ESG Manager / Lead
Location: London or Manchester (full-time office attendance during the three-month probationary period, hybrid thereafter)
Contract: Permanent, full-time
Reporting to: CFO / COO
About the Company
Our client is a London-listed group combining an investment trust with an established independent professional services business, serving institutional and corporate clients across trustee, governance, and corporate services mandates. The Group is bringing its Environmental, Social and Governance agenda into line with the standards expected of listed investment trusts and their peers, building the framework, data infrastructure, and disclosure capability required as the UK regime moves from TCFD-aligned disclosure towards UK Sustainability Reporting Standards.
Our client is seeking to recruit an ESG Manager / Lead to design, embed, and lead the Group’s ESG agenda, owning the framework end to end from governance and strategy through to regulatory reporting, data, and KPIs.
This is a build role, not a maintenance one. It carries the chairing of the ESG Committee, the reporting cycle and the systems beneath it, and the work of bringing senior stakeholders who have not previously prioritised ESG onside. A high degree of autonomy is expected from day one.
The role is based in London or Manchester, with full-time office attendance during the three-month probation and hybrid working thereafter.
•Design and implement the ESG governance structure, including board and committee reporting lines, policies, roles and escalation routes, and take over chairing of the ESG Committee
•Develop the Group’s ESG strategy and roadmap, setting priorities, targets and timelines aligned to the business and to investor expectations
•Build the end-to-end ESG reporting cycle (data collection, assurance-readiness, narrative and disclosure) across the annual report, TCFD statement and other client and stakeholder reporting
• Ensure the Group meets its obligations under applicable ESG regulation, including TCFD and mandatory sustainability reporting, and stays ahead of related regimes such as ISSB-aligned standards, UK SRS and SFDR
•Select, implement and maintain ESG data and reporting systems, define the Group’s KPI framework and dashboard, and establish data governance standards to support external assurance
•Own the Group’s carbon footprint measurement and reporting across Scope 1, 2 and 3, and implement a decarbonisation pathway with associated reduction targets
•Act as the primary point of contact for ESG across the Board, Executive Committee, investors, clients, rating agencies and proxy advisers
•Embed ESG ownership and data collection across business units, including coordination with the Group’s external investment manager on investment trust data
•Lead change management with senior stakeholders who have not previously prioritised ESG, building buy-in for new mandatory reporting obligations
•Design and lead environmental, social and governance initiatives, spanning landlord energy reduction, DE&I and wellbeing, board effectiveness, ethics, and supply chain procurement
•Lead ESG messaging alongside Communications and Marketing across investor communications, website and PR, and support business development with ESG credentials and pitch content
•Maintain horizon scanning across the UK and international ESG regulatory landscape, translating change into action plans with Compliance, Legal and Risk, and briefing the Board on emerging requirements
•Proven experience building or significantly developing an ESG framework, strategy, and governance structure from the ground up, rather than operating within an existing one, is mandatory
•Strong working knowledge of TCFD, UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and mandatory sustainability reporting, and the broader ESG regulatory landscape
•Hands-on experience with GHG emissions accounting across Scope 1, 2, and 3, and carbon reduction planning
•Experience designing ESG KPIs, dashboards, and reporting tools, with strong data and analytical skills
•Excellent stakeholder and change management skills, with the credibility to engage at Board level and the ability to bring sceptical stakeholders onside
•A track record built in an investment trust, asset manager, listed corporate, or professional services environment; a background in financial services is strongly preferred
•No formal ESG qualification is required, although relevant accreditation such as CFA ESG, GARP SCR, or IEMA is an asset
•A permanent, full-time position with end-to-end ownership of the Group’s ESG framework
•A genuine greenfield mandate, building governance, strategy, reporting, and data infrastructure rather than maintaining an inherited framework
•Direct exposure to the Board, the Executive Committee, investors, and external stakeholders, including the chairing of the ESG Committee
• The opportunity to shape the Group’s ESG position as the UK reporting regime evolves towards UK SRS
•A hybrid working arrangement following the three-month probationary period
•A base salary of £100,000 – £120,000 depending on experience, plus standard corporate bonus and benefits
If you are interested please apply on our website: www.enable.green