Financial Services Sustainability Manager

Job Role: Financial Services Sustainability Manager

Location: London 

Career Level: Manager 

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations, with digital capabilities across all of these services. With our thought leadership and culture of innovation, we apply industry expertise, diverse skill sets and next-generation technology to each business challenge. 

We believe in inclusion and diversity and supporting the whole person. Our core values comprise of Stewardship, Best People, Client Value Creation, One Global Network, Respect for the Individual and Integrity. Year after year, Accenture is recognised worldwide not just for business performance but for inclusion and diversity too.  

“Across the globe, one thing is universally true of the people of Accenture: We care deeply about what we do and the impact we have with our clients and with the communities in which we work and live. It is personal to all of us.” – Julie Sweet, Accenture CEO 

As a team: 

Accenture Sustainability Services shapes our clients' future, combining a deep understanding of social and environmental challenges, technology and analytics, and business insight to create new growth opportunities, address risk and build competitive advantage through sustainable business.

Within Financial Services, we partner with leading asset managers, banks, insurers, and private equity firms as they navigate the transition to net zero while managing evolving regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations. Our clients are fundamentally transforming their business models, investment strategies, risk frameworks, and finance functions. This includes integrating climate & nature risk into decision-making, developing credible transition plans, measuring operational and financed emissions, impacts & dependencies, and leveraging technology including AI to drive sustainable finance at scale.

Our work spans sustainability transformation, climate, nature and wider ESG risk integration, sustainable finance structuring, ESG data, AI and platforms, ESG reporting and analytics, and increasingly sits at the intersection with Chief Strategy, Chief Finance, Chief Risk and Chief People Officers’ and CRO initiatives around enterprise risk management, regulatory compliance, financial reporting, people & change and value creation. Accenture's unique position at the intersection of sustainability, business strategy, finance, risk and technology means that financial services clients increasingly turn to us for help with their most critical ESG and climate transformation challenges.

As part of our wider Accenture Strategy & Consulting practice, you'll learn, grow and advance in an innovative culture that thrives on shared success, diverse ways of thinking and enables boundaryless opportunities that can drive your career in new and exciting ways.

If you're looking for a challenging career working in a vibrant environment with access to training and a global network of experts, this could be the role for you.

In our team you will learn to: 

• Develop and lead high performing small – medium sized Financial Services Sustainability teams, leading by example, actively mentoring others and contributing to performance management and recruitment activities
• Use your judgment to solve complex, ambiguous client business, sustainability, risk and financial reporting problems, bringing structure and rigorous quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques; acting and taking decisions with little day-to-day oversight
• Develop knowledge of key sustainability trends, regulatory developments, and risk frameworks and how they impact financial services markets, investment performance, enterprise value and corporate strategy in order to identify key value opportunities for clients
• Build expertise across sustainability, strategy, risk, people& change and finance function disciplines, supporting integrated solutions that span ESG strategy, risk management, regulatory reporting, people & change and value creation
• Develop and sustain trusted senior client relationships with C-suite executives, Heads of Sustainability, CFOs, CROs, CHROs and Investment Committees
• Support Accenture's business (including cost management, contract management) with discipline, rigor and integrity
• Support business development activities including opportunity identification/qualification and proposal development/presentation, leveraging your network and industry expertise
• Support practice/community building efforts such as developing offerings, assets, capabilities, and relevant thought leadership across sustainability, strategy, finance, risk and people & change domains

In this role you will: 

• Lead and deliver successful sustainability strategy engagements, addressing our clients' business challenges to create commercial success together with positive impacts for society and the environment on topics including:
• Net zero strategy and transition planning aligned to Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) requirements and other frameworks
• Financed emissions measurement and reporting using PCAF methodology
• Physical and transition climate & nature risk assessment, scenario analysis and integration into enterprise risk management (TCFD, TNFD)
• Sustainability-linked finance structuring and impact measurement
• ESG integration into investment processes, underwriting and credit risk frameworks
• Corporate sustainability reporting and assurance (CSRD, ISSB, SS5/25) with integration into financial reporting processes
• Portfolio decarbonisation strategy and implementation
• Just Transition planning and social impact assessment
• Sustainable finance and ESG data architecture and technology enablement
• Climate risk governance, controls and compliance frameworks
• Leverage your core consulting skills to understand and structure the clients' challenges; develop hypotheses on solutions; undertake market assessments; develop business cases incorporating risk quantification; design operating models and control frameworks to unlock value and enhance sustainability outcomes
• Use your deep financial services knowledge, sustainability expertise, and understanding of finance and risk functions to advise clients on their sustainability goals, risk management transformation, and regulatory compliance
• Collaborate with strategy, finance, risk and reporting colleagues to deliver integrated solutions that connect sustainability strategy with enterprise risk management, financial planning and analysis, regulatory reporting, people & change and value creation initiatives
• Leverage technology and AI tools to enhance sustainability analytics, automate reporting, integrate ESG data into financial systems, and drive portfolio-level insights at scale
• Develop and sustain client relationships and identify commercial opportunities for senior colleagues across sustainability, risk, and finance workstreams
• Develop and grow the capabilities of our team, acting as a mentor and coach

