Director of Strategic Partnerships

Location: Hybrid (home-working/London office)

Start date: As soon as possible

Contract: 1 year fixed-term contract with opportunity to extend

Reporting into: Emma Harvey-Smith – Managing Director, Partnerships

About the Green Finance Institute (GFI)

Established in 2019, the Green Finance Institute (GFI) is an independent advisor to governments and investors. It is at the forefront of shaping how finance can be used to facilitate a real economy transition, by designing, testing, and scaling financial solutions that enable capital to flow where it can deliver the greatest impact in the real economy. Bridging the gap between committed capital and impactful solutions, the GFI delivers positive outcomes for climate and nature by aligning policy, development capital, and pipeline development.

As a commercially focused philanthropic organisation working with governments and partnering with financial institutions, corporates, NGOs, policymakers, academics and civil society experts, the GFI has mobilised £77bn in committed capital over six years. The GFI is headquartered in London and has a presence in eight countries including Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Indonesia, the Philippines, Scotland, Singapore, and Spain, and its missions work in built environment, CDR, energy, transportation and nature.

What is GFI Edge?

Most sustainability and resilience strategies don’t fail for lack of ambition; they fail because they are not financeable. Targets are set, but organisations stall when it comes to translating those ambitions into investable programmes - with clear governance, credible business cases and funding pathways that work across the value chain. That is where GFI Edge comes in.

GFI Edge is the strategic advisory arm of the Green Finance Institute. We work with corporates and financial institutions to turn transition priorities into board‑ready, executable programmes, combining deep sector insight with pragmatic finance design. Our focus is on options, structures and partner pathways that enable organisations to build robust business cases, unlock capital and reduce climate risk.

GFI Edge is a profit‑for‑good initiative operating within GFI Solutions Ltd, the Green Finance Institute’s wholly owned commercial subsidiary. Through this structure, GFI Edge delivers fee‑earning advisory work for corporates, financial institutions, governments, development banks and other partners, alongside the GFI’s core not‑for‑profit activities. All profits generated by GFI Edge are reinvested to support the Green Finance Institute’s mission: accelerating the transition to a clean, resilient and environmentally sustainable economy by channelling capital at pace and scale towards real‑economy outcomes, creating jobs and increasing prosperity for all.

What’s the role?

In this exciting new role, you will be responsible for driving growth and impact for GFI Edge by originating and converting high-value advisory engagement with corporates, financial institutions and public bodies. You will build trusted senior-level relationships, shape opportunities into clear, commercially sound propositions and oversee a strong forward-looking pipeline. Working closely with leadership and delivery teams, you will help translate complex sustainability and transition challenges into scalable client engagements, while feeding market insight into service development and go‑to‑market strategy. Key to this role is your ability to influence and build trust with corporate and financial institutional stakeholders to inspire action and real-world outcomes.

To be successful in this role, you will combine strong commercial acumen with credibility and confidence at senior stakeholder level. You will have a track record of originating and converting complex advisory opportunities, building trusted relationships with corporates, financial institutions and public sector bodies, and navigating multi‑stakeholder buying processes. You will be comfortable shaping ambiguous or complex sustainability and transition challenges into clear, compelling and commercially sound propositions, working closely with technical and delivery teams. Highly relational and outcome‑focused, you will bring market insight, judgement and structure to pipeline management, while remaining deeply aligned with GFI’s mission to drive real‑world impact through finance.

Responsibilities

• Pipeline generation & relationship building
• Lead proactive outreach to priority client segments (e.g. corporates, financial institutions) aligned with GFI Edge’s strategic focus.
• Build and maintain senior‑level relationships with decision‑makers (e.g. C‑suite, Heads of Sustainability, Finance, Procurement, Strategy, Risk).
• Develop a strong understanding of client priorities, pain points, regulatory context, and strategic objectives to identify opportunities for engagement.
• Represent GFI Edge at targeted events, roundtables, and industry forums to build visibility and originate leads.
• Opportunity shaping & conversion support
• Work closely with GFI Edge leadership and delivery teams to shape opportunities into well‑defined propositions.
• Support the development of proposals, scopes of work, and pricing – ensuring solutions are commercially sound, deliverable and aligned with GFI’s mission.
• Manage the end‑to‑end sales process from early conversation through to mandate confirmation, contracting handover, and mobilisation.
• Navigate complex buying processes involving procurement, legal, and multiple internal stakeholders.
• Pipeline Management & Revenue Accountability
• Own and actively manage the sales pipeline, tracking prospects, probability‑weighted value, and conversion timelines.
• Provide regular, structured pipeline updates to GFI Edge leadership, including risks, dependencies, and actions required.
• Market intelligence & strategic input
• Feed market insights back into GFI Edge’s service development and go‑to‑market strategy.
• Identify repeatable client needs and opportunities for retainer‑based or multi‑year engagements.
• Help refine target client lists, priority sectors, and partnership opportunities.
• Internal Collaboration
• Act as a bridge between clients and delivery teams – ensuring expectations are clearly set and handovers are smooth.
• Work collaboratively with senior leadership, programme directors, and technical experts across GFI to bring the right expertise into conversations at the right time.
• Support the development of light‑touch BD processes and tools appropriate for a growing, mission‑led consultancy.

Role requirements

• Significant experience in business development, sales, or client relationship roles within management consulting, advisory, or professional services; and/or sustainable finance, climate, infrastructure, or energy organisations.
• Proven track record of originating and converting complex, high value advisory or consulting engagements (£500k+).
• Experience selling to large corporates, financial institutions, or public bodies with long and multi stakeholder sales cycles.
• Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships at senior executive level.
• Strong commercial judgement and comfort discussing scope, fees, and value with senior clients.
• Skilled at translating broad client needs into structured, compelling propositions (without overselling or straying into regulated advice).
• Confident operating with ambiguity in an early stage or scaling environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; credible and assured with senior audiences.
• Highly organised, with the discipline to manage and report on pipeline and targets.
• Mission aligned: motivated by sustainability, climate transition, and systems level change.
• Collaborative and enjoys building long-term partnerships rather than one off deals.
• Comfortable working closely with subject matter experts and leadership, without needing to “own” delivery.
• Pragmatic, resilient, and able to operate in politically and reputationally sensitive contexts.

If this sounds like you:

To apply - please submit your CV and a short cover letter (of no more than two sides). Your cover letter should include details of:

• your relevant work / educational experience.
• your skills and in particular your experience that is relevant to this role.
• how you meet the broader requirements of the role.

CVs without a cover letter will not be considered.

The closing date for applications is COB Monday 17th August 2026. Please submit your application via the link on our website. Please note: If you do not already hold the right to work in the UK and/or require sponsorship in order to continue working here, you should think carefully before applying. The Green Finance Institute is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity. If you are invited to interview and need any reasonable adjustments during the interview process, please let us know.