Director, Sustainability

Morrow Sodali is a market-leading strategic advisory firm in the APAC region with a team of more than 100 professionals across Australia servicing a diverse range of clients including nearly 400 ASX listed companies from offices in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth.

We are strengthening our Sustainability & ESG offering with the addition of a Director role responsible for supporting clients with advice that helps advance their sustainability agenda, build shareholder and stakeholder value, and navigate an increasingly complex external environment. We will consider candidates based in Sydney or Perth.

You will join a highly experienced team of industry professionals servicing a growing suite of companies with sustainability and ESG advice in support of their business objectives.

Our client base provides a diversity of challenging work and career opportunities, and we offer our people the opportunity to develop their skills beyond sustainability with exposure to other consulting areas within Morrow Sodali including corporate governance, remuneration, shareholder engagement, investor relations and strategic communications.

Role Overview:

Location: Sydney CBD (Hybrid)

We are looking for a dynamic and experienced sustainability director to enhance our sustainability and ESG advisory services in Australia. The Director, Sustainability will play a pivotal role in engaging with clients, leading projects, providing advice and thought leadership, and driving positive change across various industries. The position would suit a seasoned sustainability generalist (non-technical) with a strong track-record of leading and delivering sustainability program projects, either within an ASX-listed entity, or in a corporate consulting capacity.

Responsibilities:

• Lead client engagements and develop new business with clients alongside cross-functional APAC colleagues.
• Provide a broad range of sustainability focused advice and solutions to boards/directors, sustainability/ IR leaders and executive management on topics such as environmental management, social performance, ESG governance and climate risk.
• Develop materials and processes for Morrow Sodali’s sustainability and ESG focused products and services, including reviews and investor analysis, industry research, peer benchmarking, roadmaps, and implementation strategies.
• Manage client disclosure and stakeholder engagement projects, including materiality assessments, shareholder perception studies, climate reporting, modern slavery statements, and sustainability reports.
• Effectively manage and mentor direct reports to ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, and create tangible value for our clients.
• Ensure our sustainability offering for clients remains highly impactful and relevant through continuous improvement and innovation over time.
• Participate in sustainability and governance forums and other industry events, setting the agenda for discussion to actively build Morrow Sodali’s brand and value proposition.
• Stay abreast of emerging sustainability regulations, standards, and best practices, and provide strategic advice to clients on compliance and risk management.

To succeed in this role, you will ideally have:

• At least 10 years of experience working in-house and/or consulting to mid-to-large tier ASX-listed organisations, ideally in sustainability, ESG, investor relations and/or corporate affairs or similar.
• Experience in successfully managing client relationships or advising Boards/ C-suite.
• Deep working knowledge of Environmental, Social and Governance practices, regulation, frameworks, and global reporting standards (GRI, SASB, TCFD/ ASRS).
• Excellent interpersonal, written and presentation skills, and the ability to confidently communicate with a wide spectrum of senior stakeholders, including directors and C-suite executives.
• A results-oriented, pro-active, self-starter attitude and ability to perform well autonomously.
• The ability to effectively execute and oversee the delivery of day-to-day client work, while also playing a key role in driving strategic work, proposals and business development.
• A genuine interest in and commitment to advancing sustainable outcomes across APAC and internationally.

What’s in it for you?

In this role, you will have the opportunity guide companies on their journey to better sustainability, stakeholder engagement and corporate governance outcomes, by helping them better understand the expectations of their investors and other key stakeholders.

In addition, we offer the opportunity to:

• Work with a diverse and high-performing team with cross-functional expertise.
• Grow your professional network by developing and maintain contacts and relationships with public company directors, senior management, senior investor relations executives, institutional shareholders, and fund managers, as well as industry associations and other individuals and organisations with a sustainability focus across the APAC region.
• Delve into wider corporate governance and sustainability research, disclosures, trends, and best practice, while playing an active role innovating new products and services which address them.
• Work with overseas offices and colleagues to collaborate on global initiatives and client deliverables.

Benefits and Culture

In addition to providing competitive remuneration, Morrow Sodali offers comprehensive employee rewards and benefits to support our accountability and performance led culture.

Our APAC People & Culture Strategy is focused on providing employees with flexibility, recognition, inclusivity, workplace productivity, as well as ongoing learning and development opportunities to benefit their careers. As part of our commitment to work-life balance, this role is being offered in either a part-time (4 days/ week) or full-time capacity.