The role
We are looking for a motivated and experienced public policy professional with a climate change background to lead the Policy Programme for a one-year fixed term contract maternity cover.
Reporting to the CEO, and as a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT), you will work closely with the Investor Practices and Corporate Programme Directors to deliver the policy programme’s strategy for this period. You will be responsible for leading a team of seven staff who cover real economy, sustainable finance and nature policy projects at the UK, EU and global level. We particularly encourage applicants with EU and/or international climate policy expertise.
Your role, which involves direct engagement with policy makers and our investor members, will help to shape the policy and regulatory environment to support companies and investors in implementing their net zero commitments and managing the risks and opportunities associated with the transition. You will also regularly collaborate with our partner organisations in this space, including other investor membership organisations.
This role will involve helping to design, coordinate and implement IIGCC’s plans for the CBD COP and climate COP in 2026, including by creating opportunities for IIGCC and our members where appropriate. There will be opportunities for public speaking throughout the contract period, and you will be required to represent IIGCC at important external fora on various climate topics throughout the year.
Main responsibilities
The work will comprise the following key activities:
- Actively engage and provide strategic input into the implementation of the current policy programme strategy and input into the development of the strategy for the coming three years.
- Lead the Policy team to deliver the strategy and programme of work for the Policy Programme (2026 and up to Q2 2027 as required) to enable investors to positively influence policymaking in relation to climate change, sustainable finance and nature/ deforestation. This includes supporting the delivery of cross-programme projects which are of strategic importance across IIGCC, such as initiatives relating to adaptation and resilience, scaling finance for EMDE’s, and nature.
- Manage a team of seven staff ranging from Manager to Senior Specialist level. This includes providing strategic direction and support to the team, building capability and knowledge sharing, overseeing recruitment (if required), performance, and talent management. You will also help ensure alignment with wider organisational priorities, fostering cross-team collaboration.
- Work closely with investors to understand their key policy priorities, how policy impacts on their decision-making, and to effectively balance their views when representing positions externally. This includes engaging with members via the UK and EU policy working groups and the bi-annual Policy Advisory Group with senior investors.
- Working with the wider team, develop key policy asks at UK, EU and global level and oversee and support relevant policy engagements with investor members, for instance to encourage enhanced policy ambition in some areas or seek to prevent policy rollbacks in areas which provide investor certainty. Examples include engaging on EU sustainable finance legislation (EU omnibus) or sector decarbonisation commitments (EU CO2 cars and vans, EU clean industrial deal etc) and supporting work on the new UK Carbon Budget.
- Manage relations with key stakeholders, including UK, EU and global policy makers at political and civil service level, including the European Commission, UK Government and UNFCCC, including responsibility for relevant meetings and consultation responses.
- Working with technical leads and the development team, identify fundraising opportunities and engage with our existing and potential funders to develop new funding proposals and report on the outputs and impact of IIGCC’s work on active policy grants.
- Work with the communications team to ensure the Policy Programme, its initiatives and outputs are effectively communicated to external audiences and to our membership, for instance via thought leadership pieces.
- Represent IIGCC externally in key fora (i.e. IIGCC events, European climate summits, COP as required etc), including public speaking when desirable, to ensure a strong investor voice and shape policy developments at the global, EU and national level.
- Manage the team’s budget.
- Support IIGCC’s CEO and Board in their discussions on policy, deputising for the CEO when needed at external events and meetings.
- Play a positive role on the Senior Management Team implementing the IIGCC strategy and pursuing cross-team projects that support the IIGCC mission.
Some travel, including internationally, will be necessary as well as some out-of-hours calls.
Skills and experience
Essential:
- Experience of working on issues relating to climate change, nature and finance, ideally in a private sector context. Alternatively, experience working in relevant finance, consulting or policy roles with professional studies or demonstrated understanding of nature and climate change.
- Significant experience of working on public policy relating to climate change and sustainable finance, with proven success at building positive relationships with policy makers and influencing key decision makers.
- Successful track record of leading programmes in comparable leadership roles, including people management experience.
- Strong project management skills, coordination and organisational skills, with proven ability to deliver outcomes across complex multi-workstream programmes.
- Excellent communication skills, including interpersonal, verbal and in writing.
- Strong interpersonal, diplomacy and networking skills.
- Ability to work under pressure, self-motivated, flexible and disciplined. Enthusiastic and positive approach to work.
- Awareness of international and multi-cultural settings.
- Fluent in routine IT tools including MS Office (Word, PowerPoint).
- Fluency in English language
- Willingness to travel occasionally, including internationally.
Desirable:
- Solid understanding and familiarity with policy decision-making processes, particularly at EU and global level (e.g. UNFCCC)
- Other European languages (e.g. French).
The full Policy Programme Director job description can be found here.
Why work at IIGCC?
People join IIGCC because they care deeply about making a difference by bringing the investment community together to navigate the risks and opportunities of the transition and support progress towards a net zero and climate resilient future. In return, IIGCC offers its employees a competitive salary with a wide range of benefits and supportive ways of working. You can find the full list of our benefits here.
Applications
Interested applicants should submit a Curriculum Vitae and a cover letter detailing their relevant skills, capabilities and experience for the role by completing the application form here. If you have any queries, please email vacancy@iigcc.org.
Recruitment timeline
The deadline for applications is 3rd February 2026. We reserve the right to extend the deadline or close this vacancy early depending on the applications we receive. We recommend that you submit your application as early as possible.
Please note that we aim for the first round interviews (online, via Teams) to take place in the week of 9th February 2026.
