Main purpose of the role
The CIFF Climate team is driven by a vision of a climate-safe future for today\u2019s children and future generations. We support the urgent global transition to a zero-carbon society. We are committed to strategies that get to the heart of the greatest climate challenges and are willing to support\u202fnew approaches\u202fto accelerate action and the step-change in ambition\u202frequired\u202fto keep global warming below 1.5c.\u202f\u202f
Working closely with the Global Director, Climate,\u202fand the Director, Climate\u202f(when in post),\u202fthe role-holder will provide senior management and leadership across both a specific portfolio of grants, as well as supporting broader team-wide efforts to increase the sophistication of our strategies and\u202fprogrammes, particularly with respect to\u202fthe\u202ffinance, corporates, carbon pricing\u202fand legal\u202fprogrammes\u202fpart of the cluster. The role holder will be able to\u202fdeputise\u202ffor the Director, Climate as\u202frequired, and\u202frepresent CIFF externally across a variety of meetings and geographies.\u202f\u202f
The role will include direct management of a high-quality portfolio of multi-year grants and\u202f\u202finvestments worth more than $100m, as well as indirectly managing and supporting other\u202finvestments\u202fand\u202fprogrammes\u202fas\u202frequired. This will require a long-term, evidence-based\u202fview on what is needed to achieve ambitious climate goals, deep knowledge and experience of finance, corporate and legal approaches,\u202fand the ability and humility to work with CIFF\u2019s strategic partners to build and support an effective and resilient civil society ecosystem.\u202f\u202f
The post-holder will act as an internal expert/key focal point\u202fon the transition of the corporate and finance sector, including the\u202fregulation &\u202fpolicy, carbon pricing, accountability and legal tools required to support action, as well as providing cross-cutting thought leadership and connectivity to our sectoral and thematic investments in relevant areas.\u202f\u202f
To thrive in the role, you will need to be motivated by\u202ffast-paced\u202fand diverse work that\u202f\u202fincorporates both your specialist subject knowledge (e.g.\u202fdeveloping strategies, acting as\u202f\u202fthe team expert) and high-quality\u202fprogramme\u202fand relationship management. Success in the role requires a\u202fhighly-adaptable\u202fand resilient character, including the ability to learn and work effectively across new\u202fsubject\u202fand thematic areas depending on business\u202fneed. Relationship management and cultivation skills, and the ability to\u202fconvene\u202fand facilitate conversations between diverse stakeholder groups will be particularly valuable.\u202f\u202f
Role\u2019s responsibilities
Strategy & planning
Lead on\u202fthe development of strategies related to\u202ffinance, corporates and legal\u202fat a global\u202fand regional level, working closely\u202fwith our regional experts.\u202f Horizon scan to\u202fidentify\u202fthe funding needs and field capacity/skills needed to achieve accelerate decarbonisation in these sectors over the next 2-5 years.\u202f Work across the global Climate team to build understanding, access to, and\u202fimplementation of high impact\u202ffinance, corporate and legal\u202fstrategies.\u202f\u202f Lead on the development and integration of robust data and insights metrics\u202f/\u202fmethodologies into CIFF\u2019s Climate Missions,\u202fsupporting the use of data and evidence to\u202fenable\u202fprogramming\u202fand grant management.\u202f Prepare and present high-quality analysis and research for the Board/Investment Committee, as required, to support\u202fstrategic and operational planning.\u202f\u202f Lead the production of programme strategy and the associated evidence base, guiding and coaching other members of the climate team to provide relevant inputs, prior to a proposal\u2019s submission for approval.\u202f Input to organisation-wide strategy development and implementation linked to these areas of responsibility, including contributing to risk management and communications / external affairs.\u202fProgramme\u202fdevelopment, delivery & performance\u202f\u202f
Personally manage a portfolio of live programmes with a value of $80-100m.\u202f Shape and harness CIFF\u2019s transition finance, corporate\u202faction\u202fand legal portfolio to help achieve the\u202fobjectives\u202fof CIFF\u2019s Climate Missions, building strong working relationships with regional and sectoral Climate Directors and Managers, as\u202frequired.\u202f\u202f Guide, coach and line manage members of the Climate team as\u202frequired, maximising CIFF\u2019s impact and supporting the personal growth and development of team members.\u202f\u202f Monitor and report internally on the performance of portfolio against key regional and sectoral indicators and targets.\u202f\u202f Instigate course correcting action when targets are not being met or investments are not delivering as expected.\u202f\u202f Lead accountability for applying due diligence and risk management protocols appropriately throughout the development and delivery of proposals and programmes, to ensure the interests and reputation of the Foundation are protected.\u202f Conduct structured feasibility analysis on investment proposals, using\u202fan appropriate range\u202fof methodologies and techniques, to ensure they are based on logical and robust assumptions, which can withstand scrutiny from the Executive Team (ET) and CIFF Board.\u202f Lead work either independently or with sector / regional colleagues to prepare summary reports, board\u202freports\u202fand portfolio investment reports, ensuring these are produced to a high-standard and in\u202fa timely\u202ffashion, often within tight\u202ftimeframes.\u202f Lead the development of grant\u202fagreements,\u202fto forecast and process grant payments and to enable effective grant management and reporting within the organisation.\u202f Conduct regular reviews of the progress and performance of programmes under delivery to\u202fidentify\u202fproblems and delays, and work with partners to develop effective solutions (escalating to more senior colleagues for support and intervention,\u202fwhere\u202frequired).\u202f Identify\u202fopportunities and options for improving processes, procedures and programme management approaches within (and beyond) the team, to support\u202fincreased organisational efficiency and effectiveness.\u202fSector knowledge and profile-building\u202f
