Associate Director - Sustainability

  • Full-time

Company Description

At Deloitte, our purpose is to make an impact that matters for our clients, our people, and society. This is the lens for which our global strategy is set. It unites Deloitte professionals across geographies, businesses, and skills. It makes us better at what we do and how we do it. It enables us to deliver on our promises to stakeholders, while creating the lasting impact we seek.

Harnessing the talent of 450,000+ people located across more than 150 countries and territories, our size and scale put us in a unique position to help change the world for the better—by bringing together the services we provide, the societal investments we make, and the collaborations we advance through our ecosystems.

Deloitte offers career opportunities across Audit & Assurance (A&A), Tax & Legal (T&L) and our Africa Consulting Services business, which is made up of Strategy, Risk & Transactions (SR&T) and Technology & Transformation (T&T).

Are you ready to apply your knowledge and background to exciting new challenges? From learning to leadership, this is your chance to take your career to the next level.

About Africa Consulting Services

Deloitte's Africa Consulting Services (ACS) excels in delivering innovative solutions through Strategy, Risk & Transactions (SRT) and Technology & Transformation (T&T). SR&T advises clients on how to create and protect value –this offering is designed to help organizations navigate complex business transformations, mergers, acquisitions, and strategic growth initiatives. T&T combines deep industry knowledge with cutting-edge technology to deliver tailored solutions that drive innovation, enhance efficiency, and foster sustainable growth. Together, these consulting services help clients navigate complex challenges and achieve their strategic goals.

Our multidisciplinary teams span across the continent and combine strategic foresight with rigorous analysis to drive growth, manage risks, and enhance industry performance.

We empower our clients to navigate complex challenges and uncover opportunities to create value and competitive advantage while also building organizational trust and resilience for the long run.

What impact will you make?

Every day, your work will make an impact that matters, while you thrive in a dynamic culture of inclusion, collaboration and high performance. As the undisputed leader in professional services, Deloitte is where you’ll find unrivalled opportunities to succeed and realize your full potential.

Job Description

The Associate Director for Sustainability is a senior leadership role accountable for developing and driving our climate and environmental strategy advisory efforts for clients including guiding our clients in embedding climate-related risks, environmental impacts and opportunities into their enterprise risk management, strategic planning, and decision-making. The role translates evolving climate science, environmental management, regulation, and market expectations into practical actions that improve resilience, enable transition planning, and support operational performance.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Sustainability and ESG consulting:
    • Advise senior client stakeholders on sustainability strategy, translating ambition into actionable roadmaps (e.g., net-zero/low-carbon transition plans, sustainability operating models, and value-creation cases)
    • Lead client-facing decarbonisation programmes across Scope 1, 2, and 3, guiding emissions baselining, abatement planning, implementation sequencing, and governance for delivery
    • Design practical processes, controls, and data requirements aligned to leading frameworks and evolving regulation e.g., ISO14001, ISSB/IFRS S1/S2, GRI, SASB, TCFD/TNFD, and CSRD, where applicable
    • Work with client’s sustainability, risk, finance, and strategy leaders to develop climate-risk and resilience approaches including scenario analysis and transition/physical risk considerations
    • Integrate outputs into strategy, capital allocation, and enterprise risk management
    • Advise procurement and operations leaders on sustainable supply chain transformation, embedding sustainability requirements, supplier engagement, traceability, and performance improvement across the value chain
    • Partner with client leadership to embed sustainability into governance and decision-making (policies, incentives, KPI design, and performance management) to drive accountability and benefits realisation
    • Facilitate executive and cross-functional client workshops to align on materiality, priorities, trade-offs, and implementation sequencing
    • Manages senior stakeholders to build buy-in and accelerate adoption
    • Build sustainability pipeline through client conversations, insights, and repeatable assets
    • Collaborate across Deloitte capabilities to bring the right specialists to client opportunities and deliver end-to-end solutions.
  • Client delivery and project engagement:
    • Shape project approach, define problem statements, hypotheses, workplans, governance, and deliverable standards; align to client outcomes
    • Lead delivery execution across disciplines (strategy, operating model, process, technology, data, change), ensuring integration and quality control
    • Ensure scope clarity and delivery feasibility
    • Manage engagement economics across scope, effort, budget, margin, and change control, anticipate issues and resolve proactively
    • Develop differentiating assets (point of views, accelerators, case studies) that support win rates and delivery consistency
    • Oversee risk, independence/compliance obligations and delivery governance, escalate early and maintain audit trail of decisions
    • Lead executive-ready storytelling, synthesise insights, craft recommendations and present to senior stakeholders.
  • Business Development
    • Business development and commercial management
    • Build and manage a sales pipeline aligned to priority industries/offers
    • Develop account plans with measurable growth objectives
    • Lead or co-lead proposals (solution design, resourcing model, pricing, risk review) and executive pitch preparation
    • Contribute to contracting and commercial negotiations in line with firm policies.
  • People leadership and talent development
    • Lead, coach, and develop direct reports setting clear expectations and providing actionable feedback
    • Own team performance management inputs (goal setting, mid-year/year-end feedback, promotion inputs) consistent with firm processes
    • Create an inclusive, safe and high-performing team culture
    • Role-model wellbeing, ethics, and professional standards
    • Support recruitment including interviewing, candidate assessment, onboarding, and early performance support.
  • Practice management:
    • Contribute to offer development and continuous improvement of methodologies, templates, and accelerators
    • Publish or contribute to thought leadership (articles, conference sessions, client events) to build market presence
    • Collaborate across Deloitte businesses to deliver integrated solutions (e.g., Consulting, Risk Advisory, Tax/Legal, Financial Advisory)
    • Maintain compliance with independence, quality, and confidentiality requirements; champion ethical decision-making.

