PEGASYSis an advisory group focusing on developmental impact. We are trusted advisors and partners across the public, private and third sector, helping manage natural resources and develop vital public infrastructure. We are head-quartered in Cape Town, South Africa. We address global issues and we work in both developed and frontier markets. PEGASYS has built a globally recognized track record of assisting governments, international financial institutions, NGOs, and private clients and investors in responding to the challenges of climate change and natural resource management.
We are now looking to recruit a dynamic Spanish speaking Consultantto help power our expansion in North America and Latin America, with a strong focus on supporting the delivery of Sustainability and Nature-based Solutions (NbS) across the region to enhance long-term sustainability, water security, and ecosystem services.
This full-time role will be best fulfilled by someone based in or prepared to travel occasionally to the DMV area (in and around Washington, DC), and is also likely to involve travel across the Americas. This will be a start-up environment, and the candidate will work closely with our Engagement Manager as a team of two expanding and building our presence in the region.
The Consultant will be required to engage with, coordinate, and work as part of a multidisciplinary team of internal and external experts to deliver NbS and sustainability solutions across North America and Latin America, as well as work closely with colleagues based in Africa and Europe. We are looking for someone with three core capabilities:
- A working knowledge or strong demonstrable interest in Nature-based Solutions (NbS), or other similar catchment management interventions and/or practices, such as Best Management Practices (BMPs or Agricultural BMPs), Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). You do not need to be a technical expert, but awareness and strong interest is vital.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen. A substantial amount of our work focuses on constructing the business and economic case for using NbS – so you will be comfortable talking this language and working with financial information.
- The ability to project manage and bring a strong professional services mindset to our engagements. Strategy and Management Consulting experience is strongly preferred.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Will include but not be limited to:
- Engaging multidisciplinary, multicultural teams of internal and external experts to deliver NbS investment propositions and business cases;
- Producing high-quality research and analysis that combines technical, social, environmental, institutional, financial and economic project elements;
- Identifying and engaging key actors and diverse stakeholders in cities and watersheds;
- Studying, designing, and establishing institutional structures which help coordinate and channel capital towards NbS and other activities;
- Assessing ecosystem services costs and benefits from biodiversity and other natural capital;
- Providing expertise on NbS, biodiversity, livelihoods and finance, for internal teams; and
- Supporting project teams by providing costs, benefits, environmental valuation and business case development expertise.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Required
- US passport holder – green card holder – right to work in US
- Bachelor’s degree in Environmental or Natural Resource Economics, Environmental Sciences, Public Policy, Sustainability Management, Engineering (Civil or Environmental), or other relevant fields.
- 3-7 years of working in consultancy, development organization, think-tank or relevant corporate setting.
- Advanced proficiency in Spanish; able to conduct verbal and written Spanish communication in a professional setting.
- Strong project management skills, with experience in workstream coordination and stakeholder facilitation.
- Experience engaging with clients from the public and private sectors.
- A working knowledge of NbS, or other similar watershed management interventions and/or practices, and demonstrable sectoral expertise in water, agriculture and climate change (adaptation and/or mitigation).
- Demonstrable understanding of financial and investment concepts and ideally, approaches to designing and financing NbS.
Preferred
- Prior experience working in North America, and Central and/or South America.
- Master’s degree in Environmental or Natural Resource Economics, Environmental Sciences, Public Policy, Sustainability Management, Engineering (Civil or Environmental), or other relevant fields.
KEY SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES
This role calls for several specific skills and characteristics in the candidate, including but not limited to:
- Self-motivated, self-driven, with the ability to work independently and deliver tasks entirely at the level of quality expected, with appropriate supervision or guidance.
- An energetic problem-solver, who is open-minded with multi-perspective views on international development, natural resource management, infrastructure delivery, governance systems and policies.
- Strong quantitative aptitude and a grounding in financial and/or economic principles.
- A team player who is productive working in a collaborative, inter-disciplinary environment.
- Desire to contribute towards making the world a better place, and belief that a small group of committed and hard-working individuals can have a significant impact.
