Principal Consultant - Emissions and Climate

ERM International Group; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

ERM is seeking a Principal Consultant focused on emissions quantification and climate strategy in Melbourne. You will lead complex carbon inventories, guide decarbonisation pathways, and drive high-impact client engagements across industries. Strong leadership and stakeholder-management skills are essential.

You will mentor junior staff, oversee multi-project delivery, and contribute to business development while ensuring high-quality disclosures and strategic value for clients.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required, master’s degree preferred in a STEM field.
• Experience in developing carbon inventories and managing large underlying datasets.
• 10+ years of relevant work experience in a related field, including at least 5 years in carbon accounting.
• Proven scope 3 emissions accounting experience across multiple industry sectors.
• Attention to detail and commitment to high-quality work products.
• Demonstrated project management and leadership skills.
• Experience managing a small team to deliver outcomes and contribute to staff development.
• Structured and effective communicator capable of shaping messages to all organizational levels.
• Enthusiasm, initiative, flexibility, and desire to work in a growing team.

Responsibilities

• Provide deep expertise in emissions and climate topics across scope 1–3 inventories.
• Lead in decarbonisation pathways, target setting and climate risk drivers.
• Oversee client engagements, scope, budget and project delivery.
• Build relationships with clients and stakeholders across diverse structures.
• Mentor junior staff and conduct technical reviews of deliverables.
• Collaborate across service lines to grow ERM's climate services.
• Lead business development, proposals and bids for sustainability work.

Skills

Emissions accounting

Climate change

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Team leadership

Data analysis

Carbon accounting

Regulatory frameworks

SBTi knowledge

Strategic consulting

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM

Master's degree in STEM

Job description

Principal Consultant - Emissions and Climate

We are seeking a motivated and experienced individual to join our team as a Principal Consultant, focusing on climate change and emissions quantification services.

Why This Role Matters

From climate change to human rights, there is increasing urgency in company boardrooms to address the complex sustainability challenges facing the world. Executives are under pressure from investors, customers and even employees to increase the pace, scale and transparency of their sustainability-related actions.

What Your Impact Is

Our corporate sustainability and climate change team works with leading organisations to address complex sustainability challenges and create long-term value by clarifying strategic direction, driving organisational change, and enhancing transparency and the robustness of public disclosures. We help organisations to derive meaning from complex datasets to support compliance and strategic priorities.

Key Responsibilities

Provide Deep Expertise in Emissions and Climate Change Topics

• Our emissions quantification and climate change team works on a variety of subject matters, assisting clients across the spectrum of emissions reporting, climate disclosure as well as decarbonisation strategy and climate adaptation.
• Our ideal candidate should display deep expertise in scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon inventory development and disclosures, and demonstrate knowledge of target setting and decarbonisation pathways and knowledge of climate risk drivers (physical and transition related).
• Show strong understanding of carbon accounting fundamentals and familiarity with various regulatory frameworks for climate change mitigation including the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme, Safeguard Mechanism, and SBTi.

Connecting with Clients and Managing Projects

• Demonstrates strong project management skills and oversight through the project lifecycle, including scoping, budget and delivery and ability to manage multiple projects.
• Works comfortably within a diverse range of project structures and types of deliverables.
• Builds strong and trusted relationships with clients and/or business partners and effectively engages with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Thinks strategically in order to influence decision‑makers and outcomes.

• Demonstrates strong analytical skills, excellent writing and presentation skills, and a mastery of impactful client communication.
• Identifies, evaluates, cultivates and manages partnerships and relationships with senior clients, external stakeholders and key opinion leaders.

Teamwork and Organisation

• Demonstrates strong people management skills; particularly the ability to support, coach and celebrate others in order to advance employee engagement and achieve results.
• Mentors junior staff in the planning and execution of projects, and in directing or conducting independent technical reviews of deliverable work products.
• Skilled in breaking down complex problems into discrete tasks and communicating them effectively to a diverse range of technical specialists including spatial scientists, engineers, and ecologists.
• Manages a team of junior project managers and consultants.
• Responsible for the content and quality of project work, ensuring deliverables are produced to an exceptional standard.
• Effectively collaborates internally across service lines to bring climate change services to existing ERM clients.
• Enhances ERM's capability to sell and deliver Corporate Sustainability & Climate Change services.

Business Development Activities

• Proven experience in engaging with and driving business development campaigns, preparing proposals and pitches.
• Leads in the preparation of responses to large bids and competitive tenders.
• Demonstrated capability to nurture and grow client accounts.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required, with master’s degree preferred in a STEM (science, technology, engineering or math) field.
• Experience in developing carbon inventories and managing large underlying datasets.
• 10+ years of relevant work experience in a related field, whether that be in consultancy or industry, including at least 5 years of experience in carbon accounting.
• Proven scope 3 emissions accounting experience across a variety of industry sectors.
• Attention to detail and commitment to deliver high-quality work products.
• Demonstrated project management and leadership skills.
• Experience managing a small team to deliver on outcomes and contributing to the professional development of others.
• Structured and effective communicator that can shape and deliver messages to all levels of an organisation and facilitate effective client engagements.
• Enthusiasm, initiative, flexibility, and a desire to work in a growing team.

APAC Ready to Lead the Way

At ERM, your work creates impact that matters, helping global organisations tackle the most pressing sustainability challenges while shaping a better future for communities and the environment. Our vision is to empower you to grow, lead, and innovate alongside world‑class clients on transformative projects. We prioritise wellbeing, continuous learning, and an inclusive culture where collaboration, expertise, and purpose drive meaningful impact. At ERM, diverse perspectives are celebrated, and innovation thrives. If you're ready to make sustainability your mission and build a career that creates lasting change, your journey starts here.

Discover Life at ERM

Curious about our culture and what makes ERM a great place to grow your career? Explore these resources to learn more about our people, values, and the impact we create:

Talent Brochure: TM - Candidate brochure

Life at ERM: Life at ERM