WWF -SA Ongoing Job Vacancy – Apply Now!

WWF is the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organisation, with over 6 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

WWF South Africa is a national office that is part of the WWF network. We are a local NGO that has worked for 50 years with the aim of inspiring all South Africans to live in harmony with nature, for the benefit of our country and the wellbeing of all our people. WWFs work is for nature, for you.

Our work is challenging and exciting and we love what we do. To join our team, you need to be brilliant at what you do, passionate, results-orientated and have a positive attitude.

Job Title: Senior Manager Sustainable Finance
Location: Braamfontein, Gauteng, South Africa; Newlands, Western Cape, South Africa
Reference #: Senior Manager Sustainable Finance1#
Contract Type: Permanent

Job Summary:
Positioned at the cutting-edge of sustainable finance internationally, WWF’s engagement with the finance sector is to support and advocate the transition of the sector to support a sustainable and resilient economy. This is achieved via working with key finance sector players, including banks, investors, regulators, and stock exchanges, across multiple focus areas.
This engagement aims to encourage a shift in financial flows towards nature-positive outcomes and achieving WWF SA’s objectives and goals, as well as to support innovative and sustainable funding models for this by developing and nurturing Financial Institutions (FI) engagement and partnerships. The position will report directly to the Head of Business Development Unit.
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science-based criteria that create measurable environmental and social impacts alongside competitive financial returns. We specifically support the development and growth of green financial solutions relevant to mainstream lending, investment, and insurance.
•We empower FIs through capacity building on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues through industry-wide workshops and bilateral training sessions. Our training interventions cover a range of sectors and thematic focus areas and help FIs to better assess and price risk, value companies, and develop new products.
•We develop and support the use of effective and credible standards and metrics for adoption by the finance industry – which include ESG-related aspects. We further help FIs understand what makes certain standards and certification schemes credible to help them ensure that their due diligence and verification processes assure robust sustainability practices.
•We have a specific focus on Lending Institutions (including Development Finance Institutions (DFI), public sector & private sector lending institutions Insurance Companies and Financial market regulatory authorities.
•We develop cohesive policy interventions supporting green investment and sustainable finance including finance incentives, finance mechanisms, finance regulatory frameworks and government support mechanisms and work to integrate these across key national ministries. We also provide recommendations and facilitate dialogue between regulatory FIs to issue harmonized regulations and guidelines that raise the bar for sustainable finance at the national and regional level.
•We conduct research, develop best practice guides, and benchmark FIs’ progress on ESG integration to ensure timely progress towards a resilient and sustainable financial system. We also help FIs to understand and implement cutting-edge tools so they can better understand, measure, and manage evolving ESG risks and opportunities.
•We help investors exert their influence and facilitate large scale, meaningful change by providing research and analysis that supports their engagement with portfolio companies over key ESG issues.
Corporate and Public Sector Partnerships:
•Develop new funding streams for WWF-SA related work and projects through partnerships and or corporate funding opportunities.
•Provide financial acumen, knowledge, content, and expertise to the work of the corporate engagement team and other WWF practices.
•Provide financial acumen, knowledge, content, and expertise to the Public Sector Partnerships team for engaging and influencing DFI’s, grant-making and bilateral cooperation institutions, in line with WWF-related objectives and goals.
•Develop concepts, proposals and partnerships that attract new funding, identify solutions with DFI’s and the public sector on financing conservation and contributing to impact at scale.
Stakeholder engagement and collaboration:
•Position and enhance WWF SA’s role, capacity and solutions in Finance through representation at conferences; key stakeholder interaction including business, government, NGO’s etc; Establish and nurture links between WWF and relevant business/sector associations and/or other voluntary/statutory bodies, as well as DFIs;
•Prepare/coordinate research notes or other types of market intelligence for in-house use or external publications on the environmental benefits and concerns associated with difference areas of Investment, Lending and Insurance, as well as potential future policy changes. Also research, analyse and document macro landscape finance dynamics which includes engaging with stakeholders, funders, investors, innovators, tools and products.
•Work at a systematic level to influence financial flows directed towards investments at critical biodiversity hotspots falling under WWF’s priority places and by getting synergy from the WWF Network.
•Engage with relevant bodies of work in the WWF International Network and its Practices to gather available information and research that can be applied in the South African finance sector.
Requirements
•At least a master’s level qualification in Business/Finance/Investments
•At least 12 years’ experience working in the Finance/Investment sectors.
•Proven experience of providing strategic leadership to organizations and programmes of work.
•Ability to understand the key elements of the investment, lending, and insurance processes, as well as development, and how to influence these through due diligence and negotiation.
•Interest, understanding and awareness of the key drivers of public policy and corporate strategy applicable to the green infrastructure sector in emerging markets.
•A good understanding of how investment decisions are undertaken in a variety of contexts internationally, and the ways in which ecosystems and the environment can be reflected in this decision-making.
•A strong technical environmental background, to enable assessment of environmental issues within Investment, Lending, and Insurance.
•Ability to review large quantities of environmental information and identify the material issues relevant for Investment, Lending, and Insurance sectors across WWF SA practice areas.
•Provide technical analysis using tools and frameworks that can specifically support climate risks, agricultural risk and opportunities, and biodiversity risk and opportunities within strategic landscapes.
•If no formal technical environmental skills, experience applying ESG to the finance sector, developing financial solutions to solve environmental issues, integrating environmental risk in investment decision making and disclosure on ESG may be relevant.
•Strong leadership, interpersonal and team building skills to manage a team of specialists.
•Good stakeholder and people management skills to enable interactions across all Practices and key collaborators.
•Demonstrated ability to deliver results or outputs in a fast-paced environment.
•Capacity to form and maintain good working relationships with a wide network of internal and external stakeholders, some at senior levels – particularly Executives and Directors in Investment, Lending and Insurance sectors, Green or Sustainable Finance Teams, Portfolio Management, Heads of Risk, and external and internal auditors and external NGOs, Labour unions, Government etc.
•Ability to work collaboratively with teams across WWF SA.
•Ability to manage competing demands/deliverables and operate flexibly in a fast-moving environment.
•Ability to work in a networked environment (such as the WWF Network), with a proven capacity to define and defend priorities.
•Excellent oral and written communication and advocacy skills.
•Ability to put complex environmental and social issues into concise terms for non-specialist audiences in Finance, Insurance and Investment and vice versa.
•Experience in synthesizing complex information, regulations and policies and translating these into clear advice and compelling communications.
•Ability to work independently.

To Apply:

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Application Deadline: 17/09/2021