VP - Climate Transition, ESG

Role Overview

Vice President, Climate Transition, ESG at Mashreq. A senior role within the bank's Group ESG function responsible for leading the strategic execution and integration of the bank's climate transition agenda across its global operations and business activities.

Role Purpose

Translate the bank's overarching climate commitments into actionable strategies, robust methodologies, and impactful initiatives. Drive meaningful decarbonization and climate resilience throughout the organization and its client portfolios by leveraging deep expertise in climate science, sustainable finance, regulatory landscape, and risk management.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Governance

• Lead the refinement and championing of the bank's climate transition strategy, ensuring alignment with global net-zero commitments and emerging best practices.
• Support the development, implementation, and management of specific strategic pillars and programs designed to embed climate transition considerations across key business units and corporate functions.
• Monitor, interpret, and assess evolving global and regional sustainability and climate-related regulations, supervisory expectations, and disclosure standards, including ISSB, TCFD, BRF 13, Basel climate principles, CBUAE climate regulations, and principles for climate transition planning.

Data Management & Analytics

• Lead and coordinate the collection, validation, governance, and analysis of financed emissions data using PCAF and other globally recognized methodologies in coordination with the One Data team.
• Support the development, calculation, and periodic refresh of financed emissions baselines across material sectors and portfolios, aligned with PCAF methodologies, regulatory expectations, and the bank's decarbonization strategy.
• Review robustness, consistency, and completeness of climate and ESG data across geographies and business lines, coordinating with internal stakeholders and supporting external assurance and audit requirements.
• Support automation and integration of ESG and climate data into enterprise-wide reporting and analytics platforms.

Client & Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as a senior subject matter expert supporting client-facing businesses (CIBG, IBG, RBG, Treasury and Global Markets) on decarbonization strategies, climate risk considerations, and sustainable finance opportunities.
• Support the assessment of clients' transition plans, financed emissions profiles, sector decarbonization pathways, and climate-related risks and opportunities.
• Support stakeholder engagement activities relating to climate transition planning and financed emissions management.

Capability Building

• Design and deliver internal awareness sessions, training materials, and capability-building workshops on decarbonization and climate-related topics for business and support functions.

Qualifications & Experience

• Master's degree (or equivalent) in Environmental Science, Climate Policy, Economics, Finance, Engineering, or a related field. An MBA with a sustainability focus or a Ph.D. is highly preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive hands-on experience in sustainable finance, climate strategy, environmental risk management, banking, or a related field within a major financial institution, leading consultancy, or relevant international organization.
• Deep understanding of climate science, energy systems, industrial decarbonization pathways, financed emissions, decarbonization strategy, and the economics of climate transition.
• Extensive experience with climate-related risk frameworks, including ISSB IFRS S2, GHG accounting (GHG Protocol, PCAF), and science-based target setting methodologies.
• Proven track record in designing, implementing, and managing complex, cross-functional climate-related projects and initiatives.
• Experience in a global role with exposure to multiple regulatory jurisdictions.
• Familiarity with emerging climate-related financial regulations in the GCC and jurisdictions the bank operates in.