Full Job Details at https://tnfd.info/careers/technical-director/
- Location: Homeworking (from any location). Willingness to travel, some travel to meetings is required
- Start date: As soon as possible
- Role: Fixed Term contract or secondment: Full-time for 2 years (with the possibility of an extension)
- Application closing date: 23 August 2021, at 9am (BST)
The Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) was launched in June 2021. This followed an informal preparatory phase during which foundations were laid for the initiative’s proposed technical scope, governance and workplan. See the Nature In Scope summary document and other resources on the TNFD website (tnfd.info) for more details.
The TNFD is a ground-breaking global initiative and is supported by major financial institutions, corporates, civil society organisations, governments, and relevant UN agencies. Its goal over the next two years is to deliver a framework for organisations to report and act on evolving nature-related risks, in order to support a shift in global financial flows away from nature-negative outcomes and toward nature-positive outcomes.
The TNFD is led by Co-Chairs representing the public and private sectors and will comprise a membership group of market participants that will be responsible for its work. Among other governance arrangements, the Co-Chairs will be supported by a dedicated Secretariat that will operate mostly virtually.
We are now seeking an exceptionally talented and experienced individual to join this new Secretariat as its Technical Director. In this role, you will oversee the technical development of the TNFD’s framework. You will guide the technical work across TNFD, drawing on the fast-growing body of technical work already underway in this space, commissioning new work as necessary from a wide range of experts worldwide, and supporting the Working Groups and their Vice-Chairs on all technical aspects of their work. You will lead a Technical Research Group established to draw together relevant expertise within and outside the TNFD.
You will bring deep expertise in financial reporting, standard setting, and integrated disclosure systems, as well as expertise in nature-related data (or demonstrate the potential and to develop these skills and knowledge). You will have a strong applied understanding of nature-related risks and opportunities for the corporate and/or the finance sector. In addition to your outstanding technical abilities, you will be a seasoned and outcome-oriented manager, with excellent judgement, strong communication skills and the ability to flourish in a dynamic and demanding work environment.
You will report to the TNFD Executive Director and support the TNFD Co-Chairs, overseeing the work of one or more technically focused members of the Secretariat.
What’s the role?
As Technical Director you will oversee the overall technical development of the TNFD’s framework, ensuring that it meets the practical needs of the market while being technically rigorous and aligned with the principles and overarching mission of the TNFD building on the proposed scope, governance and workplan, and the proposed technical scope recommendations.
You will establish, oversee and manage the work of the initiative’s Technical Research Group (TRG), a distributed virtual hub delivering the scientific and technical expertise needed to realise the TNFD goal. This will include:
- Developing and overseeing implementation of plans for all technical aspects of the TNFD, working in a consultative manner across the initiative while effectively managing trade-offs to maintain momentum.
- Attracting, deploying and overseeing the diverse range of talent and resources needed to deliver on these plans.
- Providing independent expertise and technical advice to the TNFD Working Groups upon their request.
- Gathering, synthesising and stimulating relevant TNFD-aligned technical work from across this fast-evolving space.
- Commissioning new applied research and market testing as required from leading experts and relevant institutions worldwide.
- Directly delivering on specific elements of the work with your team as appropriate.
- Embedding a clear set of processes to ensure technical excellence across the TNFD – including to ensure high-quality and timely delivery of work, and the integration of feedback from relevant stakeholders at every stage of development.
You will line-manage and be supported by a Technical Manager, and draw support from the wide range of experts, partners, members, and diverse institutions that together comprise the growing TNFD Alliance.
You will support the Co-Chairs and Executive Director as required, keeping them and other stakeholder groups informed of technical developments, challenges and opportunities; and ensuring that their strategic inputs and expertise are effectively integrated within the TNFD’s technical process.
Finally, you will play an important role in the positioning, communications, and outreach work required to ensure the successful adoption of the framework by the wider market.
The key milestones and deliverables that you play a key role in supporting from a technical perspective, include:
- A set of foundational resources for the TNFD as it develops its framework, including but not limited to:
- definitions concerning nature-related risks and opportunities;
- a stakeholder landscape assessment to help maximise alignment and complementarity with existing initiatives, frameworks and standards, and avoid duplication;
- a set of user principles to help users understand how to adapt the framework to the context of their organisation; and
- a classification system for nature-related risks and opportunities by industry, building on existing work in this space.
- An integrated, accessible, and practical disclosure framework building on the vision and inputs of the TNFD Co-Chairs and Membership, ready to be piloted in 2022.
- Systematic piloting of the framework across priority sectors, asset classes, instruments and stakeholders.
- Testing of the final framework and market consultations before its launch in 2023.
- Detailed implementation guidance for reporting entities on how to fulfil the requirements of the framework, guidance on metrics, types of data that can be used and so on.
You need to have:
To flourish in this demanding role, you will be an exceptional leader in this space, with a track-record commensurate with the broad technical scope, political complexity, and ambitious global goals of the TNFD.
Central to your success will be a deep technical understanding of nature-related risks and opportunities for the corporate and finance sector; the management skills to oversee delivery of an ambitious set of programmatic outputs in a complex and interdisciplinary setting; and the experience, judgement and leadership skills needed to develop a framework that is practical and technically rigorous while balancing the diverse needs of the TNFD Alliance and the wider market.
Essential
- Advanced degree in a relevant field, or the ability to demonstrate equivalent knowledge and experience gained in a corporate setting.
- Strong expertise in development of financial reporting, standard-setting, and/or integrated disclosure systems, with a deep understanding of relevant data, metrics and frameworks, and the latest developments in this fast-evolving space.
- Strong track record in managing nature-related risks and opportunities for the finance and/or corporate sector, with knowledge of one or more sectors with a high impact or dependency on nature, and across a wide range of relevant asset classes.
- Proven results in scoping, commissioning, and integrating applied research from a diverse set of technical experts to inform private and financial sector decision-making.
- Strong programmatic and people management skills, with a proven track record in successfully delivering on complex, interdisciplinary projects across multiple partners and regions.
- Strong networks across relevant sectors and disciplines, and a reputation as an outstanding technical leader in this space.
- Outstanding interpersonal and relationship-building skills with partners, technical experts, and other stakeholders at a senior level across sectors and disciplines.
- Superb communication, presentation and facilitation skills, with the ability to translate and explain complex technical information to private and finance sector audiences, and to a diverse range of other stakeholders.
- A strong independent drive, with the ability to flourish in a dynamic and demanding work environment, and as a member of a high-performing, distributed team.
Desirable
- While the working language will be English, professional fluency in additional languages will be an advantage. Good written and spoken French is particularly desirable.
- Experience with the development or implementation of the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and/or comparable initiatives involving disclosure of climate and/or other environmental risks and impacts.
- Involvement or strong demonstrable interest in the early stages of development of the TNFD, and an understanding of the strategic choices that have been made in its evolution to date.
- Experience with relevant international or domestic political processes.
- Media skills and experience.
If this sounds like you:
This role is available on a fixed-term or secondment basis. Secondments are welcome, although will only be considered from organizations and/or firms that are considered neutral to the TNFD’s goals and ambitions.
If you wish to apply, please submit:
- Your CV (to include a list of relevant papers and publications related to the themes of the TNFD and examples of relevant frameworks you have helped to develop).
- A short cover letter (no more than two sides of A4) describing how you meet the specific requirements for the post.
- Please also indicate your nationality and country of residence when applying.
The closing date for applications is 23 August 2021, at 9am (BST). Please submit your application to recruitment@gfi.green
