Head of Sustainability Management - Delivery

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Job Title

Head of Sustainability Management – Delivery

Office Location

London

Department

Sustainability

Working Hours

35 hours per week, 9:30am to 5:30pm but additional hours may be required.  We are happy to consider agile and flexible working patterns.  Our approach to hybrid working allows for up to 40% of time working from home and 60% working in the office, please contact a member of the recruitment team to discuss further.

Role Overview

The Head of Sustainability Management is responsible for the day-to-day management and implementation of the firm's global sustainability initiatives delivery.

Reporting to the Global Head of Sustainability, Policy and Strategy, this senior leadership role will deliver the firm's sustainability programme including the management of the team undertaking the emissions accounting and mitigation, scenario analysis and transition planning, audit and assurance activities, sustainability data governance, supplier engagement, office transition planning and relevant stakeholder engagement.

The role will act as the operational lead for the sustainability function, ensuring workstreams are prioritised effectively, resources are deployed efficiently, risks and issues are managed proactively and outputs are delivered to a high standard.

The post-holder will work closely with Head of ESG Reporting and Strategic Projects [to be renamed as Head of Sustainability Management – Reporting and Strategic project] to ensure smooth delivery of the firm’s sustainability work.

Key Responsibilities

Specific duties or responsibilities may be reviewed from time to time to reflect changes in personnel and management structure, staff location or services. All members of the firm participate in our Responsible Business program.

• Day-to-day management of the sustainability operational delivery.

• Manage priorities of direct reports, workload allocation and capacity planning.

• Establish annual work plans, delivery schedules and operational objectives.

• Act as the primary operational escalation point for sustainability delivery issues, risks and dependencies.

• Foster a collaborative team culture focused on facilitating sustainable change.

• Monitor progress against agreed objectives, milestones and delivery commitments.

• Oversee the delivery climate-related data collection, transition plans and CDP reporting.

• Oversee sustainability audit and assurance programmes.

• Support the development and review of executive-level sustainability papers, leadership briefings and governance materials.

• Ensure sustainability outputs are completed to a high quality, are internally aligned and are suitable for executive review and approval.

• Build strong working relationships across Legal, Finance, Procurement, Operations, Real Estate, Risk, Communications and Responsible Business teams.

• Work closely with regional sustainability stewards, office managers and operational teams to support delivery of sustainability priorities.

• Coordinate engagement with external advisers, consultants, auditors and service providers where required.

• Work with the Head of ESG Reporting and Strategic Projects to support collaboration with internal stakeholders, clients, suppliers and industry groups on sustainability commitments and initiatives.

• Coordinate preparation of materials for governance forums, leadership committees and strategic decision-making processes.

• Identify emerging risks, issues and opportunities and escalate as appropriate.

• Lead, coach and develop team members, creating opportunities for professional growth and career development.

• Establish clear objectives, accountability measures and performance expectations.

• Promote knowledge sharing, continuous learning and operational excellence across the team.

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Demonstrated depth of knowledge in sustainability with experience of working in a professional services environment.

• Demonstrable experience leading complex programmes involving multiple stakeholders and workstreams.

• Experience of climate disclosures, audit processes and governance activities.

• Strong operational leadership and programme management capability.

• Experience of managing and developing teams.

• Excellent stakeholder management skills with an ability to engage at all levels of an organisation.

• Strong analytical, organisational and problem-solving skills.

• Experience developing executive-level presentations, reports and briefing materials.

• Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced, global environment.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Desirable

• Experience within a law firm.

• Experience supporting assurance or audit programmes for sustainability data and disclosures.

• Experience with AI tools and scenario analysis frameworks.

• Experience facilitating organisational change, transformation or strategic implementation programmes.

Personal Attributes

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Excellent judgement and decision-making capability.

• A pragmatic, solutions-oriented approach.

• High levels of personal ownership and accountability.

• Strong attention to detail while maintaining a strategic perspective.

• Resilience and adaptability in a complex stakeholder environment.

• A collaborative and inclusive leadership style.

• Commitment to the firm's Responsible Business and sustainability ambitions.

Equal Opportunities Statement

It is the policy of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader to provide equal opportunities for all employees in relation to recruitment, training and promotion. Decisions in these areas will be made only by reference to the requirements of the job and shall not be influenced by any consideration of racial or ethnic origin, religion, sex, gender and gender identity, age, sexual orientation, marital and civil partnership status, pregnancy or disability.

Our goal is to embed flexibility across our business by giving everyone the opportunity to work in an agile way, whether as a regular pattern or on an ad hoc basis, and we will be happy to discuss this further.