Deloitte - Associate Director - Sustainability & Climate

Enabling Area -Asia pacific- Sustainability and Climate - Associate Director

What impact will you make?

Every day, your work will make an impact that matters, while you thrive in a dynamic culture of inclusion, collaboration, and high performance. As the undisputed leader in professional services, Deloitte is where you'll find unrivaled opportunities to succeed and realize your full potential. Deloitte is where you'll find unrivaled opportunities to succeed and realize your full potential.

Service Line Purpose Statement:

Deloitte recognizes that climate change is a major issue facing the world, and this is especially true for the Asia Pacific region. Over the next decade, we aim to transform the underlying production systems of our economy and export decarbonization globally. This can be achieved through concerted and coordinated action, using technology & finance, and harnessing the green workforce of the future.

S&C Centre of Excellence:

In today's changing competitive landscape, executable strategy requires fusing insightful thinking with disciplined execution to achieve breakthrough performance. Senior executives often grapple with attaining profitable growth, strategically managing costs, and intelligently navigating risks.

What they need then are solutions that will bridge the gap between vision and execution.

Deloitte's Sustainability & Climate (S&C) Centre of Excellence (CoE) is supporting the Deloitte member firms (Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan, South-east Asia, etc.) in the Asia-Pacific (AP) region to deliver S&C offerings at scale and with cost efficiency to get ahead of peers in this competitive market. The CoE will work with the top leadership of the Deloitte member firms across the AP region and solve complex problems by bringing an approach to executable strategy that combines deep industry knowledge, rigorous analysis, and creative insights to enable confident action.

The Centre of Excellence (CoE) offers services across different S&C domains: ESG data, performance, disclosure benchmarking, and competitor analysis; GHG accounting Scope 1, 2 & 3 related services; Taxonomy and regulatory interpretation of international standards; Climate risk and resilience assessment; and GreenSpace Tech and GreenLight go-to market (GTM) and pursuit support.

Deloitte invests in outstanding people of diverse talents and backgrounds and empowers them. We are looking for people who

- Enjoy the myriad ways people, strategy, operations, and process improvements help shape the future of organizations.

- Are quick learners with the willingness to work on complex challenges and the changing future of ESG and Climate Sustainability.

- Enjoy leveraging research, analytics, and industry insights to create value for clients.

- Have an analytical mindset.

The Team:

Business leaders must act with conviction, even in an era of growing complexity, uncertainty, and disruption. These business leaders need clear, concise, well-informed perspectives on the important dynamics that are currently reshaping their business environments - one of them being sustainability. Our global network of ESG professionals draws on the strength of Deloitte's full suite of professional services and industry experience to focus solutions on the real sustainability issues affecting businesses today. We work collaboratively with our clients to link strategic vision to flawless execution to achieve tangible, long-term value. From developing a pragmatic strategy to improving operations, we have the experience and expertise to act with certainty and thrive in a constantly changing world.

Work you'll do:

The Asia Pacific Sustainability & Climate Centre of Excellence (AP S&C CoE) - Associate Director role is an exciting opportunity to work in one of Deloitte's key priorities, with an exponential impact on the business practices of the future. You will be working on solving the full spectrum of client challenges across ESG Data, regulations, and climate risk & resilience, brought forward by the Deloitte member firms across a wide range of clients.

Your Key Responsibilities:

Working as a part of the AP S&C CoE team, your primary role will be to make direct contributions on client engagements, brought forward by the Deloitte member firms, centered around the development and implementation of the client's strategic ESG and Climate & Sustainability initiatives across the Asia-Pacific region. The responsibilities of this role may include:

Project Delivery:

- Conduct discussions with partner firms to understand the clients' ESG reporting landscape & requirements for GHG accounting and climate-related metrics / KPIs

- Identify and define scope of work for the CoE to fulfil engagements / work for partner firms

- Lead CoE offerings related to Scope 3-related services, including defining guidelines to customize GHG data collection templates and perform due diligence on / assurance of client disclosures against international (and local where provided) regulations / standards

- Provide direction for maintenance of centralized and updated database on international regulations / standards / framework taxonomy in the climate & sustainability space

- Provide subject matter expertise on ESG related regulations / frameworks / guidelines such as International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Integrated Reporting (IR), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), among others

- Bring outside-in-view perspective to partner firm engagements through benchmarking (e.g., sector averages) and competitor analysis (against peers) for climate and sustainability related KPIs & metrics

- Lead physical climate risk & vulnerability, and transition risk assessments under different climate change scenarios

- Lead resilience analysis, including evaluation of infrastructure, supply chain, etc. for partner firm's client engagements

- Provide subject matter expertise on decarbonization / energy transition / circular economy strategies, including climate resilience to reach net-zero state to partner firms / clients

- Lead multiple cross-functional teams within the CoE to create & deliver ESG solutions / innovations such as building climate resilience, supply chain advisory, value chain emissions optimization, etc., and lead change management efforts on engagements

- Work closely with partner firms to understand their client's sustainability goals, derive sustainability-related insights, and devise strategy to help achieve the clients' goals in context of their larger business objectives

