Interim Director, Operations, Climate Advisory ( 12-Month Assignment)

South Pole is an energetic, global company offering comprehensive sustainability solutions and services. With offices spanning all continents across the globe, we strive to create a sustainable society and economy that positively impacts our climate, ecosystems, and developing communities. With our solutions, we inspire and enable our customers to create value from sustainability-related activities.

Our Advisory Services team provides our clients with outstanding technical expertise that enables the successful implementation of complex sustainability projects. Our expertise spans across multiple topics including land and water management, climate strategies, renewable energies, environmental impact assessments, green products, climate policy, carbon pricing, climate finance, and sustainable finance, to name just a few. If you are a smart, ambitious, and dynamic sustainability professional with a strong passion to make a real difference in the fight against climate change, the position below may be right for you! 

Job summary:

We are excited to open an internal opportunity for an Interim Director, Operations, Climate Advisory for a 12-month assignment. This role offers a unique chance to step into a leadership position and offers visibility within the Advisory leadership team. We strongly encourage internal candidates who are ready for, or seeking, stretch leadership opportunities to apply.

The Director of Operations, Climate Advisory, serves as a trusted strategic partner, anticipating business needs, driving efficiency, and ensuring operational excellence. Reporting to the Head of Advisory, you are responsible for providing clarity, reliability, and foresight, enabling the Advisory business to focus on client impact while seamlessly managing operational complexity. You will lead the Advisory Operations team to ensure data integrity, streamline global processes, and foster a high-performing culture that aligns with long-term organisational strategy.

Main tasks & responsibilities:

1. Operational Strategy & Decision Support

• Executive Support & Partnership: Act as a strategic partner to the Head of Advisory and the leadership team. Ensure they receive timely, high-quality operational support and data-driven insights to facilitate effective decision-making, rapid problem-solving, and the seamless execution of the Advisory strategy.

• Strategic Alignment: Set long-term operational strategy and manage executive-level partnerships to align operations with 3-year organizational goals.

• Decision-Making: Facilitate key leadership meetings, ensuring clear agendas and actionable outcomes to enable informed decisions.

2. Financial Leadership & Profitability

• Financial Oversight: Lead the build of the Advisory P&L and Budget models.

• Profitability Management: Implement and maintain dashboards to monitor profitability per solution, project, and region, identifying and addressing financial gaps.

• Pricing Strategy: Develop global pricing strategies, analysing client-location rates and discount policies to protect margins.

3. Data Integrity & Advanced Reporting

• Reporting Frameworks: Oversee the development and maintenance of critical dashboards (e.g., Finance KPIs, Strategy KPIs, Project Blizzard) for performance tracking.

• Data Governance: Set firm-wide data quality standards and ensure governance across Salesforce, AQ, and PowerBI.

• Insights: Deliver actionable insights through ad-hoc analysis for leadership to facilitate strategic decision-making.

4. Process Optimisation & Technology Innovation

• Efficiency: Design project governance frameworks and optimise workflows to maximise margins and quality.

• Innovation Leadership: Lead AI integration initiatives, like AI pilot use cases.

• Tool Roadmap: Set the long-term roadmap for Advisory tools (Salesforce, Knowledge Hub).

5. Leadership & Team Engagement

• Team Management: Lead and motivate the Advisory Ops team, managing performance reviews, career growth, and mentorship.

• Communication & KM: Strengthen internal communication through monthly newsletters, townhalls, and the management of the Advisory Knowledge Hub.

• Talent Strategy: Partner with P&C and Team Leaders to define generic performance goals and measurable individual KPIs.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Sustainability or a related field required

• Experience: Proven track record in a senior operational leadership role, consistently leading cross-functional, high-impact initiatives.

• Financial Literacy: Strong background in financial modelling, budgeting, and P&L management within a consulting or advisory context (preferred)

• Strategic Leadership: Experience in designing organisational governance.

Skills & Competencies

• Advanced Leadership: Mastery in strategic thinking, conflict resolution, and stakeholder management at the executive level.

• Strategic Influencer: Ability to leverage insights to drive executive decisions through persuasive storytelling and high-stakes communication.

• Operational Excellence: Expert in process mapping, system optimisation, and managing complex multi-stakeholder programs.

• Technical Proficiency: Advanced understanding of Salesforce, PowerBI, and Google Workspace; ability to direct the optimisation of technical systems to support firm-wide scale.

• Personal Attributes: Highly analytical, structured thinker with a proactive, ownership-driven approach and a commitment to high ethical standards. 

What we offer:

At South Pole, we care about our employees as much as we care about the planet. South Pole is not just an employer, we are a Team. South Pole does not just offer people a job, we offer you a career. By joining our team, you will find strong purpose and deep meaning in everything you do. You will have the chance to make a real difference for our clients and for the planet, working alongside a passionate team of like-minded colleagues, while building your knowledge/skills and developing your career in a fun, dynamic, international and fast-growing organisation. 

We’re a planet of 7.5 billion unique and different people. We all have a contribution to make; South Pole is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status or disability. Our recruitment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.