Environmental Defense Fund
Director, Private Sector Engagement
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Overall Function
EDF Europe (EDFE) is hiring a Director, Private Sector Engagement to lead our work with businesses and financial institutions in Europe. The position will provide vision, strategy, and leadership for our work in this space. The remit covers both corporate leadership in implementing projects, tools, and solutions which support the decarbonization of the real economy and sustainable finance. This role reports to the Executive Director, Europe with a dotted line to the US based Senior Vice President EDF+Biz.
You will work closely with EDF’s global and European colleagues, in particular colleagues from the EDF+Business department. The EDF+Business team globally develops and deploys business and investor engagement strategies that accelerate environmental leadership, innovation, and results across industries and supply chains.
Our EDF+Business work in Europe helps redirect financial flows towards activities and projects that support the decarbonisation of the real economy, with a particular focus on topics including shipping, agriculture, oil & gas, and hydrogen. We leverage EDF’s global sectoral and scientific expertise and collaborate with businesses and financial institutions to identify real-world tools and solutions. We work with policymakers and standard-setters to advocate for policies and frameworks that support the greening of the financial sector. We work with European businesses to pool resources, share lessons, and unlock political will for climate and environmental action.
Recent examples include our Dairy Methane Action Alliance (DMAA), which recognizes the urgency of the climate crisis and the significant role of the food sector in reducing global emissions of methane and the Net Zero Action Accelerator (NZAA), a tool to help businesses decarbonise. We also work with policymakers and standard-setters to advocate for policies and frameworks that support efforts to drive decarbonization while building successful businesses.
Visit edfeurope.org and business.edf.org for more information.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and further develop the Europe Sustainable Finance and Corporate Engagement strategies and workplans in partnership with the global EDF+Business team.
- Be an external voice and strategic driver of climate action within the financial system, including with major regulatory bodies.
- Build and help grow relationships and strategic partnerships with high-impact investors, companies, and industry consortia to deliver our objectives.
- Build and leverage internal and external networks and connect with key stakeholders in European & national institutions, national governments, industry, and partner NGOs to advance our objectives.
- Create thought leadership, including blogs and reports on relevant topics for publication to external audiences.
- Manage EDFE Sustainable Finance and Corporate Engagement budget and communications plan monthly.
- Support fundraising efforts to raise new resources for this programme of work and the wider agenda.
- Manage a small team in Brussels, shaping, reviewing, and helping to deliver the team’s workplan and engagements, including internal and external analysis and reports.
- Work with a multi-disciplinary team of colleagues from our policy, business, science, economics, and communication teams.
- Participate in advancing EDF organizational culture and effectiveness goals in which people from all backgrounds and experiences feel connected, included, and empowered to address the environmental and organizational challenges in alignment with EDF values.
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Skills & Experience
- Educated to master's level, or equivalent professional experience with 10 years or more work experience.
- Prior experience in the corporate or financial sector required, with a demonstrated understanding of business and how finance drives business decisions.
- Proven ability to bridge the gap between sustainability goals and business objectives, bringing practical, real-world insights.
- Experience of building new workstreams, including undertaking gap analyses and stakeholder mapping.
- Experienced at developing the strategy for a project or advocacy campaign, identifying relevant funding, and establishing work plans.
- A team-player who is focused on getting buy-in from the wider team for their proposals.
- Experience working in a highly matrixed and global organization.
- A strong networker - building on past experience in the corporate world and existing network to identify and develop relationships with a variety of stakeholders in and outside the financial and corporate sector.
- Identify and develop relationships with potential project collaborators.
- Experienced at influencing financial institutions and businesses vis-a-vis legislative and policy and urging corporate behavior change in the EU and the UK.
- Ability to translate environmental/sustainable challenges into actionable corporate engagement strategies.
- Able to commission and/or produce and communicate high-quality analyses to support corporate and financial sector engagement and policy proposals.
- A strong written and oral communicator, applying communication skills to persuade, influence, or lead others.
- Confident at doing formal presentations before senior internal staff and critical outside stakeholders.
- Able to tailor messaging effectively for corporate audiences.
- Experience in managing small teams and helping them develop.
- Demonstrate self-awareness, cultural competency, and inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across all cultures and backgrounds.
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Eligibility
The position is a 2-year fixed-term contract based in London (remote) or Brussels (hybrid). You must be eligible to live and work in the UK or Europe when applying and be willing to travel regularly to Brussels if based in the UK.
Application Deadline
Please submit your CV and cover letter (max. 1 page) by October 12, 2025. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Early applications are strongly encouraged.
Compensation
- United Kingdom: 90,000 - 100,000 GBP annual
- Belgium: 110,000 - 125,000 EUR annual
We offer a strong total rewards package encompassing competitive salary, robust benefits, and professional development opportunities consistent with a modern global organization. We take into account factors such as candidate experience, skills, training, internal team equity, and local norms. Please note that pay ranges are country-specific. As a result, the stated currency is not meant to be converted into any other currency.
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