The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a global, CEO-led organization of over 200 leading businesses working together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world. We help make our member companies more successful and sustainable by focusing on the maximum positive impact for shareholders, the environment and societies.

Our member companies come from all business sectors and all major economies, representing combined revenues of more than USD $8.5 trillion and 19 million employees. Our global network of almost 70 national business councils gives our members unparalleled reach across the globe. WBCSD is uniquely positioned to work with member companies along and across value chains to deliver impactful business solutions to the most challenging sustainability issues.

Together, we are the leading voice of business for sustainability: with a vision of a world where more than nine billion people are all living well and within the boundaries of our planet, by 2050.

Job Overview

Launched at the UN Climate Action Summit (UNCAS) in September 2019, the Just Rural Transition (JRT) initiative promotes implementation of the to the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals, recognizing that by 2030 we will need to feed 9 billion people while balancing the need to protect natural systems, agriculture, rural communities, food production, and ecosystems. The JRT brings together a community of practice – governments, organizations, businesses, farmers and rural communities working on this challenge.  Anchored around an aspirational vision statement -  which set out the pathway towards land use change compatible with the Paris Agreement and sustainable development goals – it focusses on how stakeholders can – through individual and collective action – take practical, action-oriented steps towards those shared goals. It builds on and complements UNCAS outcomes on nature-based solutions.

The JRT is designed to stakeholders transition to resilient and sustainable land use and the protection and restoration of nature and well-being of communities. DFID has committed 9 million pounds in seed funding to take forward key JRT work streams.

WBCSD has been selected to lead one of the emerging JRT work streams - the Investment Partnership Network (IPN). The Manager will engage finance support in accordance with decision making criteria that are consistent with the policy changes sought by the JRT. IPN will mobilize capital into landscapes and agri-food systems that consider responsible and sustainable investments in that landscape or value chain.

We are looking for a candidate with very strong project management experience and member/customer engagement skills, with experience which includes global sustainable agriculture, investment sector, and successful multi-stakeholder partnership management.

The candidate, liaising with other Food & Nature Program team members, and working with the other organizations involved in the JRT. S/he will help shape and contribute to a global Community of Practice around these issues. The Manager will have specific responsibility for the following activities and deliverables.

 

Responsibilities and duties

• Build and implement a process to engage members and other key partners active in this arena to support them in their efforts to pursue financial innovation and investment consistent with JRT objectives.
• Facilitate the engagement of those members and partners to co-develop investment criteria that can accelerate shifting investments towards resilient and sustainable supply chains in ways which empower and enable farmers and rural communities to support a just rural transition – with a particular focus on emerging markets.
• With input from the IPN network, develop short, user-friendly guides for banks, impact investors, insurers and others which set out investment KPIs and best practice in this area, and implement strategies to mainstream investment criteria and align with other relevant initiatives
• Work with partners to develop and implement an approach to scale up the GEF-funded Sustainable Rice Landscapes Initiative across multiple countries.
• Identify and scope other scalable opportunities that would accelerate investment into sustainable, resilient agricultural supply chains and facilitate new investment partnerships in line with the JRT objectives.
• The role must organize consistent and cohesive engagement to keep members informed on policy, targets, protocols, tools etc. ensure visibility to fast-moving developments on policy asks, methodologies and target setting, provide project members a streamlined way to provide input to the processes, and help members begin readying their own organizations for the results.
• Coordinate closely with the JRT Secretariat (based at Meridian Institute) and provide timely reporting on grant activities. Contribute to the JRT collective leadership agenda, engaging with other emerging JRT workstreams - including the Policy Action Coalition on Repurposing Agrifood Support Systems – supporting the alignment of investment and policy responses to drive impact.

This role will also engage with team members across other programs to help progress work streams on finance and in business sector areas including built environment, circular economy, training, as well as policy and communications.

• Excellent project management skills with experience managing a small team to execute project plan within scope and budget.
• Engage WBCSD members in this new work stream, onboarding company representatives into the work plan, leveraging them to inform, guide, support and further develop the work plan.
• Help convene and facilitate an international multi-stakeholder process of representatives from businesses, NGOs, government, and academia to develop the guidance report.
• Working as part of a team, organize, coordinate, and participate in internal and external meetings, conference calls, and workshops. Draft issue briefs, blogs, or other materials as needed.
• Engage with stakeholders and experts from various teams and organizations. Assist in the preparation and dissemination of outreach materials, presentations and publications.

This role will report to the Director, Scaling Positive Agriculture in WBCSD’s Food & Nature Program.  The role will be based in Europe (Geneva or London) or Asia (New Delhi or Singapore).

Some travel (15%) is expected.

 

Education and experience

• Master’s degree in a technical/ environmental scientific discipline with a minimum 5 years relevant work experience
• Knowledge and expertise: global sustainable agriculture, investment sector, and successful multi-stakeholder partnership management.
• Facilitation and stakeholder engagement: Strong demonstrated experience in successfully aligning different stakeholders and the ability to create effective relationships with new partners or stakeholders. Capacity to be assertive and take initiative when appropriate
• Project management: Strong demonstrated experience in project management and effective facilitation of different perspectives towards a common objective. Capacity to work independently by setting priorities within own work streams, identify and proactively address problems and work to deadlines
• Communication: Engaging communicator both in person and in writing. Ability to adjust style of communication to suit audience (e.g. present technical topics to a non-technical audience)
• Teamwork: Evidence of successfully working across teams and diverse interest groups
• Multi-Tasking: Ability to manage own projects and ad hoc demands simultaneously, set priorities, effectively utilize available resources, identify and address problems, and meet deadlines
• Language skills: Fluency in English (written and spoken) is essential, additional languages beneficial

 

WBCSD work environment

WBCSD is a purpose driven, forward-thinking and action-oriented organization, characterised by diversity of gender, nationalities and work experiences.

WBCSD offers a competitive, modern, and flexible working arrangement:

• Geneva-based organization with offices in London, New Delhi, New York City and Singapore
• State-of-the-art facilities and ICT-enabled working tools
• Flex-time possibilities
• Dynamic working atmosphere
• Open culture encouraging interaction and sharing of ideas and opinions

Please note that WBCSD will only respond to selected candidates for an interview.