Senior Manager, Net Zero Cities Lead / Cities Infrastructure

South Pole is one of the partners in a consortium of European organizations who have been mandated to work with European cities to develop, implement, action and finance their Net Zero Investment Plans to reach carbon neutrality by 2030. This mandate, known as NetZeroCities (NZC), is an initiative launched as part of the European Green Deal and directly linked to the European Commission’s Mission for 100 Climate-neutral and Smart Cities by 2030.

South Pole core role in the NZC project is to provide technical assistance to 100+ selected European cities to further advance projects in the development process and facilitate access to finance from public and private investors. Our technical assistance offering supports cities in the project preparation process of individual urban infrastructure projects, sector/geography-based bundled projects and overall city investment plans and investment opportunities.

The main goal of this role is to lead and coordinate South Pole’s participation in the NZC mandate and manage a team of 5 – 7 people in Switzerland, Italy and Sweden and be responsible for timely delivery of high-quality services within the mandate. You will lead the provision of technical assistance to cities and support the team in the execution and overall management of all the tasks attributed to South Pole within the mandate. You will provide technical guidance to the team related to infrastructure design and financing as well as corresponding technical assistance and capacity building to the targeted stakeholders in the cities of Europe. In addition, you will be responsible for the acquisition of additional funding proposals related to the NZC mandate and for the implementation of these additional mandates.In addition, you should help in assisting the development of new products and solutions at South Pole to address sustainability challenges related to the infrastructure and financing sectors.

Main responsibilities

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• Execute, manage, and supervise the large NZC mandate namely in the area of technical assistance.
  
• Advise and support cities on infrastructure projects development and financing throughout their entire project preparation process: project definition and design, economic and financial modelling, financial structuring, access to finance and transaction implementation.
  
• Plan team resources and implement the NZC mandate tasks to ensure the most efficient and highest-quality implementation and position South Pole as a reliable and trusted partner of the consortium.
  
• Interact and build relationships with our international consortium partners and city partners, and manage the timely delivery of key tasks. 
  
• Develop additional funding proposals for new technical assistance work related to the NZC mandate with the team as well as with other experts within South Pole and generate new leads, actively contributing to the business development activities of the company.
  
• Develop and improve specialised skills and knowledge linked to topics and services offered by South Pole.
  
• Support the development of South Pole’s thought leadership, services, products, marketing materials and offerings.
  

Essential profile requirements

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• University degree in economics, finance or similar.
  
• Longstanding experience (5+ years) in infrastructure development and financing in a sustainability-related field and in the European context.
  
• 7+ years of experience with technical assistance, sustainability consulting for public sector mandates, including in senior roles.
  
• Experience establishing and coordinating public funded multi-stakeholder initiatives with external stakeholders.
  
• Proven track record in relationship management & communication, preferably with existing network in EU infrastructure context.
  
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships and collaborate effectively with diverse internal and external stakeholders.
  
• Experience in working with the public sector, including experience working with cities or municipal utilities engaging and delivering on sustainable project development.
  
• Knowledge of European and national financial ecosystems, frameworks and sustainability funding initiatives.
  
• Excellent project management skills, from both a technical and administrative standpoint, and proven ability to guide project teams in a multi-stakeholder and multi-geographies context.
  
• Excellent writing skills, with proven expertise in creating and reviewing high-quality written documents (proposals and deliverables).
  
• Excellent oral and written skills in English, and good knowledge of any other international language such as German, French, Spanish.
  

These criteria are an indication of the profile we are looking for. Research shows that male candidates often apply when they see a 60% match with the profile, while women only apply when they see a 100% match. If you don’t meet all the criteria but you do believe that this is the right position for you, we kindly invite you to apply anyway or get in touch.

Desirable profile requirements

Ideally, the successful candidate should have all if not the majority, of the following Experience and Qualifications:   

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• Previous exposure to financial roles - preferably financial analysis, project finance, financial transactions and execution, or similar, with a primary focus on sustainable finance highly preferable.
  
• Comprehensive understanding of financial markets, financial structuring, and investment instruments as they apply to sustainability projects.
  
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically, solve complex problems, and drive results in a fast-paced, transactional environment.
  
• Management and leadership experience in a complex environment ideally in an international company.
  
• Experience in working in development cooperation.
  
• Proven experience of engagement with public and private sector financing institutions.
  
• Specific sectoral project experience in urban sustainable infrastructure e.g. energy systems, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, built environment, waste, as well as green infrastructure & nature-based solutions, and circular economy.