We are looking for experience in the following skills: 

• Application of recognised strategy, sustainability, finance and risk management frameworks and structured problem solving techniques
• Deep technical knowledge in at least three of the following areas: carbon accounting (Scope 1, 2, 3, financed emissions), climate risk assessment (physical and transition risk modelling, scenario analysis), transition planning and decarbonisation strategy, ESG due diligence and integration frameworks, sustainability reporting standards (CSRD, ISSB, GRI, SASB, TCFD, TNFD, & SS5/25), sustainable finance products and mechanisms
• Understanding of enterprise risk management frameworks, regulatory compliance requirements, and financial reporting processes relevant to sustainability (e.g., climate risk integration into ERM, risk appetite frameworks, three lines of defence)
• Knowledge of financial services value chains including investment processes, underwriting, credit risk assessment, and client reporting across asset management, banking, and insurance sectors
• Familiarity with key industry frameworks and networks (PCAF, SBTi for Financial Institutions,  IIGCC, PRI, UNEP FI, &  CDP) and ability to leverage these for thought leadership and business development
• Quantitative analysis, business case development, and risk quantification capabilities
• Qualitative analysis, research and stakeholder engagement across sustainability, risk, and finance functions
• Strong project management skills with demonstrated ability to lead complex, multi-workstream consulting engagements involving cross-functional teams
• Relationship building at all levels, including with Senior Executives across sustainability, finance, risk, and investment functions
• Leadership of diverse teams in complex and ambiguous strategy, sustainability, and risk engagements
• Staff development and mentoring
• Ability to leverage technology and AI tools for ESG data management, carbon accounting platforms, climate risk analytics, and financial reporting automation 

Academic Requirements: 

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent 

Set yourself apart: 

• Proven experience in financial services sustainability, either through direct industry roles (asset management, banking, insurance, private equity) or within a consulting capacity
• Experience working across sustainability and finance/risk functions, with understanding of how sustainability integrates with strategy, enterprise risk management, financial reporting, people/change management and value creation
• Active participation in industry working groups or committees (e.g., IIGCC, PRI, and UNEP FI)
• Published thought leadership or speaking engagements on sustainable finance, climate risk, or ESG reporting topics
• Professional qualifications or certifications relevant to sustainability, risk, or finance (CFA ESG, GARP SCR, FSA Credential, CII, FRM, or equivalent)
• Experience implementing technology solutions for ESG data management, carbon accounting platforms, climate risk analytics, or integration with financial/risk systems
• Track record of winning and delivering large-scale transformation programs
• Experience at strategy, sustainability, or financial services consulting firm
• Experience working on projects spanning multiple financial services sub-sectors (e.g., insurance and asset management) or across sustainability and CFO/risk domains
• Strong commercial acumen with demonstrated ability to identify and convert business development opportunities
• Confidence to articulate complex problems and solutions in a simple, logical and impactful manner and to constructively challenge team members and leadership to ensure the right client outcomes and value are delivered

What’s in it for you 

At Accenture in addition to a competitive basic salary, you will also have an extensive benefits package which includes 30 days’ vacation per year, private medical insurance and 3 extra days leave per year for charitable work of your choice! 

Flexibility and mobility are required to deliver this role as there will be requirements to spend time onsite with our clients and partners to enable delivery of the first-class services we are known for.  

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 791,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. Our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities.

Visit us at www.accenture.com 

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We believe that no one should be discriminated against because of their differences. All employment decisions shall be made without regard to age, race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, citizenship status or any other basis as protected by applicable law. Our rich diversity makes us more innovative, more competitive, and more creative, which helps us better serve our clients and our communities.