Associate – Sustainable Business Strategy/

EY – Sustainability Solutions

Title: Associate – Sustainable Business Strategy

Location: Dublin

EY’s tailored sustainability solutions support governments and businesses to embrace, gain advantage, and generate value, from the continuous disruption of markets, value chains, processes, and customer expectations, in the pursuit of 2030 and 2050 sustainable development goals.

EY became carbon neutral in 2020 (globally, across our entire carbon footprint) and have now increased our ambition go further. We will be carbon negative in 2021 and net zero in 2025. We will reduce our absolute emissions by 40% on our 2019 levels and then every year we will remove or offset more than the remainder. So, from 2021 onwards, we will be removing more carbon from the atmosphere than we emit.

EY’s transformation to carbon negative is coupled with a focus on supporting our clients with their ambitions for our planet and society. We believe that sustainability is both good for business and good for the planet, offering opportunity to create and protect value. Taking action to protect the planet is core to our purpose of building a better working world and one of the ways we create long term value for our people, clients and society.

To deliver for our clients, we form multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral expert teams to deliver tailored sustainability solutions. Our sustainability solutions cover client challenges and value creation opportunities in sustainability strategy; sustainability reporting and trust; sustainability transformation; renewable transition (including e-mobility); sustainable finance; and the green and circular economy.

Joining us as an Associate for Sustainable Business Strategy, you will support the delivery of our sustainability strategy, sustainable transformation, renewable transition, and green & circular economy sustainability solutions, by supporting multi-disciplinary teams to deliver important client assignments.

Job Summary:

You will advise both public and private sector organisations to anticipate, plan for, and adapt to business opportunities and market changes associated with the wide definition of sustainability. You will also advise government in the development of robust, adaptable, innovative and creative strategy that support our societal goals for a sustainable world and to assist us in meeting our 2030 and 2050 sustainable development goals.

What will I be doing

Typical activities include the following:

• Working effectively as a team member by sharing responsibility, providing support, maintaining communication and updating senior members on progress.
• Understanding our client requirements, co-developing our approach with the client, and providing value to our clients through insights, factual conclusions and advice.
• Understand, manipulate and interpret financial and non-financial data and client information, drawing appropriate conclusions.
• Carry out relevant analysis and present your findings (both written and orally).
• Gathering, verifying and analysing information to formulate views.
• Day to day progression of assignments to include; planning, preparing and reviewing various forms of deliverables to include reports and presentations.
• A focus on anticipating and identifying risks that require escalation and subsequently escalating these risks to more senior staff as appropriate.
• Working closely with colleagues you will ensure that work is properly executed, documented and concluded in compliance with our Quality & Risk Management guidelines.
• Actively establishing, maintaining and strengthening your internal and external relationships.
• Maintaining and constantly upgrading technical knowledge and personal skills.

Key Responsibilities:

• Delivery assignments within a challenging and varied client portfolio, both public and private side
• Develop your own career. With sustained levels of growth across our sustainability solutions, you will have an excellent opportunity to progress and specialise
• Support the development of thought leadership, including innovative and creative points of view associated with business related sustainability strategy and associated involvement in all areas of the sustainable development objectives
• Support both internal and external projects
• Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Benefit from an excellent remuneration and benefits package

Day to Day Responsibilities:

• Responsible for developing client deliverables including reports; presentations; financial projections etc.
• Responsible for preparation of pitch and proposal documents including tender response documents; presentations; pricing schedules etc.

People responsibilities

• Develop network of contacts (internal & external)
• Seek regular feedback on individual assignments and regular guidance from counsellor
• Manage own time to budgets and communicates progress against plan to assignment director
• Identifying issues and drawing to attention of senior team members and contributing to discussions

Technical skills requirements

• Third level degree and or association credentials in supportive field(s)
• Demonstratable experience with business sustainability strategy development and executions
• Track record supporting government and/or business to advance strategy plans
• Experience in strategic analysis and/or tactical planning for responsiveness to sustainable business strategies
• Strong communication skills, with an ability to help multi-stakeholders to appreciate the “so what” of nuances and directions in the sustainability strategy development and execution phases of assignments
• Demonstrable understanding of strategy development processes in the sustainability, resilience or climate change agenda, within the Irish Government, is desirable
• Highly numerate with a sound grasp of Excel, Word and PowerPoint

Additional skills requirements

• 3+ years of related work experience
• Strong interpersonal skills and client focus are important, as well as attention to detail and the ability to work under pressure
• Good verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrates organization and self-management skills
• Pro-actively manage own development