Practice Lead - Natural Productive World

Are you an experienced sector leader who understands how nature’s productive sectors can adapt to climate change, reduce emissions and attract investment? Can you combine technical expertise with the commercial judgement, people management and client relationships needed to build a successful consulting practice?

As our Practice Lead, you’ll take responsibility for the strategic direction, growth and delivery of the practice. You’ll build a team of Sector leads, Consultants and Associate experts, develop client relationships and work to identify and convert a pipeline of opportunities into a portfolio of assignments for which you hold full oversight.

Your starting point will be how these sectors function: their productivity, markets, businesses and livelihoods. You’ll connect this understanding with climate change mitigation, adaptation, resilience and finance, working with colleagues in other Practices across biodiversity, ecosystems and other cross-cutting themes.

• Shape the practice: Develop and implement a strategy for the practice together with Sector leads, identifying market needs, emerging opportunities and priorities for growth.

• Build and lead the team: Manage and mentor Sector leads and consultants, identify capability gaps and develop a network of associate specialists across the practice’s sectors.

• Drive business development: Build client and partner relationships, identify opportunities, shape proposals and represent E Co. in relevant sector networks and events.

• Oversee delivery: Ensure assignments meet agreed quality standards, scope, timelines and budgets. Support team leaders with resource planning, client engagement and the mitigation and early resolution of delivery risks.

• Connect sector development with climate finance: Guide market assessments, strategy and policy development, programme and project design, training and capacity development and fund support together with service area leads to improve sector productivity, whilst mitigating the effects of climate change, supporting the sectors to adapt and become more resilient while enabling access to finance.

• Work across disciplines: Collaborate with other practice leads and specialists to integrate biodiversity, ecosystem-based adaptation, social inclusion and other relevant considerations into assignment solutions for your practice.

• Develop knowledge and methods: Strengthen the practice’s methodologies, share learning and contribute thought leadership grounded in practical sector experience.

• 20+ years of relevant international experience, including substantial responsibility for leading teams, client relationships and consulting opportunity pipelines and assignment portfolios.
• An advanced degree in agriculture, forestry, natural resource management, economics, business or a related field.
• Strong expertise in agriculture, forestry and/or land use, with the breadth and willingness to lead a practice that also includes fisheries and tourism supported by specialist colleagues.
• A practical understanding of sector productivity, sustainable business models and livelihoods, including approaches such as climate-smart agriculture, regenerative farming or sustainable forest  and fishery management.
• Strong understanding of climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience, and their implications for productive sectors.
• Proven experience in upstream consulting, including market analysis, strategy formulation, policy development and programme or project design.
• Experience with climate finance and international funds such as the GCF, GEF and/or Adaptation Fund, alongside the ability to work across other clients and advisory services such as the IUCN, UN Agencies.
• Experience working with major public sector and development clients, such as IDB, the World Bank, EBRD, the EU and/or GIZ.
• Evidence of developing businesses, building partnerships and contributing to successful proposals.
• Strong project and portfolio management skills, including oversight of budgets, resources, scope and delivery risks.
• Experience managing quality for projects and proposals.
• Excellent working proficiency in English, Spanish, Portuguese and/or French
• A recognised project management qualification, such as PRINCE2 Practitioner, supported by practical delivery experience.
• Leadership experience on large, complex international development assignments, including multi million-pound, euro or dollar projects.
• Professional working proficiency in Arabic, Chinese, Russian or other languages
• Experience across Africa, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, MENA, Latin America and/or Asia.
• An established network across relevant sector institutions, development partners and climate finance organisations, and/or with the private sector.

E Co. is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity and does not discriminate in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment on account of race, age, colour, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, religion or otherwise as may be prohibited by law.