Sustainability Manager

This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board.

Overview

Our Story

Our small Canadian-born business was founded in 1978 and has become a global organization that now spans 120 locations across 20 countries. Our expansion has been rapid, but what matters most is the common belief that drives all 5,000 of our people to be a different type of real estate organization. We believe that the places in which we live, work and play have the power to make us happier and healthier, and we are united by a shared sense of purpose, to have a positive impact on people's lives. In short, we are a global commercial real estate advisory firm with a simple aim: for real estate to play a leading role in creating vibrant buildings, cities and places that deliver long-lasting social value and economic impact.
Why Work for Us:

We believe that our industry is changing, and we want our business to be a melting pot of curious minds, passionate hearts and strategic intelligence. Your gender, religion and race are all highly respected, but are less important to us than your ability to step up and change the game. We provide you with a place where you can do just that, with like-minded people. Collaboration is embedded in the way we work - our people have the autonomy to collaborate on client relationships, engage teams across the business, lead operations, work collectively on projects, participate in strategy and are ultimately responsible for our growth. Our distinctive Principal-led, privately-owned model puts us in the enviable position of being able to offer every employee the opportunity to own a share of our business and inspires and allows anyone to become a Principal. This role carries voting rights, so our people have a very real say in the future direction and operation of our business. This means that we are able to attract, engage and retain the best talent from the industry.

Responsibilities

Business Development

• Liaise with Business Units to generate leads and follow-up with client proposals
• Drive business growth by developing and executing effective business development strategies, including client presentations, proposals, and pitches.
• Overall ownership of sales / delivery of the team's full suite of sustainability products and services into clients, developing annual and longer-term business development strategy to support our ambitious growth and impact ambitions
• Provide support in the creation of marketing materials, pitch-books and reports, to ensure successful promotion of sustainability & decarbonisation activities both internally and externally

Client Relationship and delivery

• Build strong, long-lasting relationships with clients by delivering exceptional service, exceeding expectations, and proactively addressing their needs.
• Acting as a senior single point of contact for our clients, working to develop trusted advisor status
• Create bespoke strategic analysis including performance benchmarking, and analysing of data
• Support program management for Sustainability related regulations and initiatives as needed

Sustainability Reporting

• Awareness of the developments of the legislative landscape, and experience in helping clients respond
• A thorough understanding of the key sustainability issues for real estate including, but not limited to; net zero carbon, climate risk, science-based targets, sustainability legislation and accreditation
• Collaborate with clients to develop and implement comprehensive sustainability strategies, aligning with their business objectives and industry best practices
• In-depth knowledge of key reporting frameworks and standards in the sustainability sphere such as GRESB, CDP and TCFD
• A good understanding of trends in Sustainability and climate change
• Up to date technical knowledge of all applicable legal, good practice and emerging sustainability-related reporting requirements, standards and frameworks and methodologies

Training and Stakeholder Engagement

• Provide guidance and training to internal teams and external clients as part of CPD and enhancing general awareness
• Shaping and leading industry discussion and working groups on sustainability & decarbonisation related topics e.g. by contributing to organisations such as UKGBC - UK Green Building Council and MAP - Managing Agents Partnership

Qualifications

• Proven project management experience and excellent communication skills
• Experience of working within sustainability in the real estate sector
• Experience working in a collaborative way with clients and other stakeholders to develop ambitious and robust sustainability programmes
• Experience working with commercial property managers and an understanding of the landlord and tenant relationship
• Excellent ability to build relationships with clients and their internal teams
• Strong data management and analytical capability with strong IT skills (particularly MS Excel and spreadsheets)

Equal Opportunities

At Avison Young, we've always put people at the heart of what we do.
In the last few years, we've increased the diversity at our board, leadership and Principal levels. Avison Young stands out for our commitment to empowering women. In addition to increasing the number of women on our board and in our leadership ranks, our internal Women's Network of more than 500 members come together for networking and learning, and advise the business on strategies for promoting access, opportunity and inclusion in our industry.
Our global DEI steering committee shapes our strategy to continue to increase industry access for underrepresented groups and accelerating initiatives led by our employee resource groups, including our Women's Network, Black Professionals and LGBTQ+ groups. In addition to leading global initiatives, the steering committee's work examines our policies and practices, creating accountability for results and communicating progress to our executive leadership, our clients and our communities.

Our culture is underpinned by our approach to diversity, inclusion, and well-being. We are committed to building an inclusive culture that:

• empowers all our employees to thrive,
• reflects all backgrounds and talents,
• allows individuals to be successful and feel a sense of belonging,
• and foster a workplace that is supported, inclusive and has a strong sense of community between colleagues.

Avison Young is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to treating all its employees and job applicants equitably. This includes implementing deliberate strategies that advance underrepresented communities in commercial real estate careers.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to removing any obstacles to inclusion. If you need any adjustments to support your application or any part of the recruitment process, such as information in alternative formats or special requirements to access our buildings, or you are eligible under the Disability Confident Scheme please contact us at careers.uk@avisonyoung.comcareers.uk@avisonyoung.com> and we will do everything we can to help.

We are committed to inclusion in our hiring processes, and we want to give everyone a chance to show what they can bring to our organisation. If you are not sure that you have all the skills in the person specification, please still apply. We value passion and potential in our employees, so it would be great to hear from you and why you would suit this position.

Some of our roles may be remote and some roles may be specific to our offices, but you will need to confirm you have the right to work in the UK.