Strategy Associate - Nature & Food

Primary Responsibilities

Systemiq is looking for experienced sustainability professionals to join the Food and Nature team. Below are examples of past projects to give applicants a sense of the work that we do:

• Work with large, multi-national corporates to transform their business models in line with a net zero emission and nature-positive future. For example, Systemiq supported a leading asset manager to develop a model to assess companies’ performance along the planetary boundaries, worked with one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies (whose products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times per day) to develop a bold vision for a “Planet Positive” corporate strategy, and supported a leading agri-input company to develop a strategy for regenerative agriculture.

• Work with institutional and multilateral financial institutions to co-create new investment vehicles which accelerate the flow of capital into nature-based solutions. For example, Systemiq advises the Beyond Net Zero private equity growth fund on its climate impact strategy and is supporting the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) which will invest $625m to strengthen coral reef ecosystems resilience by addressing local drivers of degradations.

• Work with disclosure frameworks and standard setters to raise the bar on corporate action on climate and nature. For example, Systemiq advised the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) on how to incentivise companies to deliver climate action beyond their value chains and is working with the Science Based Target Network to develop nature science-based targets for land systems which will be informed by the needs of land systems in terms of the physical extent and functional condition required to remain resilient to impacts of people in the long-term.

• Work with governments on multi-lateral initiatives, for example Systemiq is supporting German and Indonesia in their capacity as G7/20 Presidents to mobilize finance for nature.

• Advising donors and philanthropies on their strategies, for example Systemiq developed the partnership and impact strategy for Norad and helped to set up the Quadrature Climate Foundation.

• Building and running multi-organizational coalitions, for example, working closely with the World Resources Institute, Systemiq helps to run the secretariat of The Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) and leads on development of research and insights on food and land use systems transformation. Systemiq is also scaling two new coalitions: (1) Regen10, which is designed to drive the widespread adoption of regenerative practices and (2) SPACES, a global coalition to advance spatial intelligence for nature and climate in support of CBD and UNFCCC objectives.

• Building partnerships between private sector companies, public sector actors and the communities that depend on forests for their livelihoods to scale sustainable business models, for example through Partnership for Forests which operates across the entire tropical belt where sustainable projects generate better returns from forests and sustainable land use than deforestation and degradation do.

About You

• Are excited. About the opportunity to build sustainable business models for the natural world
• Have a Plan. And know how to get buy-in and support for the deployment, embedding, and sustainable utilisation of any operations intervention
• Decisions in Numbers. You use data-driven techniques to solve problems which has a positive financial impact
• Understand that change can be hard. You have a working knowledge of change management and the people side of behaviour change
• Delight in the details and apply your detail-oriented project management skills to ensure the team projects are scoped correctly and the team has the knowledge and support they need to deliver the global projects, products, and services
• Have thoughts on process. Your workload is meticulously organised and maintained, and you have a reputation for follow-through. You have exceptional time management and work prioritisation, and driving multiple responsibilities simultaneously with limited oversight does not faze you.
• Are humble. No task is too small for anyone, and you are eager to learn. You’re all about the team, not the individual.
• Get it done. You have a methodical approach to your project management work with a strong focus on accuracy, attention to detail, consistency, and superb quality. You take the initiative and can operate autonomously when needed.
• You’re a people person. You have outstanding interpersonal skills and can quickly establish rapport, build trust, collaborate, and demonstrate credibility and authority. You have proven stakeholder management skills and remain calm under pressure.
• Words Matter. You have excellent communication skills, whether in-person, virtually, or by email, and you value listening and solving others’ challenges
• You’re solution-oriented. You can clearly explain issues, contribute to their resolution, and effectively influence and negotiate to achieve consensus and successful outcomes. You can anticipate needs, make reasoned decisions, and communicate them effectively.
• Curious. Keeps professional knowledge, capabilities, and skills up to date and an open and continuous learning mindset

Essential Qualifications / Experience

Successful candidates will have:

• A University degree or equivalent
• Excellent English and French verbal and written communication skills, including proven ability to shape and articulate compelling narratives based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative information, and the ability to write concise, well-structured documents (in both text and presentation formats) conveying clear but subtle messages
• At least 5 years of professional expertise (consulting experience would be an asset, but is not required)
• Proven problem-solving skills and ability to deliver high-quality quantitative and qualitative analytics on a range of topics
• Entrepreneurial style with proven ability to work in teams and towards tight deadlines
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to build and nurture trusting relationships and partnerships with a range of stakeholders from different organisational and geographical backgrounds
• Passion for SYSTEMIQ's mission and approach

Desirable

• Experience with completing Scope 1-3 GHG inventories for large, multi-national companies, including companies with land-based emissions and removals (either in-house or as a consultant)
• Experience in working with corporates to set targets for submission to the Science-Based Targets initiative (either in-house or as a consultant)
• Experience of working with corporates on developing Paris-aligned climate change strategies (either in-house or as a consultant)
• Experience working with corporates to assess their impacts and dependencies on nature
• Experience working across corporate, finance, NGO and policy spheres
• Track record of work relating to the voluntary carbon market
• Experience interacting with senior executives and decisionmakers
• Experience working in a collaborative setting (e.g. coalitions / partnerships)