The WWF is run at a local level by the following offices...

Business and Industry: Partnerships (Finance)

Posted on 2 October 2017

(Permanent position: Based in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, WWF-SA Offices)

Background:

WWF seeks to work with businesses that have the greatest potential to reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth and together find solutions to conservation challenges particularly facing humanity - such land use, oceans, food, fiber, water, and energy & climate change.

WWF works with business and industry to influence the redirection of financial flows and allocation of financial capital in a manner that integrates and mitigates environmental risks, enable sustainable development and promote alternative innovations to achieve greater positive sustainable impact for a business, society, and the economy

Through forging, maintaining, and growing such transformative relationships with corporate/business and individuals/staff, one of the critical outcomes is the redirection of financial flows towards environmental sustainability and also the mobilization of funds towards environmental sustainability and conservation

Harnessing all of WWF expertise, the Business & Industry team has as its principal responsibility the forging, strengthening and managing of WWF’s various transformative relationships with Business & Industry to have impact at scale. The main focus areas of this team include:

Work with B&I towards environmental sustainability transformation - informs; partners; and supports.
Establish collective stewardship/response initiatives – within the industry, supply chains, and shared landscapes.
Innovative solutions – identifying and catalysing opportunities.
Mobilising B&I resources to support WWF-SA objectives - operational resources; marketing & communications, staff, and funding.

The financial system is critical to the functioning of the economy as a whole and makes important contributions to economic development, growth, poverty reduction and living standards and as a result, has direct impact and influence over the health of ecosystems, environmental sustainability and the resilience of society. Successful economic development depends on the planets’ resources and services and the effective mitigation of environmental risks cannot be separated from a business’s financial capital and models, economic structures, and national and international capital and investment flows.

In Business & Industry, finance plays a critical role in operational management, expansion and sustainability. The implication on financial decisions and capital allocation by business management impacts widely. The Financial Sector specifically, plays a big role in the allocation of funding and assets, both towards business and industry but also directly towards investment areas.

WWF seeks to work with business and industry to influence the redirection of financial flows and allocation of financial capital in a manner that integrates and mitigates environmental risks, enable sustainable development and promote alternative innovations to achieve greater positive sustainable impact for a business, society, and the economy.

Key Responsibilities:

The financial activities of business and industry and the role that financial institutions play are considered levers for transformation towards sustainability. The Business & Industry: Partnerships (Finance) will work with targeted businesses and in particular the Finance industry, to help them optimise operations towards growing within the natural constraints of our one planet.

The role is broad and diverse. It includes:

Partner (business and financial institutions) strategic development and policy guidance driving inter alia: operational impact on natural capital; carbon transition; bio & circular economies; socio-economic impact; supply chains and various others.
Optimising the integration and cooperation between relevant stakeholders within a specific industry context where collective stewardship responses are required.
Optimally shaping and managing direct partnership relationships to enhance environmental sustainability and conservation impact while also unlocking visible operational business advantages for the partners.
Creating partnership relationships that translate into mobilising operational, staff and funding resources in support of WWF-SA objectives.

Major Duties:

Grow the presence of WWF within the finance industry and business:

- Provide high level of technical and thought leadership on the issues of Financial and Natural capitals.

Establish relationships and work with business, industry and financial institutions:

- Work with financial institutions (including banks, insurers, investors) to support the redirecting of flows and advocate for policy shifts towards sustainability.
- Transition relationships into partnerships for collective action.

Fund raising and resource mobilisation:

- Work as a team member in ensuring WWF’s financial sustainability through generating & brokering new funding streams, partnerships and corporate funding opportunities, and
- Conceptualise and develop concepts, proposals, and projects that attract new funding.
- Expand relationships and leverage opportunities with existing partners, focusing on growing and developing new conservation impacts and business opportunities with them.

A cross-cutting driver:

- Collaborate, support and engage with internal WWF Partner leads and Practice members.
- Providing financial acumen, knowledge content and expertise to the Practices within WWF-SA and the Network.

Transformation strategy:

- Coordinate related business and industry stakeholder interactions, including Partnerships, with WWF Practices & Programmes.
- Develop and deliver transformation of prioritised business/industry players, seeking sustainable impact, knowledge strengthening, and the creation scalable solutions for the sector.

Innovative Financial Impact Solutions:

- Understand and support current WWF financial impact solutions into relevant financial institutions, business and industry.
- Identify and monitor financial impact solutions and ideas that can be developed prototyped and launched.
- Apply innovative thinking and approaches as far as business and market engagement and development is concerned.

Other:

- Working as a team, the role will also encompass unlocking new opportunities and strengthening all corporate engagement strategies (Business Network, Comms & Marketing, Licensing, Philanthropic, and Donations-in-Kind) and processes in order to orchestrate a conservation / sustainability ask, communications (wise consumption) and marketing (WWF Brand) opportunities, and ensuring the outcomes of our corporate fundraising strategy.
- Establish and nurture links between WWF and relevant Business Associations and/or other voluntary or statutory bodies.
- Additional duties and responsibilities as required.

Skills/Requirements:

This position requires a self-motivated, self-managed and presentable candidate that can handle a pressurised workload and is results driven. A positive and outgoing personality is important.
A systems thinker – identifying and connecting potential intervention points, and understanding stakeholders and their various drivers.
Credibility around technical competence and experience on financial sector aspects. Ability to analyse (and present) industry and company content/data including ESG related aspects.
Tertiary (preferably Masters, depending on experience) qualifications in the following fields: finance, business, commerce, economics.
Computer literate with a good working knowledge of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint as a minimum.
Minimum 7 years Financial Sector, including Management Consulting Sector experience and track-record.
Good understanding of the linkage, dynamics and critical areas between environmental sustainability aspects and business/finance aspects and objectives. Preference will be given to candidates with a good knowledge in sustainability and experience in market transformation.
Good interpersonal, negotiation and communications skills.
Demonstrate highly professional and organised work ethic
Corporate Relations, CSI, Marketing, License to Operate, would be an advantage.
Fluency in English (and other African languages would be advantageous)
Drivers’ license

Further Information:
To apply for the position, please click here and create or update your profile, please provide a detailed CV and covering letter fully motivating why you should be appointed, together with the names, current e-mail addresses and telephone numbers of three relevant references.

Applications close on 17 October 2017.

WWF seeks to promote diversity among its staff. Candidates who have not received a response within three weeks of the closing date are kindly requested to assume that their application has not been successful in this instance. WWF-SA reserves the right not to fill this position.

Application Link

Business and Industry: Partnerships (Finance)

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