Your role as a leader

At Deloitte we believe in the importance of leadership at all levels. We expect our people to embrace and live our purpose by challenging themselves to identify issues that are most important for our clients, our people, and for society and make an impact that matters. In addition to living our purpose, Managers across our organization:

  • Develop high-performing people and teams through challenging and meaningful opportunities
  • Deliver exceptional client service; maximize results and drive high performance from people while fostering collaboration across businesses and borders
  • Influence clients, teams, and individuals positively, leading by example and establishing confident relationships with increasingly senior people
  • Understand key objectives for clients and Deloitte; align people to objectives and set priorities and direction.

Key success measures (illustrative KPIs)

  • Client outcomes achieved (benefits realised, milestones met, risk reduced) and strong client satisfaction feedback
  • Engagement performance: on-time delivery, quality review results, and healthy financial metrics (margin, write-offs, scope control)
  • Business development contribution: qualified pipeline created, proposals led/co-led, revenue influenced/closed
  • People outcomes: team retention, progression/promotion readiness, coaching effectiveness, and inclusive team culture indicators
  • Firm-building: reusable assets created, thought leadership published, and cross-business collaboration outcomes.

Key stakeholders and working pattern

  • External: client executives and senior leaders, programme sponsors, steering committees, vendors/partners
  • Internal: Directors/Partners, account leadership, solution specialists, delivery centres, risk/quality teams, and Talent/HR
  • Working pattern: project-based with periods of peak demand; travel may be required depending on client location and engagement needs.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

  • Completed Bachelors degree
  • Postgraduate qualification (MBA/Master’s) highly advantageous e.g. Environmental Sciences
  • Relevant credentials (where applicable) may include GHG Protocol training, GRI Professional Certification, SASB/ISSB/IFRS sustainability disclosure training, or climate risk/scenario analysis credentials.

Required Experience

  • Minimum 12+ years’ relevant experience in management consulting and/or a strategy, transformation, or operational leadership role in industry
  • At least 5 years at a senior management level directing team activities and sales or account pursuits
  • Successful track record working with C-suite executive level leadership
  • Proven experience leading complex transformations (strategy, operating model, process improvement, technology-enabled change) from design through to implementation
  • Demonstrated experience selling and delivering consulting work e.g., leading proposals, creating account expansion opportunities, managing client satisfaction
  • Experience leading multi-disciplinary teams and developing mid-level leaders
  • Sustainability-specific experience is advantageous (e.g., net-zero transition planning, emissions accounting, ESG data/reporting transformation, climate risk and resilience, sustainable supply chains, environmental management systems)

Additional Information

How you’ll grow

At Deloitte, our professional development plan focuses on helping people at every level of their career to identify and use their strengths to do their best work every day. From entry-level employees to senior leaders, we believe there’s always room to learn. We offer opportunities to help build world-class skills in addition to hands-on experience in the global, fast-changing business world. From on-the-job learning experiences to formal development programs at Deloitte University, our professionals have a variety of opportunities to continue to grow throughout their career. Explore Deloitte University, The Leadership Center. https://deloitte.zoomforth.com/du

Benefits

At Deloitte, we know that great people make a great organization. We value our people and offer employees a broad range of benefits. Learn more about what working at Deloitte can mean for you. https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/careers/articles/benefits.html

Our purpose

Deloitte is led by a purpose: to make an impact that matters. Every day, Deloitte people are making a real impact in the places they live and work. We pride ourselves on doing not only what is good for clients, but also what is good for our people and the communities in which we live and work—always striving to be an organization that is held up as a role model of quality, integrity, and positive change. Learn more about Deloitte’s impact on the world.  https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/impact-that-matters.html

Note: The list of tasks / duties and responsibilities contained in this document is not necessarily exhaustive.  Deloitte may ask the employee to carry out additional duties or responsibilities, which may fall reasonably within the ambit of the role profile, depending on operational requirements.

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At Deloitte, we want everyone to feel they can be themselves and to thrive at work—in every country, in everything we do, every day. We aim to create a workplace where everyone is treated fairly and with respect, including reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities.

We are committed to employment equity and building a diverse and inclusive workplace across the African continent. Our recruitment processes are aligned with our Employment Equity Plan and the principles of the Employment Equity Act. Preference may be given to candidates from designated groups.

We actively support the inclusion of people with disabilities and embrace neurodiversity in the workplace. We recognise and value the unique strengths that neurodivergent individuals bring, and we are committed to creating an environment where everyone can thrive.

If you require reasonable accommodations in relation to your disability and neurodiverse needs during the recruitment process, please let us know. We are happy to make adjustments to suit your individual needs.

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