Technical Director - Biodiversity

Biodiversity Technical Director

Job Title: Biodiversity Technical Director

Location: London (hybrid, 3 days a week in the office). UK-based candidates outside London considered.

Salary: Competitive salary + annual bonus + equity participation

Benefits: Generous holiday, flexible working, training budget, professional membership, medical cash plan and family-friendly benefits

About the firm

Our client is a specialist ESG advisory firm working with financial institutions on major development projects in emerging markets. When a lender funds a mine, a wind farm, a port or a transmission line, our client gives independent assurance that the project won't cause serious environmental or social harm, and advises on how to fix what it finds. It's a private equity-backed firm, growing quickly and supported by a global network of associate experts.

The role

This is a senior leadership appointment: own the technical quality of the firm's biodiversity work, grow the portfolio and build the team. You'll be the firm's senior biodiversity voice to lenders, developers and DFIs. This is not a delivery role with a Director title. It carries the technical standard, the client relationships, the commercial performance and the people, with a clear path to equity.

Responsibilities

• Act as the firm's senior technical authority on biodiversity, setting standards and assuring quality.
• Lead complex assignments: critical habitat assessments, Biodiversity Action Plans, offset strategies and lender due diligence.
• Be the senior point of contact for lenders, developers and DFIs.
• Lead and win proposals, bids and client pitches.
• Build, coach and develop the biodiversity team.
• Own project budgets, risk and commercial performance.
• Travel internationally for site visits of around a week.

Requirements

Essential

• Biodiversity work to international lender standards, e.g. IFC PS6, EBRD PR6/ESR6, World Bank ESS6, AfDB or the Equator Principles.
• Project-level, lender-facing experience assessing real projects against these standards.
• Hands-on critical habitat assessment, impact assessment and mitigation hierarchy experience.
• International delivery, ideally in emerging markets.
• A track record of leading proposals and winning work.
• Experience managing and developing multi-disciplinary teams.

Transferable experience we'll also consider

• Mining-sector biodiversity standards (e.g. no net loss or Net Positive Impact commitments).
• Biodiversity offset design in any sector.
• International ESIA to good international industry practice.
• In-house safeguards roles at a DFI, bank or developer.

Strongly differentiating

• Experience on both the lender and developer side of a financing.
• Commercial ownership, such as a revenue target or P&L.
• Appetite for a small firm: you'll do your own pricing and proposal writing, with the autonomy that comes with it.