ESG Associate Director

Contango is seeking an ESG Associate Director in Abu Dhabi to enhance its capabilities in delivering sustainable solutions. The role involves leading ESG programs for clients, conducting research, and developing tailored consulting solutions. Responsibilities include supporting ESG strategy implementation, client engagement, and team collaboration. Candidates should have a degree and at least 8 years of experience in sustainability or ESG projects, with consulting experience required.
Contango is a leading consultancy in Abu Dhabi, renowned for its strategic insights and transformational strategies that empower a wide array of industries.

As part of our continued growth and commitment to delivering exceptional value to our clients, we seek an ESG Assocaite Director to enhance our capabilities in delivering cutting-edge, sustainable solutions to our clients.

We are dedicated to integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into business strategies to drive sustainable growth and value creation.

Introduction:

The ESG Associate Director will play a pivotal role in supporting our firm's ESG strategy internally and for our clients. You will work closely with diverse teams to deliver innovative, sustainable solutions that enhance business performance and contribute to a sustainable future.

Key Responsibilities:
• Lead ESG programmes for clients ensuring quality of deliverable and alignment with client needs and goals
• Craft in-depth data analyses to drive sophisticated hypothesis generation
• Conduct primary research, collect and analyse secondary research, extrapolate key insights and prepare detailed reports and presentations based on research findings
• Prepare high quality presentations for clients including visually compelling documents, reports, and charts
• Lead workstreams autonomously within larger projects and ensure project deliverables are completed on time and meet quality standards.
• Assists project team with relationship development, client need identification and proposal preparation

Support ESG Strategy and Implementation:
• Assist in developing and implementing ESG strategies that align with client objectives and current sustainability trends
• Work with the wider team to develop sub-strategies, such as decarbonization, biodiversity, etc. to meet overall sustainability goals
• Support the creation and application of ESG frameworks and tools for assessment and reporting, ensuring alignment with international standards and regulations
• Drive progress on initiatives, via content development, stakeholder engagement, and technical support to meet annual targets

Client Engagement:
• Provide support in delivering ESG advisory services to clients, guiding them in embedding sustainability into their operations and strategies.
• Assist in maintaining client relationships by contributing to measurable improvements in ESG performance and compliance.
• Support the development of tailored consulting solutions that address each client's specific sustainability needs

Team Collaboration and Development:
• Participate in the growth and development of the ESG consulting team, assisting in continuous learning initiatives
• Contribute to the operations and strategic direction of the ESG consulting practice through active collaboration and support
• Promote high standards of service delivery and support team members to achieve client satisfaction and foster long-term relationships

Required Qualifications:
• A Degree from a reputable international university

Desired Experience and knowledge
• A minimum of 8+ years of experience, ideally with focus on sustainability or ESG related workstreams and projects. Consulting experience is mandatory.
• Knowledge of sustainability reporting and understanding of major ESG reporting standards and frameworks
• Knowledge of carbon accounting approaches and intensity ratios
• Understanding of decarbonisation approaches and net zero target setting
• Experience of excel analysis with large data sets and building complex tables and charts

Skills and Competencies
• Excellent analytical skills, as well as creativity and a proven capacity for critical thinking.
• Intellectual curiosity and a strong personal interest in ESG subject matter; ability to learn new concepts quickly.
• Competency in data analysis and strong Excel skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills, with the ability to clearly articulate complex ideas and concepts at a level of detail adapted to the audience; role will involve presenting to senior management, clients and other external stakeholders.
• Clear capacity to maintain focus and deliver required outputs on time.
• Self-motivation, self-reliance and good organizational skills; many aspects of the role are unstructured, and the candidate will be expected to add and develop new ideas and initiatives.
• Strong written and spoken English language skills.
• Fluency Arabic is advantageous.