Technical Manager, Forests

About CDP’s forests and capital markets programs 

Deforestation currently accounts for 10-15% of the world’s GHG emissions, is disrupting
ecosystem services, is a leading cause of biodiversity loss on land and responsible for
creating significant risks to businesses and economies. Deforestation is predominantly driven
by agriculture, through the unsustainable production of a limited number of forest risk
commodities. 

CDP’s forests program works to remove commodity driven deforestation from corporate value
chains and financing portfolios to effectively contribute to a below 1.5⁰C, water secure world;
and to decouple deforestation from forest risk commodity production. CDP’s work on forests was
launched in 2014 and now boasts the backing of 680 financial institutions with over $130
trillion in assets. The program provides critical forests related data to decision makers from
the world’s largest corporations that buy, sell or trade key forests risk commodities. Since
2022 CDP has also engaged financial institutions to disclose information about their
forest-related impacts. 

CDP’s capital markets team works with financial institutions to put vital environmental data at
the centre of decision making. The data is used to inform the global marketplace on investment
risk and commercial opportunity, and to target action, supporting companies in their efforts to
remove deforestation from their supply chains.

Role overview 

CDP is seeking a highly motivated individual to manage and deliver a mix of core business
functions and project related work to financial institutions invested in industries that depend
on soft commodities. Activities will centre around using the power of investors, banks and
other financial institutions across the capital markets ecosystem to drive information
requests, to use data to identify deforestation risks, to target engagement, build knowledge
and capacity and ultimately, drive money to activities that protect and restore forests and
natural ecosystems. 

The Forest Champions are a group of investors that are actively engaged in CDP’s forests work.
Forest Champions receive additional support through portfolio assessments, webinar series and
tailored intensive support so they can become leaders in environmentally and socially
responsible investing. A core function of this role will be to lead the delivery of the
initiative. 

If you are a motivated self-starter who enjoys taking ownership of projects and you want to
contribute significantly to the vital work of CDP in reducing and ultimately removing
deforestation from investment portfolios, this is the role for you.

This is an exciting role in an area of work that is expanding rapidly across the globe. CDP’s
preference is for hybrid working from the UK with access to CDP’s London office, although
alternatives can be considered. 

Key responsibilities 

Relationship management: 

• Chair the forest team’s capital market workstream meeting 
• Lead coordination between forest and capital markets teams 
• Coordinate work and engagement requests between CDP teams and regions 
• Build relationships with capital markets stakeholders 

Activities and outputs: 

• Lead the Forest Champions Program to provide guidance, CDP data insights, and tailored
  engagement to help signatories understand and address their commodity-driven deforestation
  investment risks. 
• Lead on forest-related coordination of the Non Disclosure Campaign. 
• Lead on investor sample setting – selecting which companies are requested for information
  based on their forest-related impacts. 
• Analyse data to assess the role of financial institutions’ in the transition to
  deforestation free investments, lending and policy implementation. 
• Work with the financial services and sustainable finance teams to support disclosure of
  forest-related information by financial institutions. 
• Monitor and evaluate the impact of the investor workstream using quantitative and
  qualitative approaches. 
• Develop and refresh capacity building engagement materials. 
• Keep up to date with the latest developments in forest related science, policy and
  finance. 
• Other work related to delivering capital markets and forests as needed. 

Person specification 

• 5+ years of experience working in relevant fields (eg; capital markets, financial services,
  sustainable investment or related environmental fields). 
• A solid understanding of capital markets and the investment management industry with a
  passion for sustainable investment. 
• Demonstrable expertise in forests and land use, in particular the role that capital markets
  play in driving change. 
• Proficient at data analysis and insight communication. 
• An understanding of CDP’s Theory of Change 
• A proven track record in project management and/or strong project management skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with teams of individuals and
  colleagues. 
• Strong communication skills and ability to draw key messages out of complex research and
  communicate research findings to both internal and external audiences. 
• Ability to work independently in a lean, cross-functional environment. 
• Good experience of Microsoft word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. 
• Proven ability to multi-task and meet deadlines. 
• A high level of self-motivation and drive.

Salary and benefits: £40-47,000 per annum depending on skills and experience,
30 days’ holiday, generous non-contributory pension provision and others.

This is a fixed term role until December 2025, with dual-lines of reporting to the capital
markets and forests teams. It will be based at CDP’s London office but with flexibility for
hybrid working. Interested applicants must be eligible to work legally in the UK.

How to apply

Please upload your CV and a covering letter setting out how you meet the required skills and
experience or key responsibilities, which should be no more than two pages, into the
application form. The deadline is 9am on 28 April 2023.