Business Sustainability Manager

Forvis Mazars in South Africa; Wes-Kaap; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading consulting firm is seeking a Consultant for their Sustainability Team. This role involves advising clients on ESG compliance, managing consulting projects, and driving business development initiatives. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in sustainability consulting and the ability to lead and mentor junior staff. There are also opportunities for professional development and specialisation in the field.

Qualifications

• 5-7+ years of relevant sustainability consulting experience.
• Professional certifications in sustainable finance and/or climate risk are assets.
• Practical experience in sustainability and climate change strategy development.

Responsibilities

• Advise clients on ESG compliance and current regulations.
• Engage in business development and help integrate ESG services.
• Conduct research and produce thought-leadership publications.

Skills

Project management

Time management

Emotional intelligence

Communication skills

Education

University Degree in environment, social science or sustainability-related major

Job description

About the job

Mazars Sustainability Team is looking for a consultant to actively contribute to the team’s growth. The Consultant will contribute to multiple client engagements, including business development and team management. The candidate will join a diverse team of open-minded professionals with our consulting division.

Your why?

This is an opportunity for an experienced manager, to further develop their career managing consulting projects and working closely with leadership.

The role lends to further professional development opportunities for a manager and is agile enough to allow for specialisation due to its growth.

What will your day look like?

The consultant will be expected to participate in the active growth of our business by contributing to multiple client engagement teams and delivering professional services as well as working on business development and research activities. The role is expected to actively shape the future of Mazars sustainability service offering. This includes engaging in business development activities and helping with the integration of the wider Mazars firm’s initiatives in the ESG and sustainability space.

Typical engagements will be in relation to:

• Advising clients on how to comply with ESG-related current or upcoming standards and regulations (including, but not limited to, IFRS S1 and S2, GRI and CSRD
• Training various audiences on current or upcoming regulations and helping to design and implement frameworks and processes to ensure compliance with the regulations is achieved.
• Performing gap analyses on clients’ ESG compliance processes against regulations
• Advising on how risk governance structure and risk management framework should be adapted to incorporate ESG risks.
• Implementing processes, controls, and systems to improve management of ESG (including climate) risks, comply with regulatory expectations, and align to industry best practices.
• Assisting with the identification, measurement, management, and quantification of ESG risks, in particular climate risks
• Developing climate change related and ESG metrics
• Assisting with climate stress tests and scenario analysis
• Delivering benchmarking studies, identifying industry’s best practices, conducting research
• Performing materiality assessments and stakeholders’ engagement studies
• Oversee any changes in regulation or practices that become necessary for them to maintain its ESG Strategy and suggest improvements when necessary.
• Developing and executing ESG/Sustainable finance KPIs and Goals
• Developing climate-neutral and net-zero strategies
• Aligning with reporting frameworks such as SASB, UN Global Compact, GRI, TCFD, CDP, etc.
• Performing gap analysis and assessing the impact on existing processes against regulatory standards and stakeholders’ expectations
• Implementing processes and controls required to produce reporting.
• Staying up to date on ESG trends and developments and providing recommendations to the Sustainability teams at Mazars for enhancements in approaches
• Producing thought-leadership publications, providing insights on the regulatory horizon and market-wide developments

What will make you successful?

• 5-7+ years of relevant sustainability consulting experience
• University Degree with a relevant environment, social science or sustainability-related major.
• Professional certifications in sustainable finance and or climate risk are considered as an asset (e.g., SCR, CCI, ESG Investing)
• Practical experience in sustainability, climate change strategy development stakeholder engagement, and change management.

What other additional qualities that will position you for success?

• A self-starter and motivated individual
• Project management and time management skills.
• Emotional intelligence is key.
• Prepare client proposals.
• Mentor, coach, and develop more junior staff.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to discuss complex ideas, present innovative approaches to implementing project deliverables, and present in a coherent manner.