Sustainability Director

Job Title

Sustainability Director

Job Description Summary

Cushman & Wakefield's Sustainability Services team is looking for an experienced Sustainability Director to design and implement sustainability strategies for a global occupier client. In this role, you will collaborate directly with one of our prominent clients, leading the Sustainable Team to deeply understand their needs and ensure they benefit from C&W’s global sustainability expertise. You will be responsible for integrating sustainability across the entire real estate lifecycle, from site selection and fit-outs to occupancy, maintenance, and overall experience. This position will involve frequent interactions with client leadership, requiring the ability to develop and present high-level business cases while influencing senior stakeholders. This role is vital to fostering a successful client relationship by driving sustainability performance, mitigating risks, and enhancing processes.

Job Description

Responsibilities:

• Own client real estate sustainability strategy and drive the delivery of key objectives.

• Lead the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of  Sustainability Program across client’s global portfolio, working collaboratively with stakeholders to successfully implement program and initiatives to reach client’s objectives.

• As part of this program, develop and implement net-zero roadmap.  Prioritize the suite of mechanisms to drive carbon reduction – including asset optimization, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and carbon removal strategies – working with management, engineers, vendors, and strategic partners.  Develop and recommend procurement strategies to help achieve client’s objectives cost-effectively.

• Be the single point of contact for all aspects of the strategy and tactical delivery of the client’s Sustainability Program.   Establish strong working relationships with global and regional workstreams to deliver local targets as well as overarching global targets. 

• Act as the key interface for real estate leadership, Portfolio Management, Project Management, Sustainability, Design and Construction, Facilities Management, and Sustainability teams to drive delivery of the program at pace, communicating successes and challenges along the way to key stakeholders..

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to understand opportunities and challenges to the program, build consensus, and translate those into a robust program approach and framework.

• With cross-functional view, effectively manage changes in partnership with stakeholders, which have the potential to impact sustainability objectives.

• Develop and implement an appropriate governance structure for the program – including communications on strategies, plans, and progress toward goals using the appropriate metrics or KPIs to all levels of staff.

• Track, analyze, and report on global sustainability metrics, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Scopes 1 and 2), energy, water, waste, and other ESG metrics. Report internally on sustainability initiatives and metrics, including ESG compliance reporting at the local, state, and federal levels.  Support external reporting and third-party assurance for annual GHG emissions. 

• Develop and enhance systems and processes for delivering best practice sustainability performance and use of sustainability management systems for monitoring and/or reporting purposes

• Ensure success stories are tracked and communicated to ensure a high level of awareness and engagement is achieved regarding the overall Sustainability Program

• Maintain awareness of global sustainability trends, tools, and metrics, and support the integration of sustainability best practices into client’s sustainability program.  Demonstrate innovative thinking and proactive management in bringing new ideas and solutions to the client, and ensure they are rolled out effectively.

• Provide technical expertise, strategic leadership, and support for all various client facilities on sustainability issues.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in subjects such as sustainability management, science, engineering, business, or equivalent through experience (master’s degree preferred).

• 10+ years of relevant experience managing large-scale programs for Fortune 100 corporations.

• 5+ years of experience managing people and teams.

• Expert understanding of relevant standards from The GHG Protocol, Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), CDP, and TCFD.

• Proven track record in sustainability program management in real estate including strategic p