Director of Political and Industry Intelligence

UKGBC: who we are

The UK Green Building Council is the industry network on a mission to radically transform the built environment in response to the climate and nature crises. We champion bold government action and bring together the full value chain of the industry to drive progress at pace and scale. This role offers an exceptional opportunity for a driven individual to be at the forefront of addressing these urgent challenges. The places where we live, work, gather, and play can—and must—be part of the solution, not the problem.

We are a multi-disciplinary team of passionate and skilled people from across the UK with a London office hub. As a green charity, we prize our welcoming and inclusive work culture, with wellbeing and professional development at its heart.

The role

We are seeking an exceptional Director of Political and Industry Intelligence at this pivotal moment for our planet, people, and nature, to lead and strengthen our impact across political and industry-facing activity. This role will drive advocacy with national, devolved, and local government; while shaping industry programmes and projects - via insights from across industry, academia, and civil society - to deliver and disseminate world-class guidance for our members, partners, and wider stakeholder networks.

This is a position of significant influence and responsibility on the UKGBC Leadership Team, reporting directly to the Chief Executive. Delivering this broad and strategically important portfolio requires close collaboration across the organisation, as well as engagement with stakeholders across the political spectrum and the built environment business network to maximise impact.

The successful candidate will have extensive experience in political consultancy, public policy, or government affairs alongside strong expertise in property and construction and its influence within today’s political context.

A deep understanding of climate change mitigation and climate resilience and adaptation in the built environment is essential, as is a strong commitment to UKGBC’s wider mission and a personal drive to deliver meaningful change.

We are an equal-opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any protected characteristic. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcome and valued. Our commitment to inclusivity means we support flexible work arrangements, ensuring work-life balance for all. We prioritise accessibility and will gladly accommodate any needs upon request, as we believe in providing a barrier-free recruitment process.

We recognise that people of colour, those from different socio-economic backgrounds, and those from minoritised groups are currently underrepresented at all levels within the industry. We're on the lookout for talented individuals with a wide range of skills and experiences and are eager to welcome candidates from underrepresented groups.

Key Responsibilities

Policy & Political advocacy (c. 30%)

• Oversee and lead plans and activity to maximise the impact of UKGBC’s influencing strategy with national government in context of wide range of key policy initiatives
• Represent UKGBC at meetings with Senior Ministers, officials, local authority and devolved nation political representatives
• Communicate effectively with targeted stakeholders to ensure full alignment between technical considerations emerging from Industry Transformation Programmes with any Policy positions and/or recommendations adopted by UKGBC with central, devolved and local governments
• Work closely with the Membership and Marcomms team to ensure the deployment of expertise and content, and to maximise the impact

Programmatic oversight (c.30%)

• In consultation with our members, identify the tools, support and guidance that built environment businesses need to accelerate the transition to a regenerative built environment
• Scope, design and oversee the delivery of impactful programmes and projects that support industry transformation
• Provide Director level oversight of all industry-facing outputs, with priority on climate change mitigation and resilience and nature (whilst also keeping an overview across all other impact areas such as resource use, health & wellbeing, and socio-economic impacts),with ultimate accountability for day to day decisions, quality control and impact generation
• Consistently measure and evaluate impactful outcomes from industry programmes underway at any given time

Governance and operational management (c.10%)

• Play a key role in strategic development and implementation of short and long-term organisational and departmental objectives via horizon scanning, risk management, KPI tracking, impact evaluation, and day to day operational decision-making
• Prepare for, and participate in Board meetings and workshops, and develop authentic relationships with the UKGBC Trustees
• Work with the Leadership Team to facilitate cross-departmental collaboration, including on annual operation plans and resource allocation

Leadership and People Management (10%)

• Day to day team management,motivation and empowerment via (yet not exclusive to) resource allocation,regular 1-1s, performance and development conversations, wellbeing check ins, and professional coaching
• Team engagement with organisational and departmental vision,strategy and plans via departmental workshops and updates
• Build strong relationships across the whole UKGBC team; maximise integrated ways of working, act as a role model for our culture and values, and offer leadership, guidance and support
• Team recruitment including contract management for incoming secondments, consultants, and internships
• Lead and operate strategically whilst also being a hands-on team member by adopting a collaborative and problem-solving approach

Membership, Partnerships & Commercial accountability (c. 20%)

• Engage regularly with a large number of UKGBC members to ensure high levels of engagement, significant impact, and long-term retention
• Identify, target, and secure new members in close liaison with the membership team
• Represent UKGBC as a spokesperson at Political and Industry meetings, conferences and events to raise our profile as widely as possible and to promote our key messages to media and other political and/or industry outlets
• Review and refine the business model for both Policy and Programmatic work at UKGBC - overseeing the funding and resourcing of impact-led programme and project work to ensure that it remains self-sufficient and does not impinge on reserves
• Work closely with the Leadership Team,in particular the Directors group, to identify and secure fundraising and commercial partnership opportunities that will unlock programme and project funds
• Hold ultimate accountability for the financial and legal management of departmental plans and budgets

Person requirements:

• Mission:A passion for tackling the climate, nature and cost of living crises, and a commitment to UKGBC’s mission.
• Integrity:An inclusive approach that conveys and embeds honesty and transparency as standard
• Attitude: A positive, proactive, problem-solving approach with demonstrable agility to perform duties that may be outside core accountabilities
• Teamwork and Leadership: Demonstrable ability to effectively lead a multidisciplinary and diverse team, with leadership skills that motivate others and create a positive working environment
• Communication: Strong verbal and written communication and presentation skills, with ability to share complex ideas,thoughts and concepts in a consistently clear manner. Good analytical and influencing skills.
• Project management: Efficient planning, organisational, and time management skills
• Administration: Strong administrative and computer literacy skills (standard software packages, mainly Microsoft Office), Advanced Excel skills
• Strategic thinking:
• Good experience in strategy setting and horizon scanning, with aptitude in decision-making and problem-solving.
• Impact oriented with a focus on delivering outcomes and impact; agile in how to achieve them
• Critical thinking: supported by experience of various research methodologies including qualitative,quantitative and digital research skills,with interests that include the interaction between built environment, sustainability themes and socio-economic impacts and co-benefit
• Financial and commercial acumen:Vast experience of generating income and developing new business
• Stakeholder engagement:Strategic leadership in stakeholder engagement across diverse audiences using multiple platforms, with robust judgment in how to present information to key external stakeholders
• Knowledge and experience:
• Extensive experience in political and/or industry advisory, consultancy, commercial or research roles (typically seen via a 10+ years career, although alternative ways of demonstrating equivalent experience will be considered
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of the UK Built Environment industry, ideally encompassing technical understanding of sustainable design and engineering (of buildings and/or built environment infrastructure) as well as appreciation of a broad range of development financing models
• Experience of bid writing / fundraising and grant reporting, inc.experience obtaining funding from corporates/foundations/gov agencies
• Charitable / NGO sector experience including the Theory of Change,and impact reporting
• Substantial network of established relationships with built environment and national and local government
• Knowledge of current and emerging technological innovations
• Strong understanding and ability to translate new and alternative business and economic models to a wide and varied audience
• International experience and understanding of sustainable development in different jurisdictions