Director, Research and Innovation Labs

Job Purpose:

Lead GIST Impact’s 15-person Research and Innovation Lab (“RIL”) to deliver timely product research that forms the core of our innovative, tech-enabled, scalable ESG and impact data products, adding value to an increasing number of investor and corporate clients. Drive GIST Impact’s unparalleled thought leadership in the evolving fields of impact economics and impact metrics. Hire, develop, and support staff to achieve exceptional quality and productivity for RIL, and work closely with engineering, product and customer teams to transform research into product components, and enable their delivery

Job Duties and Responsibilities:

• Organise, task, and manage the RIL team to deliver optimally across its four key output areas:
• New product research & development aligned with overall product strategy, and enabling its product-development partnering with engineering and product team members.
• Updating GIST Impact coefficients to enhance & refine our impact valuation
• Bespoke (funded) research

Thought leadership publications Ensure new product research & development is prioritised and delivered to quality and on time; maintain a balanced research portfolio of resource investments, roughly: core enhancements 70% (e.g., regulatory updates, updates to coefficients, etc.); adjacent growth 20% (new research into known domains, e.g., new biodiversity products); net new 10% (totally new innovations that push industry boundaries)

Ensure GIST Impact coefficients are updated annually in an efficient and timely manner

• Ensure that a regular thought leadership calendar of high-quality, topical, client-focussed research is published on evolving regulations, market trends, impact/ ESG metrics, etc.
• Manage and deliver one or two carefully selected, externally funded, profitable research projects in the domain of impact valuation/true cost accounting that add value to policy making or business practice and strengthen GIST Impact’s thought leadership
• Provide strategic inputs for and act as a partner to the CEO’s outreach to regulatory bodies and influencers worldwide in our key knowledge domains
• Collaborate with others across the executive bench, as a key senior thought leader at GIST Impact, to enable delivery against major business milestones and strategic objectives
• Develop and lead RIL’s publications calendar, collaborating with Marketing & Communications on media engagement, and social media presence to optimise RIL’s output for thought leadership and marketing value generation
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with senior colleagues (in Corporate Services; Investor Services; Engineering; Data Delivery and Assurance) to optimise the business value of RIL’s outputs
• Constantly learn and stay abreast of developments in the sustainability landscape, gaining fluency rapidly in all subject matter through which GIST Impact has established its competitive advantage
• Respond to both internal and external correspondence, working closely with the leadership team where appropriate
• Manage RIL talent pipeline through our key campus relationships (INSEAD, TISS, IIT-Bombay, IIT-Kanpur, etc), and external hires

Required Skills and Experience:

• First and second degrees in natural sciences and/or economics/social sciences
• Doctorate in a relevant field is desirable but not essential
• Core consulting and presentation skills achieved from working in a sustainability consulting context
• People management skills and experience in a “research & development” context
• Project management skills and experience in a “research” context
• Experience in navigating complex business organisations
• An academic overachiever with an innate business sense and commercial orientation
• Experience with communications/corporate writing whether through industry, thought leadership, or academia (published papers)

Desired professional traits:

• Highly organised and adaptable; able to context and project switch with ease whilst maintaining a strong focus on delivering against priorities
• Best-in-class leadership skills; sets strong examples when it comes to research quality, timeliness, teamwork, and values
• Strong influencing skills; able to build consensus early and drive results through collaborative engagement with diverse groups
• Pragmatic and a problem-solver
• Excellent storytelling ability: able to sketch out hypotheses and simplify complex issues using a variety of tools
• Numerate; fluent in Excel; scenario analysis and modelling experience a plus
• Great communication skills (written and verbal); previous experience producing material across a wide range of content, including opinion/blogs, marketing/PR, academic publications, corporate communications, etc.
• Great presentation skills (PowerPoint guru and general design aficionado)
• Conversant in recent tech, trends, and data and willing to continuously research emerging technologies
• Knowledgeable about the sustainability domain, but above all passionate about the topic and a voracious learner