Chief Sustainability Officer

About the job

Job summary

The Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) will play a critical leadership role in aligning departmental strategy and operations with national and international social and environmental sustainability goals. Reporting to the Commercial Director, the CSO is the head of the sustainability function within HMRC, with the opportunity to influence the Executive Committee and HMRC Board.

The CSO will drive the embedding of sustainability across procurement and supply chains, operations and our estate. The CSO will influence and collaborate with senior leaders across the enterprise to ensure the integration of the department's sustainability ambitions in both our investment lifecycle and in the day-to-day actions of our workforce.

Job description

Strategy and Leadership

The CSO will be HMRC's senior sustainability authority and is expected to personally provide strategic expert advice to the Board and Executive Committee on climate-related risks, sustainability governance, resilience, social value and long-term environmental strategy. The CSO will also chair HMRC's Sustainability Board.

The CSO will develop, maintain, and oversee the implementation of HMRC's sustainability, SME and social value strategies, placing impact at the heart of the sustainability model. This includes defining strategic objectives, scope, and approach; updating the strategy in response to societal, legal, technological, and government policy developments; and embedding sustainability considerations into other relevant strategies such as commercial, risk, resilience, and people strategies.

The CSO will set and report against long-term targets and establish KPIs at enterprise and Group level, embedding sustainability into processes and decision-making across the organisation, and coaching decision-makers to manage complex trade-offs effectively.

Governance, Risk and Assurance

The CSO will own sustainability governance at an enterprise-level, proactively planning and mitigating risks to the sustainability strategy and to delivery.

The CSO will ensure effective assurance frameworks are in place to support compliance with government requirements, regulatory obligations and standards, while providing senior leaders with confidence in the quality, integrity and transparency of HMRC's sustainability performance. This includes reporting against the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the broader requirements of HM Treasury's Sustainability Reporting Guidance, and any future sustainability reporting frameworks adopted by government. The CSO will act as the lead for the TCFD-adapted process, working with Finance, Risk and Control, Internal Audit, and the Sustainability Team to ensure that the process is used to support the department to understand and develop appropriate climate mitigations.

The CSO will be responsible for delivering SME and VCSE Action Plan commitments and building a procurement social value strategy that delivers measurable benefit, aligning to HMRC's (and wider government's) goals and commitments for supporting UK growth.

Capability Building and Culture Change

The CSO will lead the integration of sustainability across all levels in the department, through learning programmes, social sustainability and communications activities. At senior levels, the CSO will influence the embedding of sustainability into business-as-usual processes, policies, and behaviours. They will develop capability across HMRC by identifying skills, knowledge, and training needs, and adopting appropriate educational initiatives for upskilling and sourcing missing capabilities.

The CSO will challenge departmental assumptions, provoking and encouraging innovation, agility, and learning from external comparators to identify strategic opportunities. The CSO will cultivate environments where diverse perspectives, backgrounds and experiences are valued and respected.

Team Leadership

The CSO will manage and lead a multi-disciplinary team responsible for HMRC's sustainability strategy and Net Zero roadmap. The CSO will be adept at influencing in a large and complex organisation. The CSO will draw on the expertise, and influence the delivery of, Subject Matter Experts working in a range of government professions (e.g. Commercial, Estates, HR, Risk, Finance).

Stakeholder Engagement and Influence

The CSO will collaborate and communicate effectively to influence internal and external stakeholders, especially senior government decision-makers and those who influence them. The CSO will provide evidence-led expert advice to senior leaders, programme SROs, ExCom and other teams as required. The CSO will chair HMRC's Sustainability Board, which is the primary governance for the sustainability strategy and Net Zero roadmap, and how stakeholders are held to account for their delivery.

The CSO will build relationships and influence external strategic suppliers (e.g. Microsoft, Capgemini, HMRC's charity partners), assurance bodies (e.g. Carbon Trust, Govt Actuary Dept) and delivery partners to support HMRC's sustainability, climate and social value objectives. They should maximise opportunities to deliver environmental and social outcomes through both HMRC's own supply chains and across government-wide suppliers to support wider public sector carbon reduction, resilience and social value objectives.

The CSO will be part of a cross-government community, including through the Taskforce for Environmental Resilience and Efficiency (TERE) and its sub-groups, which is an opportunity to build and share good practice across government.

Person specification

• Deep understanding of UK and international climate and environmental policy and frameworks, including the Net Zero Strategy, the Climate Change Act, the Environmental Improvement Plan and the Taskforce for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures.
• Working knowledge of climate science, carbon accounting, and environmental systems, with the ability to apply systems thinking to policy and operational decisions.
• Proven experience influencing senior stakeholders, including Executive Boards and C-suite representatives at external partners, with an ability to build credibility and trust at all levels.
• Experience of influencing investment business cases, with the capability to embed sustainability in procurement and supply chains, operations and estates.
• Experience leading multi-disciplinary teams of subject matter experts, working with suppliers and other stakeholders within, and on behalf of, large and/or complex organisations.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to translate technical information into compelling narratives for a range of audiences.
• Confident using evidence and data to inform strategy and track performance, including emissions baselining and government metrics and targets.

Desirable Criteria

• Familiarity with UK frameworks and reporting standards, including government sustainability reporting frameworks, HM Treasury Green Book and private sector mechanisms (TCFD, GRI).
• Familiarity with climate and environment-related frameworks (such as the GHG Protocol, SBTi, ISO 14001). Ability to identify and advocate for innovative solutions and emerging technologies.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £86,000, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £24,914 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Please see attached candidate pack for Benefits

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details
Please see attached candidate pack for selection process details

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a standard (or equivalent) criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Robert Gavin
• Email : scs.resourcing@hmrc.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : scs.resourcing@hmrc.gov.uk

Further information
Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly with the department concerned. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitment/complaints/

Attachments
Chief Sustainability Officer - Candidate Pack v5 Opens in new window (pdf, 1167kB)