- Identify relevant Deloitte assets, tools, platforms, and ESG databases (such as, Sustainability Data Platform and other existing platforms) to deliver various engagements

- Conduct discussions with senior internal, partner firm, and / or client leadership on the analysis, recommendations, and final reports for engagements and obtain their feedback

- Undertake engagement financials & engagement risk procedures and ensure compliance with firm policies

Stakeholder Management:

- Lead partner firm engagements and account management for services relating to ESG & sustainability initiatives, including reporting, etc. at the CoE

- Manage strategic relationships with key partner firm and internal stakeholders

- Manage teams to deliver partner firm, client, and internal engagements

- Help create a strong team of professionals by attracting external talent, and strengthening in-house team by mentoring juniors

- Liaison with internal / external SMEs from both industry and academia

Business Development:

- Jointly work on proposals / pitches to potential clients, alongside AP Partner Firms

- Identify areas / opportunities for preparing Thought Leadership (TL) and Point of View (PoV) documents, and provide guidance in conducting primary & secondary research

- Jointly work with AP Partner Firms to identify areas where CoE can add value, new tools / assets, and expansion of CoE service offerings

- Assist leadership in planning strategic direction for CoE, building & leveraging client relationships, and contributing to the planning / resourcing for client pursuits and new projects

Other Responsibilities:

- You may be required to travel in the process of fulfilling responsibilities for this role

Qualifications:

- Practitioner with 10+ years of experience in strategy consulting, of which at least 5+ years of experience in an ESG or Climate & Sustainability role

- Prior experience in driving client engagements and programs; experience in dealing with clients on a day-to-day basis and managing multiple client engagements

- Stellar academic credentials (MBA/advanced degree in Environment or climate-related field); additional ESG / S&C related certifications from GARP, GRI, SASB, TCFD, or any other regulatory body preferred

- Experience leading teams in disclosure benchmarking & competitor analysis, in the areas of ESG advisory, reporting, and assurance

- Experience leading projects in areas of Green Taxonomy, ESG disclosure frameworks, and interpretation of reporting standards such as DJSI, ISSB, CSRD, SEC, TCFD, TNFD, CBAM, GRI, IR, SASB, CDP, and other ESG KPIs

- In-depth knowledge of ESG data collection, verification, and reporting process

- Subject matter expertise about sources / reference documents for emission factors for different types of activity data (under Scope 1, 2, & 3), setting organizational / operational boundaries for GHG accounting, and practices using GHG protocol and ISO 14064

- Experience leading projects around climate change scenarios and its interpretation (like RCP, SSP etc.); climate risk and opportunity frameworks like TCFD etc.

- Deep knowledge to drive physical risk & vulnerability assessment, transition risk assessment, and opportunity assessment across various climate change scenarios

- Subject matter expertise in mainstreaming resilience across industry/infrastructure; application of GIS in risk/resilience assessment & strategy

- Comprehensive understanding of ESG risks and opportunity drivers as well as ESG rating methodologies and agencies

Skills Required:

- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Word)

- Out-of-box thinking and an inclination for problem solving

- Resource & stakeholder management abilities, with strong executive presence

- Leadership capabilities with the ability to mentor teammates to support their development

- Keen business acumen with detailed understanding of the broader business context of various sustainability-related engagements

- Excellent interpersonal skills and communication skills (written & verbal), able to build relationships and communicate effectively to positively influence peers and other stakeholders

- Willingness to take initiative, learn independently, and share knowledge/experience with others; a fast learner who can adapt to a dynamic ESG / Climate & Sustainability landscape quickly, and can keep oneself updated with ESG innovations

Your role as a leader:

At Deloitte India, we believe in the importance of leadership at all levels. We expect our people to embrace and live our purpose by challenging themselves to identify issues that are most important for our clients, our people, and for society and make an impact that matters.

In addition to living our purpose, we look for candidates who will also:

- Build own understanding of our purpose and values; explore opportunities for impact

- Seek opportunities to challenge oneself; team up with others across businesses & borders to deliver and take accountability for own and team's performance

- Understand objectives for clients and Deloitte, align own work to objectives and set personal priorities

- Actively focus on developing effective communication and relationship-building skills

- Demonstrate a strong commitment to personal learning and development; act as a brand ambassador to help attract top talent

How you'll grow:

At Deloitte, our professional development plan focuses on helping people at every level of their career to identify and use their strengths to do their best work every day. From entry-level employees to senior leaders, we believe there's always room to learn. We offer opportunities to help build world-class skills in addition to hands-on experience in the global, fast-changing business world. From on-the-job learning experiences to formal development programs at Deloitte University, our professionals have a variety of opportunities to continue to grow throughout their career. Explore Deloitte University, The Leadership Centre.

Benefits:

At Deloitte, we know that great people make a great organization. We value our people and offer employees a broad range of benefits. Learn more about what working at Deloitte can mean for you.

Our Purpose:

Deloitte is led by a purpose: To make an impact that matters.

Every day, Deloitte people are making a real impact in the places they live and work. We pride ourselves on doing not only what is good for clients, but also what is good for our people and the communities in which we live and work-always striving to be an organization that is held up as a role model of quality, integrity, and positive change. Learn more about Deloitte's impact on the world