Climate & Carbon Senior Manager

The core mission is to translate Digital Realty's group climate strategy into operational roadmaps for France and the Europe Med sub-region (Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria), then drive the projects that deliver measurable carbon reduction. Day to day, this means measuring and steering Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, running feasibility studies, building technical-economic-carbon business cases, and managing budgets, timelines, risks and KPIs for decarbonisation and heat-recovery projects. Beyond project delivery, the role carries a strong regulatory and reporting dimension: ensuring compliance with climate, carbon and environmental obligations and keeping reporting accurate. There is also a clear influence mandate, advising operational teams on reduction levers, mobilising internal and external stakeholders around the climate roadmap, and representing Digital Realty in professional and institutional ecosystems. Longer term, the objective is scaling what works: capitalising on lessons learned in one country and replicating relevant solutions across the sub-region, so the carbon trajectory becomes a repeatable operating model rather than a one-off effort.

This position offers rare exposure to the full carbon value chain in an infrastructure-heavy sector: deep carbon accounting at Scope 1–3 level, emissions trajectory modelling, and the construction of techno-economic business cases that actually go to investment committees. Few roles let a sustainability professional see a project through from feasibility study to commissioned asset. Heat recovery specifically is a fast-growing competence in the data centre world, involving district heating networks, local authorities and network operators, knowledge that is increasingly scarce and transferable. Working across six countries also builds multi-country programme management and regulatory fluency (French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese and Bulgarian contexts). Mentorship is likely informal but real: the role reports into a sustainability and CSR function and collaborates with engineering, operations and finance, so the candidate can absorb how a listed global REIT makes capital decisions and how ESG reporting is assembled at group level.

Expect a profile with roughly ten years, arguably ten to fifteen, in carbon, energy or decarbonisation project management, backed by an engineering degree or a technical master's specialising in energy or carbon. Certification such as Chartered Engineer status (or progress toward it) and IOSH Managing Safely would strengthen a file, though the posting frames them as desirable rather than strictly mandatory. Technically, the candidate must be fluent in carbon accounting, emission reduction trajectories and techno-economic business cases, and comfortable with advanced data analysis and strategic planning. Proven experience steering technical, multi-actor projects is essential; a background in heat recovery would be a genuine differentiator given the data centre context. On soft skills, the role demands someone who can hold a strategic view while staying hands-on, analysing data, unblocking issues, convincing internal teams and external partners. Bilingual French and English at C1 minimum is non-negotiable, and executive-level communication skills are explicitly valued.

Tailor your CV around carbon numbers, not job titles: highlight specific Scope 1–3 reductions you measured or delivered, the size of the projects, and the investment amounts you helped justify. Because this role explicitly bridges strategy and execution, make sure your file shows both a roadmap you shaped and a project you personally drove to completion. A heat-recovery example, even a smaller one, will resonate strongly with Digital Realty's data centre context, where waste heat reuse is a strategic theme. If you have worked across multiple countries or with municipalities and grid operators, say so plainly; the Europe Med scope means cross-border replication is part of the job. For the cover letter, connect to the specific challenge of decarbonising digital infrastructure rather than generic climate ambition, and demonstrate French-English fluency in how you write. In interviews, prepare to discuss a business case you built end to end and how you handled a stakeholder who resisted a decarbonisation investment, conviction and pragmatism are the traits this posting rewards.

The role sits squarely on the environmental pillar, with carbon as the organising theme. Expect the main focus to be emissions reduction across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 in a company whose core product, data centres, is intrinsically energy-intensive, making the carbon trajectory both materially significant and reputationally visible. Heat recovery is the standout project type: capturing waste heat from facilities and feeding it into district heating or local networks ties Digital Realty's climate agenda to the communities around its sites. This is where environmental and social value intersect, and where local authorities and network operators become key partners. Governance and reporting also feature: regulatory compliance on climate and environmental matters, accurate data governance, and contribution to group-level disclosures. The role likely feeds the company's wider ESG narrative to investors and customers, since data centre clients increasingly scrutinise the carbon profile of their hosting providers.

The central tension is between ambition and feasibility: data centre demand is growing fast, which pushes energy consumption and Scope 3 emissions upward even as reduction targets tighten. A carbon manager here must decouple growth from emissions, which often means convincing business teams that decarbonisation projects are not optional costs but strategic investments. Heat recovery projects are notoriously complex: they depend on municipalities, grid operators and sometimes neighbour willingness, with timelines that escape the company's control. Building strong business cases in that uncertainty, and keeping projects moving through permitting and technical hurdles, will test both patience and persuasion. Finally, the multi-country scope means navigating six regulatory environments and varying levels of local maturity, while maintaining data quality for Scope 3 reporting. Aligning group targets with local realities, and replicating solutions across jurisdictions without losing nuance, is a recurring challenge the role must solve.

A typical day might start with data: reviewing emissions dashboards, validating figures for reporting, or refining a business case with finance colleagues. Mid-morning could bring a project meeting on a heat-recovery scheme with engineering, legal and possibly a municipality or network operator, followed by internal alignment with country teams in Italy, Spain or elsewhere in the sub-region. Afternoons likely mix stakeholder work (advising operational teams on reduction levers, preparing executive-level updates, or representing Digital Realty at an industry or institutional event) with hands-on problem solving when a project hits a technical or regulatory snag. The rhythm varies considerably by project phase, from analytical desk work during feasibility studies to intensive coordination during implementation. Expect frequent cross-border video calls and occasional travel across Europe Med facilities, since the role's value lies in connecting strategy, engineering reality and local contexts. There is genuine variety: no two days look the same between reporting cycles and project milestones.

This is a highly visible role in a function that reports into group-level sustainability, with a geographic scope that naturally positions the holder for broader regional or global responsibility in carbon and climate. Demonstrated success in delivering cross-border decarbonisation projects is exactly the track record that leads to Head of Climate or regional sustainability leadership roles. Heat recovery and data centre decarbonisation are growth areas across the industry, so the expertise gained here is portable to other infrastructure players, REITs and utilities. Within Digital Realty, opportunities could include moving from Europe Med to a global climate mandate, deepening into ESG reporting and investor-facing disclosure, or shifting toward energy procurement strategy. Because the role touches finance, engineering, operations and external affairs, it builds a rare general-management perspective on sustainability, a springboard for lateral moves into operations leadership or for specialising further as a recognised carbon expert.

Internally, the primary relationships will be with sustainability and CSR leadership, engineering and operations teams who own data centre design and running standards, and finance colleagues who stress-test business cases. Country-level teams across France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal and Bulgaria are essential counterparts, since the role must adapt and replicate solutions locally. Externally, the stakeholder map is unusually rich: municipalities and local authorities for heat-recovery schemes, district heating and electricity network operators, regulators relevant to climate and environmental compliance, and industry or institutional bodies where the holder represents Digital Realty. There is also a likely interface with customers and investors indirectly, as data centre clients and shareholders increasingly scrutinise carbon performance. The role's success depends on mobilising people who do not report to you, a coalition-building job as much as a technical one.