VP/SVP, Business Manager, Sustainability Office

at  GIC Investment

Location:Singapore, SG
Job Function: Sustainability Office
Job Type: Permanent
Req ID: 16258
GIC is one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds. With over 2,000 employees across 11 locations around the world, we invest in more than 40 countries globally across asset classes and businesses. Working at GIC gives you exposure to an extraordinary network of the world’s industry leaders. As a leading global long-term investor, we Work at the Point of Impact for Singapore’s financial future, and the communities we invest in worldwide.

WHAT WILL YOU DO AS A VP/SVP, BUSINESS MANAGER, SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE?

This is a newly created role reporting to the Head of the Sustainability Office which is considered essential to enable the department to move from an early start-up phase to a growth and scale-up stage. The Business Manager will establish and perform functions that develop best-in-class operational practices within the Sustainability Office, alongside development of sustainability practices among the GIC’s middle and back office. The Business Manager will enjoy broad exposure to cross-department stakeholders across the global enterprise, with whom they will be expected to partner with closely to deliver on the role’s objectives. Crucially, the Business Manager function will allow for greater specialisation of focus among all existing team members of the Sustainability Office, and is therefore a key component in the success of the Sustainability Office’s business strategy and the overall success of Sustainable Investing for GIC. This role will suit a highly structured, responsible and intrapreneurial individual with a passion for process transformation in the asset management context, and who understands that generating real returns over the long-term must be supported by robust underlying governance and operations.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support Head of Sustainability Office with strategic planning and day-to-day business management for prosecution of Sustainability Office’s annual key objectives:
• Run the department’s annual budgeting and strategic planning process
• Run the department’s quarterly business management, accountability and budget review processes in collaboration with sub-team heads
• Resolve business issues and roadblocks arising from execution, operational, risk and compliance considerations, ensuring optimal coordination and cross-functional alignment
• Support the planning for and ongoing monitoring of GIC’s priority external organizational engagements and memberships related to sustainable investing
• Design and execute best-in-class internal governance processes to support scaling of GIC’s sustainable investing priorities:
• Conduct a strategic review of all established internal sustainability governance processes/relationships to identify opportunities to enhance and streamline
• Ownership of Sustainability Policy and supporting documents, with input into adjacent departmental policies
• Conduct annual reviews and engage in periodic auditing of relevant policies and supporting documents
• Manage secretariat duties for committees and working groups, e.g. GIC Sustainability Committee, Sustainability Regulations Working Group
• Project management for critical transformation efforts that enable GIC’s Sustainability strategy – namely, providing strategic direction, ensuring accountability for deliverables, and consulting a broad range of stakeholders for the following:
• Represent the Sustainability Office’s interests in all technology-related workstreams
• Manage the internal stakeholder engagement and operational requirements to produce GIC’s public-facing sustainability reports
• Develop and execute the Sustainability Office’s internal communications strategy
• Provide operational leadership on workstreams that run adjacent to Sustainability Office’s core research/investment analysis work, for example:
• Partnering with operations group on procurement and contract management for contractors engaged by the Sustainability Office
• Liaising with operations group on GIC’s operational sustainability practices as needed

WHAT QUALIFICATIONS OR SKILLS SHOULD YOU POSSESS IN THIS ROLE?

• Bachelor’s degree or above; preferred academic background in finance (operations), sustainability/climate and/or business. PMP Certification will be well regarded although not essential
• 7-10 years of professional experience in or significant exposure to the finance/asset management industry, ideally with a focus on operations management, change management, governance development, and organisational transformation. Prior experience in a chief of staff or chief operations officer function or department will be highly regarded
• Excellent business analysis and project management skills, with a proven track record of analysing, establishing and optimising governance models and business processes
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to distill complex concepts into clear, concise business insights that enable efficient decision-making. Experience in presenting to diverse stakeholder audiences. Ability to influence key stakeholders ranging from C-level executives, Heads of Departments, and subject matter experts
• Demonstrated high degree of integrity, initiative, attention to detail, building stakeholder alignment, and discretion in working on confidential matters.
• Genuine interest in sustainability in business and investing is a must, and experience or subject matter expertise in the implementation of sustainability in the asset management context will be highly regarded
• Data analytics and technical coding skills (e.g. Python, R) considered a plus