Principal Consultant/Hub Lead Climate Policy and Finance at OPM | September 2024

We are currently seeking a dynamic Team Leader for our Climate Policy and Finance team on a permanent basis. The position can be located out of any of our permanent offices in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Tanzania or United Kingdom.

About OPM

Oxford Policy Management is an international development consultancy working to improve lives through sustainable policy change in low- and middle-income countries. Our vision is for fair public policy that benefits both people and the planet. Through our global network of offices, we work in partnership with national stakeholders and decision makers to research, design, implement and evaluate impactful public policy.

We draw on our local and international experts to provide the very best evidence-based support. We work collaboratively, with ambition, to help deliver impactful public policy that will bring about lasting change.

Our climate change work

Our Climate, Resilience and Sustainability (CRS) practice specialises in devising and implementing policies that drive sustainability, resilience, and environmental stewardship. By harnessing renewable energy and developing and implementing climate mitigation solutions, we actively contribute to lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Simultaneously, we deliver on climate adaptation, working to fortify communities and ecosystems against the effects of a changing climate.

Within the CRS practice, the Climate Policy and Finance team supports governments and international organisations to turn climate policies and goals into action, through institutional reform, strategy development, policy innovation and evidence building at international, national and local level. We also work to secure the public, international, and private finance that governments need to deliver their adaptation and mitigation goals.

Overview of the role

As part of the CRS leadership team, you will play a vital role in the development and delivery of our global climate policy and finance work.

The primary objectives of the role are to:

• Oversee the delivery of our climate policy and finance work to the highest standards of quality – ensuring sustained and exceptional impact with our client governments for both people and planet;
• Shape the strategy of this rapidly growing area of our work, building our footprint in key geographies, raising our profile and contributing to global events, and growing our portfolio of work;
• Set a clear and inspiring vision for the Climate Policy and Finance team, leading the team by fostering a dynamic and collaborative team culture and ensuring sustained personal development.

Specifically, as Principal Consultant/Hub Lead, Climate Policy and Finance you will:

Climate policy advice and thought leadership

• Lead the Climate Policy and Finance team to deliver its portfolio of projects to quality and impact – providing timely and innovative outputs to governments and other clients;
• As a subject matter expert, make individual contributions to Climate Policy and Finance projects, providing creative and impactful solutions to our clients; and
• Represent the Climate Policy and Finance team externally, to provide global thought leadership and enhance our impact through advancing knowledge of climate policy solutions.

Team management and strategy

• Shape and drive the development of the Climate Policy and Finance team’s strategy and vision, ensuring it is effectively aligned with the CRS practice vision and OPM’s mission and objectives;
• Manage the Climate Policy and Finance team to meet their professional and personal development objectives, creating a supportive developmental environment and dynamic team culture;
• Ensure efficient allocation of the Climate Policy and Finance team’s time resources, to effectively balance the competing needs of project delivery, acquisition, external influencing, team management and personal development.

Business development and networking

• Lead the execution of a business development strategy for the Climate Policy and Finance team, identifying and targeting key new markets and geographies;
• Grow and sustain a wide network of stakeholders for the Climate Policy and Finance team to support the dissemination of our work and build future partnerships; and
• Lead the team to ensure effective and efficient project selection and bidding success, facilitating collaboration with other relevant OPM teams to achieve this.

Requirements for the role

We encourage anyone to apply who has a strong track record in climate policy/climate finance and a positive and energetic attitude. Some indicators that might suggest you are a good fit for the role include:

• A passion for social, environment and development impact;
• Extensive experience working on climate policy and/or climate finance issues;
• Experience working with governments in low- and/or middle-income countries;
• Experience leading a team spread across multiple locations;
• Ability to work in a dynamic environment, where team spirit, collaboration and mutual support are key to success;
• Excellent written English and strong communication skills.

Our offer

We offer a unique opportunity to work at the cutting edge of climate policy and finance, effecting change that has a real impact on the world and people’s lives. In addition, we support our staff through:

• Enabling colleagues’ capacity to grow professionally through enhanced learning resources, opportunities to work cross functionally, and space to engage with a range of internal and external events;
• A non-hierarchical culture that values support, collaboration, intellectual curiosity, and a rich diversity of perspectives;
• Hybrid working and a very high degree of flexibility, encouraging and enabling a healthy work/life balance;
• Providing an exceptionally generous annual leave entitlement, competitive salary and contributory pension scheme.

We are strengthened by the diversity of colleagues across our global business and are committed to being an equal opportunities employer, promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace for all. Our recruitment practices reflect our ambition to make the international development sector more inclusive and firm belief that our work delivers the best outcomes when we actively include a diversity of perspectives and experiences.

Application process

If you share our vision for fair public policy that benefits both people and planet, we would love to hear from you. Please submit your application through our careers’ site by the closing date.

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this role and candidates must have a pre-existing right to work in one of OPM’s existing offices for their application to be considered (see https://www.opml.co.uk/where-we-work).

Oxford Policy Management is committed to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion at every level of the business. Should you require adjustments to make the application process more accessible please contact us via: recruitment@opml.co.uk