Director, Climate Action

Full Time
SA
Posted 2 years ago
Applications have closed

Oversees the establishment of climate action program including strategies, policies, standards, and procedures; Establishes a baseline for monitoring the State of Climate; Implements climate action plans and initiatives, Reviews and audits GHG emissions; Assesses climate change mitigation, adaption, and resilience; Oversees carbon pricing and potential establishment of a trading scheme, Oversees NEOM’s progress against its climate goals with the aim to achieving carbon neutrality and climate positive impact.

Climate Action Strategy, Policy, Standards, and Procedures
Climate Change and Carbon Offsets Program
Climate Disclosure Monitoring and Reporting
Monitoring, Auditing, and Improving climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience performance
Division Management
Stakeholder Engagement
Readiness for Activation
Transition Planning

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES & ACTIVITIES:

Climate Action Functions

Establish climate action strategy, policy, standards, and procedures
Establish climate change mitigation, adaption, and resilience program including risk management and disclosure (e.g., ESG and TCFD related);
Assess GHG reporting requirements and methods
Lead the investments in climate solutions such as nature-based climate solutions, and carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration
Develop and implement carbon offset (environmental attributes) program and carbon market mechanisms, taking into consideration linkages with the biodiversity & sustainability programs
Establish carbon intensity standards and carbon pricing instruments
Establish partnerships with global initiatives to scale up climate action
Initiate stakeholder engagement to support the transition
Achieve readiness for activation
Support Department-wide transition planning

Develop division strategy and end-state operating model for climate action functions

Use global benchmarks to establish organizational design, required workforce targets, and operating model for the end state
Oversee development of Division strategy for achieving regulatory mandates
Ensure the end-state operating model is fully lean, highly relying on automation and outsourcing while ensuring collaboration across Authority departments

Drive readiness of all climate action functions across 5 Criteria:

i) Regulatory instruments

Work with the Governance, Strategy & Policy Division and NEOM Legal Affairs on developing and finalizing climate action regulations, policies, and standards
Develop climate action policies, standards, and technical guidelines
Provide expert content and collaborate with other departments/ teams to address dependencies
ii) Regulators (People)
Estimate headcount for Division requirements, including consideration of lean core staff while outsourcing possible functions and leveraging technology
Coordinate with HR and the Office of the Department Head to identify human resource needs for the sustainability functions, migrating internally, or hiring externally
Update existing, and develop new, job descriptions for Division positions
Establish a high-functioning team to address key functions and build capacity for demonstrating readiness
iii) Operational assets and systems
Identify and procure/implement assets and systems required to execute the Division functions and mandates (e.g., software tools, database, and registries)
iv) Protocols and governance
Develop the governance and processes for the internal operating model of the climate action function, defining standard operating procedures
Support the development of processes for cross-department coordination
v) Stakeholder engagement and agreements
Identify areas where informal cooperation and/or formal agreements are needed to provide services in the interim period and identify segregation of duties for interim service delivery
Working with the Office of the Head of Department, identify Base Economy entities and develop processes to communicate and liaise with key points of contact in the Base Economy for Division activities and actions
Working with the Office of the Head of Department, plan for the transition from Base Economy roles to NEOM Authority
Develop/review and implement a transition plan to end-state for all climate action functions
Ensure there is a phased transition plan for each Division function to reach the end-state model, using NEOM Vision principles: lean, efficient, and tech-enabled
Track and communicate progress against the transition plan

BACKGROUND, SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS:

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience:

The Director, of Climate Action, should have a proven track record in developing and leading government departments, programs, and policies, with extensive public policy and technical networks in the field of climate change.

The candidate must have:

Minimum of 14+ years experience in climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience
At least 5-6 years of experience in a senior managerial position in the public sector or consultancy advising the public sector
Experience working on Climate Change mitigation, adaptation and resilience, carbon pricing instruments, GHG reporting, carbon offsets, and international climate policy
Knowledgeable of international agreements and best practices, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA), Conference of Parties (COP), and the Paris Agreement target.
Demonstrated experience, knowledge, and leadership in managing projects or programs related to climate action
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Demonstrated knowledge and credibility in the sector through board positions, speaking engagements, international/ national awards, or published papers
Strong interpersonal skills to manage stakeholders and build relationships with the national and international community