Be CIFF\u2019s\u202ffocal point/lead\u202fon transition finance, corporate decarbonisation, and climate litigation and legal tools, keeping abreast of developments,\u202festablishing\u202fappropriate information\u202fgathering networks and channels to deepen professional knowledge and skills, and sharing knowledge appropriately across the CIFF climate matrix structure.\u202f Using this credibility, proactively contribute to the development of thought leadership,\u202fand advocacy materials, to support CIFF\u2019s ambitions to scale-up, mainstream and\u202fleverage\u202fadditional\u202fsupport for its initiatives while managing risk, with minimal Director oversight.\u202fStakeholder and partner management\u202f
Work directly with, and support CIFF\u2019s CEO and Executive Director, Climate and Directors to support\u202fthem in their\u202finteractions with funders and grantees, and within their board capabilities, including preparing high quality briefing notes and sharing updates on key developments within your immediate\u202fportfolio.\u202f Conduct rigorous research and evaluation of potential grantees, using agreed corporate protocols and techniques, to assess their suitability and credentials for\u202f\u202fcollaborating on CIFF initiatives.\u202f Apply CIFF\u2019s agreed account management disciplines and approaches in all dealings with programme partners and stakeholders, to ensure productive and professional relationships are\u202fmaintained\u202fin a coordinated and strategic manner.\u202f Cultivate and\u202fmaintain\u202fstrong working relationships with peer foundations, working\u202fclosely with the Partnerships team.\u202f With a variety of external audiences, develop and\u202fmaintain\u202fstrong partnerships and\u202fact as a knowledgeable resource about CIFF\u2019s programmes and priority areas.\u202fMembership and leadership of the team\u202f
Be a role model to less experienced team members, demonstrating CIFF\u2019s leadership behaviours and providing mentorship to aid their growth.\u202f Adopt a coaching approach with colleagues which\u202finstills\u202fa culture of openness and trust, embraces diverse thinking, and encourages continuous improvement and learning.Key working relationships\u202f\u202f
CIFF Climate Directors and\u202fChief Ecosystem Development Officer & Executive Director, Climate.\u202f Other CIFF teams \u2013 particularly External Affairs,\u202fCEO Office,\u202fOED, Legal,\u202fHR and\u202fFinance.\u202f Relevant staff within other philanthropic foundations.\u202f Past,\u202fpresent\u202fand prospective grantees, including global NGOs / stakeholder organisations.\u202f Research and academic institutions active within sector specialism.\u202f National governments and local NGO partners in priority geographies.\u202fRequirements
Skills & Experience
Experienced leader of significant projects and programmes.\u202fSignificant, proven experience in the\u202fcorporate, finance and legal\u202fsector across a range of regions \u2013 with a mix of private/public/NGO\u202fexperience\u202fan advantage.\u202f Demonstrable experience in analysis and due diligence; policy, planning and\u202fprogramme delivery, all within the climate or public policy sectors.\u202f Knowledge of the evidence bases\u202fpertaining to\u202fprogramme design and implementation, and belief in the importance of evidence-based decision making.\u202f An innovative and entrepreneurial thinker with a pragmatic and solution-oriented mindset.\u202f Ability to analyse an organisation\u2019s strength of management, vision, and adaptive capacity.\u202fAbility to recruit, guide, influence and/or\u202fadvise management teams to\u202feffectively implement programmes.\u202f Deep commitment to supporting and enabling the climate transition.\u202f Effectively champions and promotes causes \u2013 credible, humble, and professional, they always present the Foundation\u2019s programmes in a compelling way to engage the audience.\u202f Skilled in relationship building and strengthening; able to influence others and work collaboratively, uniting groups with a shared purpose.\u202f English is CIFF\u2019s business language \u2013 we expect all our people to display outstanding verbal and written communication skills across all aspects of their role.\u202f\u202f Capacity to work in a range of cultural, political, and socio-economic contexts, adapting style and approach appropriately and in a culturally sensitive manner to maximise effectiveness.\u202f IT\u202fproficiency\u202f(most specifically in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).\u202f A proven self-starter, who works with pace and resilience.\u202fBenefits
CIFF operates a hybrid work policy across all locations, which means employees work in the office and some of the time from home. We are happy to provide more information on this as part of the recruitment process.
Alongside a competitive salary, we offer a generous benefits package here at CIFF that includes, but is not limited to the following.
Annual leave - 25 days per annum. Increasing by 1 day after each year of service to a maximum of 30 days.Bonus - CIFF currently operates a discretionary bonus scheme.Training allowanceWellbeing allowanceLife insuranceMedical insurancePlease submit your application on or before Sunday 11 January 2026. CIFF reserves the right to close the job advert early if we receive a high number of suitable applications.