Deadline for applications: 02 March 2022

WBCSD is the premier global, CEO-led community of over 200 of the world’s leading sustainable businesses working collectively to accelerate the system transformations needed for a net zero, nature positive, and more equitable future.

We do this by engaging executives and sustainability leaders from business and elsewhere to share practical insights on the obstacles and opportunities we currently face in tackling the integrated climate, nature and inequality sustainability challenge; by co-developing “how-to” CEO-guides from these insights; by providing science-based target guidance including standards and protocols; and by developing tools and platforms to help leading businesses in sustainability drive integrated actions to tackle climate, nature and inequality challenges across sectors and geographical regions.

Our member companies come from all business sectors and all major economies, representing a combined revenue 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. Since 1995, WBCSD has been 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, united by our vision of creating a world in which 9+ billion people are living well, within planetary boundaries, by mid-century.

Job Overview

We are looking for an experienced and dynamic Senior Manager to lead areas of Policy, Advocacy and Member Mobilization (PAMM). This is a full-time, permanent position based at the WBCSD offices in Geneva, Switzerland, reporting to the Director of Policy, Advocacy and Member Mobilization. The Policy, Advocacy and Member Mobilization team has been created as part of our new Vision 2050 strategy that is designed to support WBCSD’s members in driving and accelerating transformational progress towards a world in which more than 9 billion people can live well, within planetary boundaries. WBCSD is the premier platform for the world’s leading sustainable businesses to work together to accelerate the system transformations needed for a zero-carbon, nature-positive, equitable future and the new Vision 2050 strategy will centre work around Imperatives (Climate Action, Nature Action and Equity Action) and Pathways (Food & Agriculture, Energy, Products & Materials, Transportation & Mobility, Built Environment, and Health & Wellbeing).

The successful candidate will focus on policy development in partnership with members, serving working groups across Pathways as well as the nature action imperative, developing key messages, briefings and insight for members, partners and other stakeholders. The position offers a unique opportunity to support and shape the sustainability strategies of some of the world’s leading companies, helping them to collaborate on a pre-competitive basis to drive positive transformation in key supply chains. The position is very visible externally and the candidate will be expected to act as an ambassador and spokesperson for WBCSD across meetings, events and media, as applicable. The candidate will represent WBCSD on key working groups together with partners.

Responsibilities and duties

Policy Development:

• Work with the Director for Policy, Advocacy and Member Mobilization and the rest of the PAMM team to support the PAMM strategy: jointly develop global, and as applicable, regional policy positions that represent our members’ collective work and ambition.
• Support members in their work, especially focusing on the nature action and diverse pathway agenda: develop policy briefings, lead working groups, create visibility opportunities for members
• Help drive policy recommendation development for key priority milestone global events and joint position statements
• Engage business and other stakeholders in the policy development process, through working groups and discussion, to develop concrete recommendations and guidelines on how to elevate the nature action agenda in key sectors.

Advocacy

• Ensure project milestones are met and deliverables are finalized in time in the advocacy space.
• Organize and moderate or facilitate webinars and workshops, with a focus on specific pathways and the nature action agenda. Work closely with the relevant directors and teams to ensure successful collaboration.
• Draft project materials (such as business cases, guidelines, reports), i.e. collect intelligence, draft text, facilitate agreement between members, work with the WBCSD communication team for publications, etc); this work will be done in close collaboration with the Business Intelligence unit and Membership Criteria Support Hub. This also links to developing, together with other team members, relevant business briefings and summary reports around key milestone external reports.
• Evaluate and support the roll-out of WBCSD programs at country level in collaboration with WBCSD’s Global Network.
• Contribute to grant funding applications (recurring or new) to co-fund project activities, if and when applicable.

Business Mobilization:

• Together with the rest of the team, work on key global milestone events such as Stockholm +50, COP 27, G20/B20 and many others to mobilize collective company ambition, drive engagement, and create CEO/business leadership opportunities.
• Develop content that can be profiled externally at key events, and provide input and expertise for Senior Management Team briefings.
• Facilitate member engagement in key events and global milestones, build and manage relationships with members, seek group and one-on-one conversations with member companies to understand their needs.
• Collaborate with WBCSD member companies and Global Network partners in outreach activities, but also in organizing invite-only business roundtables and workshops.
• Represent WBCSD within the business community, among policymakers and other stakeholders from civil society and academia at key events including WBCSD’s Liaison Delegate and Council Meetings

Qualifications

• Background and experience:
  • Master’s or Bachelor’s university degree level education with experience in the international relations, policy, sustainability space as well as good stakeholder engagement experience.
  • 10 to 12 years’ professional experience gained in the business and/or government sector.
• Knowledge and expertise:
  • We encourage applicants with a strong understanding of the nature agenda and at least one of the following pathways: Energy, Transportation & Mobility, Products & Materials, Health & Wellbeing and Financial Products & Services.
• Facilitation and stakeholder engagement:
  • Evidence of successfully aligning different stakeholders and the ability to create effective relationships with new partners or stakeholders.
• Project management:
  • Takes responsibility for projects, actions and people. Evidence of successful 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.
  • Experience of working on an international basis and especially working in an emerging economy context is highly appreciated (e.g. to deal with different languages, time zones and cultural expectations).
• Communication:
  • Engaging communicator both in person and in writing, with the ability to adjust style of communication to suit audience (e.g. present technical topics to a non-technical audience), make presentations and undertake public speaking with skills and confidence.
• Teamwork:
• Evidence of successfully working across teams and diverse interest groups, and a track record of effectively working in teams with partners /stakeholders. Ability to build, nurture, and work effectively in across different functions and cultures within the organization, joy in learning from others and also seeing others succeed in their jobs.
• Language skills:
  • Fluency in English (written and spoken) is critical, fluency in additional languages is an advantage.

The position is full-time and based in Geneva, Switzerland, with the option to work from other locations such as Amsterdam, NL or London, UK. Some international travel will arise, but WBCSD offers a hybrid and flexible working environment.

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

The Work Environment:

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

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

Please also note that WBCSD will only respond to candidates selected for the interview process.