Senior Associate, Sustainability in London

Actis is seeking to appoint a Senior Associate to its Sustainability team, based in London. The successful candidate will work closely with colleagues across Actis and be fully embedded across the investment lifecycle—from product development through to investment realisation. Leveraging their expertise in sustainability, they will support value creation by assessing investment opportunities and partnering with portfolio company management teams to enhance sustainability performance. The role includes contributing to Actis’ sustainability reporting and, where appropriate, representing the firm externally with investors and other stakeholders.

The individual will bring the credibility and judgement to advise senior colleagues, alongside a mindset geared towards continuous learning and development. The ideal candidate will be a sustainability specialist with relevant and practical professional experience. They will be results‑driven, with strong interpersonal skills and a genuine interest in working across diverse international markets. They will have a track record of establishing themselves as a trusted sustainability expert, building relationships across all levels of an organisation, and collaborating effectively across teams. Relevant experience should include leading sustainability‑focused investment due diligence, supporting decarbonisation initiatives, and driving value creation strategies within portfolio companies. Spanish language fluency and prior exposure to asset management, private equity, or the broader financial services sector will be advantageous.

Key Responsibilities (this list is not exhaustive)

• Leads complex due diligence workstreams across multiple technical areas (EHS, climate, governance, impact, supply chain, etc.) with minimal supervision.
• Builds and manages external advisor relationships by sector and geography.
• Develops comprehensive Value Creation Plans (VCPs) aligned to commercial strategy and investment theses.
• Independently completes Actis Impact Score (AIS) assessments with strong defensibility.
• Produces high-quality Investment Committee (IC) papers with limited edits required.
• Demonstrates advanced understanding of sustainability‑financial value linkage and downside risk mitigation.
• Develops new analytical tools or reporting approaches to improve insight quality.

Impact

• Manages multiple concurrent deals and portfolio initiatives.
• Confidently articulates viewpoints to IC and Fund Heads on material sustainability risks and opportunities.
• Quantifies historical and forward‑looking sustainability impact on valuation and risk profile.
• Independently drafts portfolio monitoring materials and annual reports to a high standard.

Complexity

• Navigates ambiguous and incomplete data environments.
• Evaluates alternative courses of action and recommends clear direction.
• Applies systems thinking across portfolio company, sector, and firm context.
• Demonstrates strong judgement in balancing ethical, reputational, and financial trade‑offs.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Trusted advisor to portfolio company Sustainability leads and operational teams.
• Fields challenging sustainability questions with composure and evidence.
• Represents Actis at industry panels and technical forums (as appropriate).
• Mentors Analysts and Associates formally and informally.

Knowledge

• Strong practical experience in sustainability, gained within a leading sustainability consultancy, investment firm, or similar environment.
• Experience across sectors such as energy, infrastructure, real estate, or digital infrastructure is advantageous.
• Prior exposure to private equity, asset management, or financial services, with an understanding of sustainability drivers in infrastructure investing.
• International experience, with the ability to work effectively across geographies and cultures.
• Demonstrated experience leading sustainability due diligence processes.
• Experience contributing to sustainability reporting, with a solid understanding of relevant frameworks, methodologies, and emerging trends.
• Proven ability to engage with and advise senior management teams on sustainability strategy and performance.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams concurrently.
• Degree‑level education, preferably in environmental or social sciences, development studies, or a related field.

Skills / Competencies

• Fluency in Spanish is required.
• Strong alignment with Actis’ values: Accountability, Collaboration, Transparency, Inclusion, and Sustainability.
• Results‑oriented, with a clear focus on delivering value for Actis’ investors.
• Collaborative team player, comfortable working in multidisciplinary environments.
• Pragmatic, solution‑oriented, and commercially minded.
• Curious and internationally minded, with an interest in emerging markets.
• Self‑motivated, energetic, and adaptable.
• High emotional intelligence, with the ability to influence and build trust.
• Culturally aware and inclusive in approach.
• Low ego, respectful, and collaborative.
• Confident in forming and articulating well‑reasoned views.

This person will be an excellent communicator, comfortable with, and experienced in, advising investment colleagues both in English and Spanish. They will have examples of when they have worked constructively with a range of senior internal and external stakeholders, for example, more senior members of their team, corporate management teams, deal teams and the investment community. They will be able to adapt their language and approach to communicate key issues effectively and advise colleagues with a range of backgrounds and functional expertise. They will be comfortable speaking in a diverse and multinational environment, displaying cultural perceptiveness while working at pace to achieve tangible results.