with the wider team in a positive manner.
If you are interested in shaping and being part of a growing team, serving clients, and working with brilliant and supportive colleagues we want to hear from you!
What working at GHD offers:
- Comprehensive reward package.
- Support for flexible working.
- Support and coaching from more senior colleagues and a system of training, mentoring, and on-the-job training.
- Opportunities to develop new skills and progress your career.
- International, multi-cultural team of highly motivated individuals.
At GHD we encourage individual achievement and recognise the strength of a diverse workforce. We are committed to being an inclusive employer and are happy to consider the freedom and flexibility needed to manage your role in a way that is right for you.
About Us - Why GHD?
Being the best we can be is in our culture.
We are a family of smart, innovative and creative problem solvers. In our employee-owned company, everything feels like it matters more. Challenge us and help us come up with new solutions to ensure water, energy and urbanisation are made sustainable for generations to come.
Our commitment to you
Commitment is a powerful word that defines how we do business, how we serve our clients and how we care for one another. We will support your needs by giving you the tools to do your best work and then recognise achievements. We will set your curiosity free to allow brilliant minds to do their best work. We will invest in new ideas, removing barriers where we can. Finally, we will encourage you to collaborate with thousands of diverse people across our global business.
Our Values:
Safety - We intrinsically value the safety of ourselves and others affected by our operations and services.
Teamwork - We collaborate within our global community to help and support each other to achieve client, personal and company goals.
Respect - We value all individuals and nurture both internal and external relationships through listening and understanding.
Integrity - We embrace honesty and trustworthiness through professional and ethical behaviour with our clients, communities and each other.
