Role: ESG Principal Consultant - Climate & ESG Regulatory Reporting Expert

Location: United Kingdom – Hybrid

Role ID: 2024-2494

Our vision is to create a safe and sustainable world.

Ricardo plc is a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company. With over 100 years of engineering excellence and employing close to 3,000 employees in more than 20 countries, we provide exceptional levels of expertise in delivering leading-edge and innovative cross-sector sustainable products and solutions. Every day, we enable our customers to solve the most complex and dynamic challenges to help achieve a safe and sustainable world.

Role Purpose

We're seeking an ESG Principal Consultant to play a pivotal role in advancing our vision within the Sustainability Practice as part of our ESG Team. Your expertise will be crucial in guiding clients from diverse sectors as they navigate pressing ESG challenges, with a particular focus on climate risk, ESG regulatory reporting and materiality assessments.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead complex ESG projects, including climate risk assessments and materiality analysis.
• Develop and deliver comprehensive strategies tailored to each client's unique needs.
• Conduct stakeholder engagement exercises, including C-Suite discussions and Board presentations.
• Oversee the analysis of ESG and climate data, using critical thinking to identify trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Create detailed assessment reports and regulatory disclosures, providing actionable insights and recommendations.
• Lead the development of sustainability and annual reports adhering to ESG reporting standards.
• Collaborate with clients to integrate material ESG issues into corporate strategies.
• Develop client proposals for ESG services.
• Mentor and guide junior consultants.
• Confidently present ESG strategies and findings to C-suite executives and board members.
• Lead high-level discussions on ESG risks, opportunities, and regulatory compliance.
• Articulate the business case for ESG initiatives to senior stakeholders.
• Navigate complex regulatory environments and provide clear guidance on compliance strategies.
• Demonstrate thought leadership in ESG and sustainability within the industry.

Key Competencies and Experience

• Extensive knowledge of ESG reporting frameworks (e.g., GRI, IFRS - SASB, TCFD, TPT CSRD, ESRS, TNFD).
• Expertise in sustainability materiality assessments and enterprise risk management processes (impact, financial, and double materiality).
• In-depth understanding of climate change science, scenarios, and risk assessment methodologies.
• Proven strong track record in managing and delivering complex ESG and climate-related projects.
• Proficiency in stakeholder engagement and client relationship management at senior levels.
• Experience in preparing and reviewing ESG regulatory disclosures, and auditing exposure for assurance of reporting (beneficial).
• Experience in sectors such as automotive, chemicals, and manufacturing (beneficial).

Skills and Behaviours

• Outstanding analytical and communication skills.
• Exceptional presentation abilities and confidence in leading C-suite discussions.
• Strong project management capabilities.
• Ability to translate complex ESG concepts into clear, actionable insights for senior executives.
• Regulatory acumen and proactive approach to staying current with evolving ESG regulations.
• Adaptability and collaborative leadership.
• Ability to influence and drive change at the highest organisational levels.
• Financial modelling skills relevant to TCFD and other frameworks (beneficial).

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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