Climate Manager, China - 6 Month FTC

Main purpose of the role:

To work along with the Climate Director and Senior Manager covering China and the Climate team to manage a high-quality portfolio of investment proposals and active programmes that contribute to the delivery of the Climate sector team priorities and meet the corporate objectives of the CIFF Board.

This position is to lead and manage CIFF’s initiatives in China to promote a low-carbon transition towards carbon neutrality at the national and subnational levels. The role aims to drive the implementation of China’s carbon neutrality target by engaging with various global, national, and local partners and stakeholders to identify practical challenges and opportunities for philanthropic engagement. The successful candidate will work closely with CIFF’s China and global climate teams to integrate CIFF solutions into the regional collaboration on the ground.

Roles and responsibilities:

Strategy & planning

• Provide insightful briefings and analysis on specific themes, trends, opportunities and risks, to support the Climate team in determining strategic priorities and setting operational plans.
• Provide and communicate global and regional insights verbally and in writing, including developing graphs and charts to contribute to the strategy and planning process.
• Prior to approval of a programme proposal, assist the team in preparing aspects of the programme strategy and evidence base, working with wider teams and in country experts.
• Ensure coordination and alignment of CIFF’s global, sectoral and regional priorities and strategies into CIFF China climate mission.

Programme development, delivery & performance

• Lead the end-to-end oversight and administration of the management process of relevant grants (from concept formation, proposal development, ongoing management through to final payment), suggesting improvements where appropriate, and always seeking to add value, to enable the Climate team to deliver and monitor its philanthropic activity efficiently and effectively and ensuring impact.
• Against key corporate and / or sector team indicators and targets, monitor and report internally on the performance of assigned portfolio.
• Conduct structured feasibility analysis on investment proposals, using an appropriate range of 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.
• Working either with sector and regional colleagues or independently, prepare summary reports, board reports and portfolio investment reports, ensuring these are produced to a high-standard and in a timely fashion, often within tight timeframes.
• Conduct regular reviews of the progress and performance of programmes under delivery to identify problems and delays, and work with partners to develop effective solutions (escalating to more senior colleagues for support and intervention, where required).
• Work as part of a team to shape and implement plans for scaling up, replicating or leveraging additional support for successful programmes and initiatives, in accordance with Foundation priorities.

Sector knowledge and profile-building

• Keep abreast of developments within the energy and climate sectors, establishing appropriate information gathering networks and channels to deepen professional knowledge and skills.
• As required, contribute to the development of thought leadership, PR, marketing and advocacy materials, to support CIFF’s ambitions to scale-up, mainstream and leverage additional support for its initiatives.

Stakeholder and partner management

• Conduct rigorous research and evaluation of potential national and subnational partners, using agreed corporate protocols and techniques, to assess their suitability and credentials for collaborating on CIFF initiatives.
• Apply CIFF’s agreed account management disciplines and approaches in all dealings with programme partners and stakeholders, to ensure productive and professional relationships are maintained in a coordinated and strategic manner.
• Working alongside senior colleagues, help to develop strategic partnerships to support adoption, replication, co-funding or scaling-up of CIFF programmes.
• With a variety of external audiences, develop and maintain strong partnerships and act as a knowledgeable resource about CIFF’s programmes and priority areas.
• Organize field trips and conduct local investigations in key provinces to stay informed about local practices and challenges, while fostering and maintaining local partnerships.

Skills & Experience

• A relevant Master's level degree (e.g. climate, environment, energy, economy, finance) with strong analytical skills. Relevant additional work experience may be acceptable in place of a Master's degree. 
• Relevant experience of working on climate change (preferably on regional and sectoral decarbonization), for example, this could include experience in an NGO, think tank, academia or the public sector.
• Passionate about driving systemic change for zero-carbon future.
• Familiarity with the geopolitical and economic landscape and how it relates to climate including multilateral processes, key regional dynamics.
• Strong administrative experience, working with the team leader in a busy and complex environment.
• Skilled in relationship building and strengthening; strong influencing skills and work collaboratively, uniting groups with a shared purpose
• Track record of managing and building trust-based relationships internally and externally with a range of partners, operating across a range of cultural contexts
• Experience multitasking and managing priorities to competing deadlines, thrives on diversity of a role.
• Proactive in planning and organizing around key priorities effectively analyses and judges situations and makes balanced decisions.
• Track record of strong interpersonal skills and working well as a team player.
• Thrives in a fast-paced environment, with a wide and ever-changing variety of daily tasks. Can react quickly and confidently to changing priorities.
• Confidence and ease of speaking up and taking direction from senior executives.
• A self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, with resilience, pace, and interpersonal flexibility.
• Approach situations strategically, methodically and with a high degree of rigour.
• Entrepreneurial mindset, highly adaptive and energetic.
• Result-orientated, able to lead with humility and intellect.
• Capacity to work in a range of cultural and socio-economic contexts.
• High proficiency with MSOffice Programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Strong communication skills and excellent oral and written English and Mandarin required additional language skills an asset.
• Ability to work well under pressure, willing to work flexible hours, sometimes across different time zones.
• Able to travel internationally and domestically and willing to work flexible hours, sometimes across different time zones.

Key working relationships

• CIFF related PIC advisors and climate ED/Directors
• Other CIFF teams – particularly teams in Africa and Southeast Asia, global climate and functional teams (e.g. legal, HR, finance and External Affairs)
• Global partners and stakeholders
• International charities
• National governments and local NGO partners in priority geographies
• Research and academic institutions active within sector specialism

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 allowance
• Wellbeing allowance
• Life insurance
• Medical insurance