UK Associate Director/Director, Climate Finance

About Climate Policy Initiative

CPI is an analysis and advisory organization with deep expertise in finance and policy. Our mission is to help governments, businesses, and financial institutions drive economic growth while addressing climate change. CPI has five offices around the world in Brazil, India, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. CPI is known as a leader in tracking sustainable investment trends, identifying innovative business models, and supporting the solutions that can drive a transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. We are unique in our focus on finance, our ability to get the right people to the table, and our analytical rigor. 

Our partners are financiers, policymakers, and other people whose decisions have real impact on whether investment is low or high carbon, and our work has been used or endorsed by the governments of India, Brazil, Indonesia, Southern Africa, and the G7 countries. In 2019, CPI experts spoke at over 80 different global events. Our Global Landscape for Climate Finance report was downloaded over 20,000 times, and our work influenced coverage in top-tier media like the Financial Times, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, NPR, and the Guardian. In 2020 CPI was the recipient of Environmental Finance’s inaugural (non-monetary) “Impact Awards” for best NGO and best consultant.  

About the Climate Finance Division

With international expertise in finance and policy, our Climate Finance (CF) division helps governments, businesses, and financial institutions drive economic growth while addressing climate change. The program works to drive low carbon, resilient investment at scale.

Our program areas form a stepping stone approach to reaching this goal:

The State of Climate Finance – CPI is the leading authority on tracking and analyzing climate finance flows. The Global Landscape of Climate Finance is the most comprehensive inventory of climate change investment available. It is a key tool for policy makers to assess the scale of finance, identify the main actors in the market, reveal investment gaps, and highlight opportunities to mobilize finance to fulfill investment potential. Our work influenced the Paris Agreement, and continues to be used by the UNFCCC.

Effective Finance – CPI advises governments and development finance institutions on the effectiveness of their portfolios, including the UK government’s Department for International Development, the Climate Investment Funds, and the Ministry of Finance in Indonesia. CPI also works to improve public finance interventions in key regions, such as India and Indonesia.

Transformative Finance - CPI supports the implementation of new and transformative finance solutions that mobilize sustainable investment at scale. CPI manages the Lab: a high-level group of public and private investors that identifies, develops, and supports pilots of transformative climate finance instruments. Since its start in 2014, the 26 investment vehicles incubated and launched by the Lab have collectively mobilized over $2.4 billion in finance for renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, water, and climate resilience projects around the world.

Primary Responsibilities

The UK Director, Climate Finance, is responsible for the success and sustainability of the Climate Finance program in the UK and Europe. You will report to the Climate Finance Executive Director and form part of the Senior Leadership Team.

The CF Program in the UK and Europe is anchored by a team of staff who are driven by a shared passion for the mission, and the UK Director is responsible for harnessing this passion, providing inspiration and direction so that staff can apply their talents and expertise to create positive impact.

Your role will include the following responsibilities:

• Technical leadership: you will guide and oversee CPI’s technical work, across all workstreams with special emphasis on the State of Climate Finance.
• Team Leadership: you will focus on strengthening the existing cohesive and collaborative team environment that exists within the UK team and will supervise UK research department members
• External engagement: you will build and maintain a strong and positive presence, inspiring, informing and engaging key decision-makers and the larger climate community
• Fundraising: you will actively engage in strategic funding development to diversify CF’s funding, continue the success of the signature programs and generate resources for new, innovative approaches
• Operations Management: you will oversee the smooth and efficient operations of the UK office
• Budgeting and forecasting: you will actively support the management of the UK/Europe stream of the funding pipeline and budget for the Climate Finance program, and ensure alignment of available resources and expenses
• Model CPI values: you will model and imbue the UK team with CPI’s core values:
  • Rigor: willingness to hold ourselves to high standards and discipline to test and evolve ideas in the face of new information.
  • Collaboration: value sharing and partnership; humility to understand solutions are better and change more possible when we work with others.
  • Integrity: doing best analysis and making best recommendations even when not the expectation or preference of the client, courage to keep an open mind and be open to feedback and improvement.
  • Commitment: to drive transformative change.

Qualifications & profile

Essential

• Advanced degree in Economics; Finance; Public Policy or a related, quantitatively rigorous field
• A known leader in the climate finance community – capable of identifying and building partnerships across government, finance, business, philanthropy, policy groups, NGOs, and others to advance and promote CPI’s work
• Demonstrable technical expertise at the leading edge of climate finance, preferably in one or more of CPI’s program areas: tracking and analyzing financial flows; advising government and financial institutions to redirect finance from high- to low-carbon activities, and/or creating innovative financial instruments that can mobilize investment at scale
• Experience working in an international environment, any experience in developing countries highly desirable
• Demonstrable experience managing high performing teams in a project-based work environment
• An exceptional listener, communicator, and facilitator who is effective at building consensus and trust, as well as a strong public speaker
• Strong financial management skills, including planning, delegating, measuring progress and leading any needed course correction.
• Superior written and spoken English language skills

Desirable

• A history of successfully generating new revenue streams, and excellent donor development and relationship management skills
• An inspiring, compassionate, and values-driven leader, with a high-degree of emotional intelligence able to foster individual, purposeful relationships with members of the Senior Leadership Team, staff, and external partners and stakeholders
• Trustworthy, with impeccable integrity and ethics, humility and a firm belief in supporting others to succeed, plus a sense of humor
• Experience managing complex and diverse groups, paired with the ability to lead and navigate challenging conversations

What we offer

CPI is hiring for one position open immediately in our London office. We will consider outstanding candidates living on the European continent however you will need to be able and willing to travel to and spend a considerable amount of time in the London office with the team, particularly in the first few months.

We are planning to reopen our UK office in line with government guidance around working from home expected to change in June 2021. Attendance at the office will remain optional for all staff and Covid-safe restrictions will be enforced to protect the health and wellbeing of the team.

Title and compensation will be based on experience as well as location the successful candidate is based. CPI offers a total rewards package including a competitive base salary and excellent benefits. In the UK this includes 28 days paid holiday plus 8 UK public holidays; 5% pension contribution; Health and Death in Service insurance and benefits that target a healthy workforce and environmentally sustainable operations practices.

To apply

Visit our website to submit an application including your CV and a cover letter outlining why you want to work with CPI and how your skills and experience align with the position requirements.

The deadline for submitting your application is midnight BST Friday 25th June 2021. Due to the high level of applicants we receive to our postings, only short-listed applicants will be contacted.

Climate Policy Initiative is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and we are working to embed DEI across every facet of our organisation. We seek to establish a working environment  where all board members, staff, volunteers, and contractors feel respected and valued regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation or identity, disability, education, or any other bias. We want to create an inclusive culture where all forms of diversity are openly valued as critical to the success of our organization and the achievement of our mission and vision.

If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of application. We will then work with you to identify the best way to assist you through the recruitment process.