Head of Responsible Business and ESG Policy

Department for Business and Trade

Head of Responsible Business and ESG Policy

Reference number: 353239

Salary: £53,560 - £63,481. A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Job grade: Grade 7

Contract type: Permanent

Working pattern: Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Location: Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London or Salford

Are you passionate about environment, social and corporate governance (ESG) policy issues like tackling climate change, promoting human rights and ending modern slavery?

Do you want to make a meaningful difference working with multinational companies and civil society on how they can contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals?

Do you enjoy working with international partners to deliver HMG s priorities on globally significant issues?

Then we d love to hear from you!

The Responsible Business Conduct team has a one-of-a-kind role in leading policy development on a range of high-profile ESG and corporate sustainability issues. We adjudicate on business compliance with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) standards on Responsible Business Conduct, working closely with businesses, civil society, and other governments around the world. WE promote understanding of responsible business and support UK businesses in making improvements to their operations, products, and services to achieve outcomes across the ESG agenda. This includes tackling climate change, ending human rights abuses, and promoting labour rights.

As part of this, the team runs the UK s internationally renowned National Contact Point (NCP), which promotes the Guidelines to a wide range of business, trade union and civil society stakeholders and handles complaints where enterprises are accused of breaching the Guidelines. Leading this process is challenging but highly rewarding, often resulting in real, positive change from businesses. This office sits within DBT but is operationally independent. The issues in scope can be high-profile and receive significant Parliamentary, media and stakeholder attention.

More information is available online at:

This is a stretching G7 role, likely suited for an experienced G7 seeking to round off their CV before a step-up or external move to the private sector, or an established ESG manager in the private sector looking to join the Civil Service.

The role sits in a friendly, supportive team. Our Directorate has a fantastic corporate side, with a comprehensive L&D offer, and a strong commitment to wellbeing and Diversity & Inclusion, with regular training and events put on by the Directorate.

Job description

The Head of Responsible Business and ESG Policy will:

• Lead HMG s thinking on the role of businesses in contributing to the full range of UN Sustainable Development Goals.

• Develop the evidence base for responsible business conduct, overseeing delivery of the office s research priorities on corporate sustainability issues.

• Provide advisory consultancy to FTSE100 companies and SMEs on delivering responsible and sustainable business outcomes.

• Own the office s corporate engagement, representing the office externally on our approach to ESG issues and effectively shaping the policy debate internationally at key events.

• Ensures that lessons from breaches of the OECD Guidelines inform policy development.

• Lead cross-Whitehall governance on responsible business, bringing departments together to foster collaboration on ESG issues.

• Brief Ministers and senior leadership on key responsible business issues.

• Support on resolving high-profile cases of suspected breaches of the OECD Guidelines

Occasional travel overseas will be required to attend OECD meetings in Paris and other stakeholder meetings on responsible business conduct.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• A background working on one or more Environment, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) issues, such as human rights, employment rights, or climate change is essential.

• Strong leadership skills, both people management and thought leadership. An ability to bring together disparate functions across Government to develop coherent policy on corporate sustainability.

• Excellent influencing and interpersonal skills with the ability to build strong and relationships at a senior level.

• Strong analytical skills - able to identify a problem and consider various options, making a recommendation which considers the broader context of your work.

• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.

• Good organisational and planning skills, with a track record of effectively balancing several competing priorities;

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working in a corporate setting on ESG issues.

• A legal background or experience working closely with lawyers would be advantageous.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture

• Making Effective Decisions

• Communicating and Influencing

• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £53,560, Department for Business and Trade contributes £14,461 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role

• An environment with flexible working options

• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities

Please refer to the attached candidate pack for further information on our benefits.

If you would like to learn more about this role, the team are hosting a drop-in session on Wednesday 29 May from 3-3:30, which you can access from the link below:

Join the meeting

Closing date: Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 9 June 2024.

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