Associate Director - Sustainability Reporting Risk Advisory

EY – Sustainability Solutions

EY’s tailored sustainability solutions support governments and businesses to embrace, gain advantage, and generate value, from the continuous disruption of markets, value chains, processes, and customer expectations, in the pursuit of 2030 and 2050 sustainable development goals.

EY became carbon neutral in 2020 (globally, across our entire carbon footprint) and have now increased our ambition go further. We will be carbon negative in 2021 and net zero in 2025. We will reduce our absolute emissions by 40% on our 2019 levels and then every year we will remove or offset more than the remainder. So, from 2021 onwards, we will be removing more carbon from the atmosphere than we emit.

EY’s transformation to carbon negative is coupled with a focus on supporting our clients with their ambitions for our planet and society. We believe that sustainability is both good for business and good for the planet, offering opportunity to create and protect value. Taking action to protect the planet is core to our purpose of building a better working world and one of the ways we create long term value for our people, clients and society.

To deliver for our clients, we form multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral expert teams to deliver tailored sustainability solutions. Our sustainability solutions cover client challenges and value creation opportunities in sustainability strategy; sustainability reporting and trust; sustainability transformation; renewable transition (including e-mobility); sustainable finance; and the green and circular economy.

Joining us as an Associate Director for Sustainability Reporting Risk Advisory, you will support the further development and delivery of our sustainability reporting and trust solutions, by supporting and developing multi-disciplinary teams, developing and nurturing client relationships, and, leading and managing assignments.

Job Summary:

You will advise both public and private sector organisations to map, advise and assess client risk control environments as they pertain to sustainability reporting requirements, carbon impact assessments and potential decarbonisation strategies. You will also support client functions to plan and execute internal audit-based assignments associated with sustainability initiatives and related reporting requirements. You will develop, maintain and enhance, tailored robust risk-based methodology and assessment tools, that will support multiple assignments and business imperatives for clients across multiple sectors and industries.

What will I be doing

Typical activities include the following:

• Working effectively as a team member by sharing responsibility, providing support, maintaining communication and updating senior members on progress.
• Understanding our client requirements, co-developing our approach with the client, and providing value to our clients through insights, factual conclusions and advice.
• Understand, manipulate and interpret financial and non-financial data and client information, drawing appropriate conclusions.
• Carry out relevant analysis and present your findings (both written and orally).
• Gathering, verifying and analysing information to formulate views.
• Day to day progression of assignments to include; planning, preparing and reviewing various forms of deliverables to include reports and presentations.
• A focus on anticipating and identifying risks that require escalation and subsequently escalating these risks to more senior staff as appropriate.
• Working closely with colleagues you will ensure that work is properly executed, documented and concluded in compliance with our Quality & Risk Management guidelines.
• Actively establishing, maintaining and strengthening your internal and external relationships.
• As an influential member of the team, you will help to create a positive learning culture. You will be responsible for mentoring and developing more junior members of staff and providing constructive feedback on both a formal and informal basis.
• Maintaining and constantly upgrading technical knowledge and personal skills.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage a challenging and varied client portfolio, both public and private side
• Develop your own career. With sustained levels of growth across our sustainability solutions, you will have an excellent opportunity to progress and specialise
• Develop and maintain business relationships and market profile with a view to winning business for the Firm
• Promote thought leadership and expert voice in the market, including innovative and creative points of view associated with sustainability reporting risk factors, including challenges in ESG measurement and KPI development, implementation and long-term decision making against associated reported data
• Develop and maintain new products and service offerings
• Lead both internal and external projects
• Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Benefit from an excellent remuneration and benefits package

Day to Day Responsibilities:

• Responsible for developing client deliverables including reports; presentations; financial projections etc.
• Responsible for client engagement on assignments on day-to-day basis; updating client on project progress; discussing tasks to be completed and deliverables to be provided etc.
• Responsible for managing team of junior team members including instructing them on completion of tasks relating to client deliverables
• Responsible for management of project financials and administration including client take on process; WIP control; billing etc.
• Responsible for preparation of pitch and proposal documents including tender response documents; presentations; pricing schedules etc.

People responsibilities

• Develop network of contacts (internal & external)
• Seek regular feedback on individual assignments and regular guidance from counsellor
• Manage own time to budgets and communicates progress against plan to assignment director
• Manage time of junior members of staff to budget and communicate progress against plan to assignment director
• Identifying issues and drawing to attention of Partner and contributing to discussions

Technical skills requirements

• ACA or equivalent credentials in supportive field(s)
• Demonstratable experience with risk assessments associated with sustainability and ESG reporting standards
• Strong understanding of sustainability reporting standards and associated implementation challenges
• Strong understanding of the risk and control internal audit function for business clients and the factors to be considered in addressing sustainability reporting risks in that environment
• Track record supporting government and/or business to implement risk and control protocols to enhance trust functions and promote reliability of reported results
• Strong communication skills, with an ability to help multi-stakeholders to appreciate the “so what” of enhanced risk and control requirements associated with sustainability and ESG, with an ability to link this to current and future anticipated standards and stakeholder expectations
• Experience and understanding of science-based targets, TCFD and other reporting frameworks essential
• Highly numerate with a sound grasp of Excel, Word and PowerPoint

Additional skills requirements

• 8+ years of related work experience
• Strong interpersonal skills and client focus are important, as well as attention to detail and the ability to work under pressure
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrates organization and self-management skills
• Pro-actively manage own development
• Excellent business development and relationship management skills
• Strong leadership skills, excellent delegation skills and proven ability to manage and develop junior members of the team is required

For further information, and to apply, please visit our website via the “Apply” button below.