Role: Finance Sector Lead

Location: London, Oxford, Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow, Shoreham / Hybrid

Role ID: 2023-1867

Our vision is to create a safe and sustainable world.

Ricardo plc is a global strategic, environmental and engineering consulting company. Our company vision is to create a safe and sustainable world, which is the driver behind everything we do as a business. Ricardo’s shared values – create together, be innovative, aim high and be mindful - actively guide our behaviours and reflect how we work together. Putting our values into action is what binds us together and makes Ricardo not only a great place to work but a company with which our customers want to do business. 

We are seeking an experienced individual with a finance sector background and ESG experience to build and lead a team to support our finance sector clients to be at the forefront of the transition towards a sustainable future.  This is a new and exciting role within Ricardo that will extend our current corporate sustainability offerings to service an increasingly number of finance sector clients seeking sustainable solutions. You will benefit from our extensive expertise in ESG, net zero, scope 3, carbon footprint analysis and reporting, life cycle assessment, circular economy practices, sustainable procurement and decarbonisation of heat, energy and transportation.

We’d love to hear from you if you have the following competencies and experience:

• Proven track record in a finance sector ESG role, successfully delivering projects and securing business by providing valuable advice to clients.
• Demonstrated extensive network within the finance sector, including valuable connections and relationships with key stakeholders, industry professionals and decision-makers.
• Expertise across a range of areas including ESG regulation, climate risk and scenario stress testing, due diligence, carbon markets, green taxonomy, sustainable investment strategy implementation.
• Higher education qualification in finance or economics, a background in accountancy, or a strong track record in this field.
• In-depth knowledge of relevant frameworks in the finance sector (e.g. TCFD, TNFD, IFRS/ISSB, UN PRI, GRI, EU SFRD, EU Taxonomy, UK Green Strategy, SDR).
• Strong commercial awareness and the ability to identify opportunities that align with the evolving needs for finance sector clients.
• Leadership skills necessary to drive the development of market leading ESG propositions and solutions tailored to the finance sector

Your main responsibilities would be:

• Lead the strategic development of new service offerings for the finance sector, leveraging your industry insights and expertise.
• Conduct thorough market analysis to identify emerging trends, client needs and potential opportunities for service offerings.
• Engage with clients and prospective clients to understand their unique challenges and requirements and develop tailored service proposals.
• Build a team of finance sector focused ESG professionals dedicated to developing and delivering these new services.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to generate innovative solutions that address the evolving demands of finance sector clients.
• Identify potential risks associated with the introduction of new services and develop risk mitigation strategies.
• Oversee the successful launch of new services, including developing detailed implementation plans and coordinating resources.
• Build relationships with external partners in the market, including legal advisory firms and digital platforms relevant to the finance sector.
• Contribute to the development of marketing materials that effectively communicate the value and benefits of the new service offerings.
• Monitor the performance of the new services, gather feedback and make necessary adjustments to ensure optimal client satisfaction and service quality.

You need to have the following skills and behaviours:

• Ability to envision and articulate a compelling strategic direction for the development of ESG service offerings in the finance sector.
• Mindset that thrives on innovation, fostering an environment where creative solutions are explored to meet the evolving needs of finance sector clients.
• Ability and guide and inspire cross-functional teams and foster collaboration and ensure that diverse talents and perspectives contribute to the successful development of market-leading propositions.
• Commitment to understanding the unique needs and challenges of finance sector clients, leading to the design of tailored service solutions that address their specific requirements.
• Ability to assess and manage potential risks associated with new service offerings, devising strategies to mitigate these risks effectively.
• Commitment to mentoring and developing team members, developing their skills and capabilities to support the growth of the new service offerings.
• Effective client and stakeholder communication skills, including the ability to influence, negotiate and manage relationships.
• Commitment to staying up to date with industry development, regulations and emerging best practices

Commitment to staying up to date with industry development, regulations and emerging best practices.

Working here

You will be warmly welcomed into our workplace where every voice matters. We are diverse thinkers and doers, coming together to create a culture of inclusion. We will support you to find your place.

We will encourage you to use your passion and expertise to make a positive impact through the projects you work on. Your knowledge and desire to bring about change will be invaluable in helping deliver innovative solutions that support communities across the globe in becoming safer and more sustainable.

Work life balance 

We offer flexible approaches to work, whether that is working from home, being in the office, or as a hybrid worker. We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Wellbeing is at the core to our culture, allowing employees to flourish and to achieve their full potential.

Benefits

We want you to know how much you are valued. Your remuneration and benefits package will reflect that. You will receive a range of benefits which include support for your physical and mental health. 

Our core benefits include 25 days' annual leave, plus 8 flexible bank holidays, a competitive company pension scheme, life assurance and professional subscriptions reimbursement. We also offer a wide range of flexible benefits to suit your lifestyle.

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion statement

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person's potential, and we'll help you reach yours. We have an ambitious diversity, equality, and inclusion approach as explained here. We value diversity; recognising that a more diverse workforce creates a richer and more varied working environment. Diversity also drives innovation, by allowing us to offer our clients the best consultancy service that we can. As part of our commitment to engage positively and pro-actively with all our employees and to ensure an inclusive culture, we are a recognised as a 'disability confident' employer.

Next steps

Once you have submitted your application a member of our Recruitment Team will be in touch. Please be aware that the timing can vary dependent on the volume of applications that we receive for each role and in some cases, we may start to review applications prior to the closing date.

Ricardo is a Disability confident employer please advise the recruitment team via recruit@ricardo.com if you require any adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment process.

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