Sustainability Lead (Climate and Circularity)

Usyd; Sydney; On-site; AUD 111,000 - 151,000; Full time

Job summary

Usyd is seeking a Sustainability Lead (Climate and Circularity) to provide technical leadership and project management across the University’s Climate and Nature Transition Plan. You will coordinate complex sustainability programs, drive decarbonisation, circularity, and stakeholder engagement, and report progress to leadership.

Reporting to the Senior Manager Sustainability, the role focuses on climate mitigation, net-zero initiatives, and advancing circular economy principles across operations

Qualifications

• Proven expertise in decarbonisation and net-zero strategies across large organisations.
• Knowledge of greenhouse gas accounting including Scope 1-3 and carbon management.
• Experience delivering circular economy initiatives and sustainable procurement.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning and delivery of complex sustainability projects aligned to CNTP goals.
• Drive climate mitigation and circularity initiatives with cross-university teams and external partners.
• Provide technical leadership on decarbonisation, electrification, energy efficiency and carbon accounting.
• Oversee behavioural science approaches to embed climate practices across the university community.
• Build strategic relationships and governance to support delivery and reporting.

Skills

Decarbonisation pathways

Net zero expertise

Energy electrification

GHG accounting

Circular economy

Stakeholder engagement

Team leadership

Education

Tertiary qualification in environmental science/management/engineering or related field

Job description

Full-time, fixed term until 31 st December 2029

Located on Camperdown Campus on Gadigal Country

Base salary from $131,108 plus 17% superannuation

About the team

The Sustainability Team sits within the Office of the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost and leads the University's environmental sustainability agenda; translating our institutional Climate and Nature Transition Plan 2026-2032 into practical action, measurable outcomes and lasting change. The Climate and Nature Transition Plan (CNTP) is the University's roadmap for addressing the defining challenges of climate change and nature loss, along with the interconnected challenges that underpin and shape them. It establishes a clear pathway to 2032, with measurable targets, defined actions, accountable owners and transparent reporting.

The Sustainability Team plays a central role in enabling delivery of this agenda across the University. Working across operations, research, education, and engagement, the team brings together strategic leadership, specialist sustainability expertise, project and program delivery, data, reporting and compliance, sustainability governance, behaviour change and stakeholder engagement to turn ambition into action, and to embed sustainability into decision-making and everyday practice. The team works collaboratively with academics, professional staff, students, University leadership and external partners to drive meaningful and lasting change.

As visible champions for sustainability across the University, the team strives to build the institutional capabilities, behaviours, partnerships and systems needed to embed and scale climate and nature action and deliver meaningful outcomes.

About the opportunity

The Sustainability Lead (Climate and Circularity) provides technical leadership and project management expertise to deliver the University's Climate and Nature Transition Plan. Reporting to the Senior Manager Sustainability (Climate Mitigation and Circularity), the role leads the planning, development and implementation of strategic initiatives that advance the University's climate mitigation, net zero and circularity priorities.

Your key responsibilities will be to:

• lead the planning, coordination and delivery of complex sustainability projects and programs, managing workplans, risks, performance and milestones to deliver the University's Climate and Nature Transition Plan
• lead the delivery of the Climate Mitigation and Circularity focus areas of the University's Climate and Nature Transition Plan, driving implementation across the University and monitoring progress against strategic objectives and targets
• provide technical leadership in climate mitigation and net zero initiatives, including decarbonisation, electrification, renewable energy, energy efficiency, greenhouse gas accounting, carbon management and offsetting
• lead the development and implementation of the University's circularity program, advancing waste reduction, reuse systems, resource recovery and circular economy principles across University operations and procurement
• apply behavioural science and engagement approaches to build organisational capability, influence decision-making and embed climate mitigation and circularity practices across the University community
• build strategic relationships and provide specialist technical advice across the University and with external stakeholders, facilitating project governance, stakeholder forums and collaborative initiatives to support delivery, inform decision-making and achieve sustainability outcomes.

About you

• tertiary qualifications in a relevant field, such as environmental science, environmental management, sustainability, climate science, engineering, resource management, circular economy, law or policy, or a related field, or equivalent experience
• demonstrated technical expertise across decarbonisation and net zero pathways, energy and electrification, Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas accounting and carbon management, including knowledge of TPG24-33 climate-related financial disclosure and experience applying climate and transition risk assessment, scenario analysis and mitigation strategies to support organisational decision‑making, reporting and disclosure
• experience in circular economy principles and practices, including waste prevention, reuse systems, resource recovery and sustainable procurement, with experience developing and implementing circularity initiatives across complex organisations to reduce resource consumption and waste generation experience managing and engaging a diverse group of internal and external stakeholders across a large or complex organisation, including operational and infrastructure teams, technical experts, procurement and supply chain stakeholders, suppliers, government and regulatory organisations, researchers and academic experts
• experience in leading, managing and developing team members, including fostering a positive, inclusive and high-performance work culture.