Principal, Sustainable Finance

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) seeks a Principal, Sustainable Finance to lead global research and innovation in sustainable finance within the Innovation and Research Team. This role involves developing strategic direction, collaborating on product development, and providing expertise in finance related to sustainable buildings. The position is remote and focuses on enhancing USGBC's impact in the sustainable finance landscape through education, market development, and partnerships.
THE ORGANIZATION

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a global, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., working to improve environmental sustainability, human health, and resilience in the built environment through its programs and rating systems including LEED. Today, people in over 180 countries and territories live, work, and learn in LEED certified buildings, communities, and cities that protect health, climate, and natural resources, and enhance quality of life.

USGBC is currently seeking a Principal, Sustainable Finance to join our Innovation and Research Team. The Innovation and Research Team is responsible for driving thought leadership, identifying market trends and opportunities, informing product strategy and optimization, expanding the green building body of knowledge, and reporting impact of our work and influence. This role will lead our global research and innovation agenda on Sustainable Finance, evolve a strategic direction for suitably embedding related concepts in our products and services, and evaluate emerging market drivers and responses.

The Principal, Sustainable Finance, provides strategic direction, coordination, and subject matter expertise in the domain and related sectors. This individual will have responsibility across the USGBC and GBCI platform, informing a wide range of products and programs and will be part of the Innovation & Research team. The individual should have interdisciplinary knowledge on finance and insurance in real estate sector and their intersection with sustainable buildings, communities and cities. The individual shall steer internal collaboration to generate educational content, inform market development and advocacy and support building external partnerships with key stakeholders.

This position is approved to work remotely.

Specific Responsibilities:

Responsibilities Overview:

Strategy Development
• Develop and execute a roadmap to increase the relevance and quality of USGBC’s work as it responds to and shapes the sustainable finance landscape.
• Develop a deep understanding of USGBC’s existing capabilities, intellectual property, and relationships to identify and leverage the strategic opportunities for bolstering relevance and impact relating to sustainable finance.
• Maintain an enterprise-wide vision and roadmap on sustainable finance opportunities for impact, connection with our work, and related initiatives.
• Collaborate with senior leadership to define the vision and long-term goals of this focus for USGBC.

Product and Program Advisement
• Serve as the technical subject expert for the organization maintaining expertise in market trends and developments to facilitate development of best-in-class products.
• Provide sustainable finance expertise and advisory services in the technical development of LEED, PERFORM, Arc, and other products.
• Work closely with product teams to innovate and enhance product and technical offerings to make them more integrated with sustainable finance developments and workflows.
• Advocate for the integration of sustainable finance into broader sustainability aspects and USGBC programs and products.
• Partner with USGBC’s Advocacy team to track policy developments and opportunities related to the subject.
• Advise Global and US-based Market Transformation and Development staff on outreach strategies and initiatives to engage relevant organizations.

Research
• Stay up to date on the latest sustainable finance trends, research findings, policy developments, and market drivers.
• Create research agenda to strengthen the linkage between green buildings, communities and cities, sustainable finance, and economic drivers.
• Create frameworks for evaluating cost-benefit/financial value of green buildings and communities.
• Recommend data needs and infrastructure to measure and track finance related KPIs of our work and impacts.
• Communicate findings through research reports, policy briefs, and presentations to various stakeholders, including senior leadership, policymakers, and the public.
• Create and supervise working groups and engage consultants as needed.

Thought Leadership and Industry Influence
• Manage relationships with key stakeholders, including funders, USGBC member companies, industry experts, and government bodies, to support research initiatives.
• Serve as an internal and external thought leader, helping to affirm USGBC’s unique position and relevance through a range of activities, including speaking, writing, teaching, and mentoring.
• Identify and establish strategic partnerships for advancing USGBC’s mission and business with an emphasis on sustainable finance and its intersection the built environment and health, equity and decarbonization.
• Lead outreach to key external stakeholders and member organizations to inform and promote USGBC’s focus on sustainable finance.
• Convene real estate stakeholders, research organizations, and private sector partners to advance understanding and solutions regarding financing challenges and solutions
• Represent the organization in key expert forums and professional bodies

Capacity Building
• Interact with technical development team on research projects to advance the intersection of sustainable finance and the built environment.
• Increase internal, cross-functional capacity in the domain of finance in real estate sector to support standards development, education, advocacy, and other organizational initiatives
• Develop and generate content for courses, workshops, and events focused on sustainable finance and green building certifications.
• Build awareness and understanding of sustainable finance among USGBC staff.
• Conduct training sessions and workshops to promote best practices in green finance.

Education & Experience Requirements:
• Master’s degree in relevant area or equivalent credentials, PhD preferred.
• 15+ years of relevant experience in sustainable finance, green building, or related fields.
• Demonstrated ability to connect and lead partnerships and outreach focused on sustainable finance.
• Deep familiarity with financing mechanisms for green buildings (bonds, equity, sustainability linked-loans, public financing, etc.), sustainable finance frameworks and taxonomies, and related policy developments.
• Commitment to advancing environmental sustainability through innovative financial strategies.
• Senior-level influence experience in related positions
• Ability to develop long term strategic plans and lead execution of plans.
• Ability to establish and maintain strong interpersonal relationships with a diverse array of individuals and constituents
• Excellent interpersonal communication and collaboration skills.
• Proven track record in developing and implementing initiatives.
• A strong track record communicating technical information to a variety of audiences in written and verbal communications.
• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities.
• Attention to detail to ensure high quality outputs.
• Innovative spirit and ability to deliver unique solutions to complex problems.

Employee Supervision
This position does not currently supervise staff.

Travel Requirements
10-15% to serve as spokesperson and representative at industry events and strategic partner meetings, as well as periodic visits to DC for in-person meetings.

Certifications/Additional Training (Optional):
• * Certifications in sustainable finance
• Knowledge of global reporting frameworks and guidelines (e.g., taxonomies, ESG reporting, lines of credit for real estate sector, insurance etc).
• Familiarity with LEED and other GBCI Programs

Details:
• Full Time, permanent, salaried, benefits-eligible, exempt status
• Location: Remote or hybrid position in Washington, DC headquarters
• Hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:30 pm EST, 40 hours per week, occasional evening and weekends
• Travel – upon request and approval.
• USGBC is an equal opportunity employer, committed to advancing social equity in our work and fostering a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Salary for candidates located within the United States is set between $150-$180K/year. Candidates located outside of the United States varies depending on location and experience.

Benefits:

Employees work for an established mission-based and member-driven nonprofit organization with a compelling vision, nonprofit competitive compensation that includes 401k matching, tuition reimbursement, comprehensive health insurance, employer sponsored Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) and pre-tax Flexible Spending Account (FSA), generous paid leave, in addition to a renewal leave of six weeks for employees celebrating monumental employment anniversary.

The headquarters office is a LEED Platinum commercial interior space in a LEED certified building in the LEED Platinum certified central business district in the first LEED Platinum certified city, Washington, DC. The office serves as an example for green design and construction products and practices. It is close to public transportation and incorporates many healthy and environmentally friendly features, including an on-site gym, rooftop lounge and healthy snacks for staff.