Chef de Projets Risques ESG Senior

The core mission is to make ESG risk a working part of the bank's credit, financial and operational risk machinery rather than a parallel reporting exercise. That means defining policies and methodologies, then pushing them out to Banque Populaire, Caisse d'Epargne and subsidiary teams so that climate, environmental and reputational risks are assessed at origination and monitored over the life of a loan. Project management is the spine of the role. You would run the continuous improvement roadmap, coordinate with risk, credit, data and IT teams, and deploy consolidated surveillance and scoring tools. A significant part of the job is independent review: giving opinions on sensitive files and defending those views in decision committees. Longer term, the role carries a regulatory and international dimension. You would track supervisory expectations and audit recommendations, ensure compliance, train risk and business teams, and progressively bring international subsidiaries onto the group framework while respecting local specificities.

You would deepen your grasp of how ESG risk actually interacts with traditional banking risk, especially climate and environmental risk transmission channels, and how those are modelled, scored and governed in a large credit portfolio. That is a specialised skill set still scarce in the market. Because the role sits at the crossroads of risk, credit, data and IT, you would gain practical exposure to data governance, rating methodologies and tool deployment at group scale. Piloting the international integration of subsidiaries adds a regulatory-diplomacy layer that few ESG risk roles offer. BPCE also signals structured upskilling support, including LinkedIn Learning and tailored reskilling paths, so there is room to formalise expertise in sustainable finance or climate risk frameworks alongside the on-the-job learning.

The posting points to a Bac+5 in finance, risk management, engineering or similar, plus solid experience in risk, credit, sustainable finance or consulting. Importantly, it asks for a proven track record of steering cross-functional programmes in a complex banking environment, not just technical ESG knowledge. On the technical side, you would need fluency in ESG risk issues, particularly climate, environmental and reputational risk, and their articulation with traditional banking risks. Familiarity with credit processes, rating systems and the data, modelling and governance questions around them is essential. Strong project management and stakeholder coordination skills matter as much as analytical depth. Soft skills are explicit: rigour, analytical and synthesis ability, relationship-building, a collective mindset, autonomy and pedagogy. The role also requires professional French and English, written and spoken, given the international scope.

Lead with programme delivery, not ESG vocabulary. The job is a senior project manager role inside a risk function, so your application should make clear which cross-functional risk or credit initiatives you have run, what the scope was, who the stakeholders were, and what concretely changed in process or tooling. Generic ESG enthusiasm will not differentiate you here. Because BPCE is a cooperative group with 19 Banque Populaire banks and 17 Caisses d'Epargne, show that you understand the challenge of deploying a common framework across decentralised entities. If you have worked with networks, subsidiaries or federated models, say so explicitly. A cover letter that engages with the tension between group standards and local specificities will read as credible. For interviews, prepare to discuss how you would translate a supervisory expectation or audit recommendation into an operational solution. Expect a recruiter conversation and one or two business interviews, at least one on site, so be ready to talk concretely about scoring tools, data limitations and how you handle pushback from business lines.

The role sits squarely in the E and, to a lesser extent, the G of ESG, but through a risk lens rather than a reporting one. The team's mandate is to embed climate, environmental and reputational risk into credit origination and monitoring, which directly supports BPCE's commitment to align all portfolios on a net-zero trajectory. Expect the work to touch environmental risk assessment of clients, sectoral policies, scoring and rating methodologies, and the data infrastructure needed to monitor portfolios. Reputational risk is explicitly named, so sensitive files and controversial activities are likely part of the agenda. The group also frames itself as a leading financier of the social and solidarity economy and of energy transition, so the role indirectly shapes how those financing flows are risk-assessed. Governance matters too, since compliance with supervisory expectations and audit recommendations is a core deliverable.

The hardest part is likely the sheer breadth of the stakeholder map. You would be coordinating risk, credit, data, IT, networks, subsidiaries and control functions, each with its own priorities and constraints, and turning methodological ambitions into tools people actually use. In a decentralised cooperative group, that means selling the framework as much as building it. Data quality and availability are a perennial challenge in ESG risk. Scoring clients on climate and environmental risk requires information that is often incomplete or inconsistent, especially across international subsidiaries, so pragmatism and iteration will be as important as technical precision. There is also the regulatory pressure cooker: supervisors and auditors expect the device to mature quickly, while business lines may see added complexity in credit processes. Balancing rigour with usability, and challenging existing approaches without alienating colleagues, is a real test of diplomacy.

Mornings might start with a project steering update or a working session with data and IT colleagues on the roll-out of a scoring or surveillance tool. You could then move into a decision committee, where you would present an independent opinion on the ESG risk profile of a sensitive client or transaction. Midday and afternoons often involve exchanges with network or subsidiary teams, either to accompany them in adapting the group framework or to train risk and business staff on new methodologies. Writing and synthesis take up a meaningful share of time: notes, methodological guidance, committee opinions and regulatory monitoring summaries. Variability is high. Some weeks lean towards methodology and policy design, others towards international integration or audit follow-up. The rhythm is likely project-driven rather than transactional, with peaks around committee deadlines and regulatory milestones.

The role is visibly cross-functional, which is the main growth engine. Success brings exposure to group-level risk governance, international subsidiaries and senior decision committees, all of which build a profile suitable for broader risk leadership or ESG strategy roles at a larger scope. Given BPCE's size and the strategic weight of the ESG agenda under Vision 2030, this is a high-visibility chantier. Contributing to a framework that transforms credit practices across the group could open doors to head-of-team positions in ESG risk, sustainable finance or credit risk, or to roles in one of the networks or subsidiaries. The group's investment in upskilling and reskilling, and its stated commitment to responsibility and initiative, suggest that internal mobility is encouraged. Lateral moves into data, climate analytics or regulatory affairs are also plausible given the role's touchpoints.

Internally, your closest peers would be the ESG and reputation risk team and the operational insertion and surveillance unit you join. Beyond that, you would work daily with credit, financial and operational risk teams, plus data and IT functions that build and maintain the scoring and monitoring tools. Business lines are key counterparts, since the framework ultimately changes how they originate and follow credit. You would also interact with control functions, compliance and audit, and with the group's French networks and subsidiaries, including international platforms as they are progressively integrated. Externally, the role implies contact with the regulatory and supervisory ecosystem, at least through monitoring and compliance work. Decision committees are another important forum, where you would provide independent ESG risk opinions and defend them in front of senior stakeholders from across the group.