Global head of sustainability advisory

📋 Description

• • Watershed is at the forefront of enterprise sustainability, providing a leading platform that empowers companies to manage their climate and ESG data, generate audit-ready metrics for both voluntary and regulatory reporting (including CSRD), and drive tangible decarbonization efforts. We are seeking passionate individuals who excel at product development, are driven by a mission-oriented startup environment, and are eager to contribute to shaping the culture of our rapidly expanding team.
• • Our global presence spans offices in San Francisco, New York, Denver, London, Paris, Berlin, Sydney, and Mexico City, complemented by a robust network of remote team members across the US and Europe. We are excited about the prospect of you joining our dynamic organization.
• • The Sustainability Advisory & Services organization is pivotal to Watershed's mission of driving significant climate action. This division comprises four global teams dedicated to delivering professional services, encompassing advisory on measurement, reporting, and decarbonization strategies. Collectively, these teams are instrumental in facilitating our customers' adoption, effective utilization, and comprehensive value extraction from the Watershed platform.
• • As the Global Head of Sustainability Advisory, you will spearhead the team responsible for acting as a trusted advisor to Watershed's clientele on critical post-measurement aspects, including sophisticated reporting, ambitious target-setting, and strategic decarbonization initiatives. Your leadership will guide a team tasked with:
• • Providing expert guidance to sustainability leaders within some of the world's largest and most influential corporations, such as Walmart, BlackRock, and FedEx, on advancing their sustainability programs and realizing substantial business value.
• • Proactively developing innovative advisory services and internal resources by translating the latest sustainability trends and evolving regulatory landscapes into practical, actionable guidance, ensuring our customers remain compliant and maintain a competitive edge.
• • Cultivating robust partnerships with our Product & Engineering teams to seamlessly integrate sustainability intelligence into Watershed's cutting-edge product offerings.
• • In this pivotal role, you will lead a globally distributed team of 11 advisors and 1 manager. Your responsibilities will encompass setting the team’s strategic direction, fostering operational excellence, nurturing the development of talented team members, and establishing the necessary systems and culture to propel the team towards unprecedented levels of impact during our next growth phase.
• • This position is based in New York City, with an expectation of up to 15% travel to our global offices.
• • Key Responsibilities:
• • Lead and scale a high-performing team: Coach and develop a talented group of mid-career and senior advisors, fostering an environment of continuous learning and growth.
• • Define Watershed’s decarbonization strategy: Collaborate closely with leaders across Watershed to refine and advance our decarbonization products and services, directly contributing to Watershed's ambitious mission of helping customers reduce 500 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually by 2030.
• • Drive business impact: Ensure the team consistently delivers exceptional advisory and services to Watershed’s customers, infusing every interaction with technical depth and demonstrable business value.
• • Foster operational excellence: Optimize team operations to enhance quality, efficiency, and scalability. Shape future organizational plans by strategically assessing factors such as role specialization and geographic distribution.
• • Shape Services strategy: Drive the strategic vision for the Sustainability Advisory team, in close partnership with the Manager, Sustainability Advisory. Furthermore, collaborate with the Head of Sustainability Advisory & Services to define the overarching strategy for the entire Services business at Watershed.
• • Cultivate deep cross-functional collaboration: Work seamlessly with Customer Success, Support, Product, and Methodology leadership to ensure strategic alignment and synchronized execution across departments.
• • Embody and champion Watershed’s operating principles: Lead by example, setting a high standard for a performance-driven, customer-obsessed, and mission-focused team.
• • Ideal Candidate Profile:
• • Extensive professional experience: Possess 15+ years of professional experience, including a minimum of 6 years demonstrating success in leading professional services teams, either within a consulting firm or a B2B SaaS environment.
• • Corporate decarbonization expertise: Bring deep, hands-on expertise in corporate decarbonization, evidenced by a proven track record of successfully delivering impactful sustainability initiatives that yielded measurable results and tangible business value.
• • Climate framework proficiency: Exhibit expertise in key climate frameworks such as GHGP, PCAF, SBTi, and ISO, as well as reporting frameworks including CSRD, CCDAA, UK SRS AASB, ISSB, and CDP.
• • Leadership experience: Have experience managing both individual contributors and managers, including senior-level staff. Demonstrate a genuine enthusiasm for coaching, hiring, and developing high-performing teams.
• • Customer obsession: Possess a deep-seated customer focus, thriving on engaging with clients to understand their challenges and opportunities. Excel at setting high standards for customer delivery and empowering teams to meet and exceed them.
• • Strong operational acumen: Demonstrate strong operational capabilities, with a preference for data-driven decision-making, structured problem-solving, and the ability to build repeatable systems in dynamic, high-growth settings. Enjoy both strategic planning and detailed execution, with an eagerness to leverage AI for enhanced efficiency and customer impact.
• • Exceptional communication skills: Be an outstanding written and verbal communicator, capable of articulating a clear vision, instilling confidence within your team, and collaborating effectively with cross-functional peers to improve alignment and drive results.
• • Adaptability and drive: Thrive in a high-growth, fast-paced environment, bringing an ownership mentality, intellectual curiosity, and a proactive bias for action to all endeavors.
• • Workplace Policy: Employees are expected to work from an office 4 days per week in our hub locations (San Francisco, New York, London, Mexico City) or satellite offices (Denver, Sydney, Paris, Berlin), unless the role is specifically designated as remote.
• • Interview Process: The process begins with 1-2 introductory conversations to understand your background and interests. Subsequent stages may include skill-based interviews (e.g., technical assessments for engineers, portfolio reviews for designers) followed by a panel interview, conducted virtually or in person. We are committed to transparency throughout the process.
• • Accommodation: Watershed is committed to an inclusive recruitment process and provides reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities, long-term conditions, mental health needs, religious observances, neurodivergence, or pregnancy-related support requirements. Please contact your recruiter if you require assistance.