Manager, ESG

The core of this role is advisory. You would provide expert input on sustainability and climate reporting obligations, contributing to the Banking and Financial Services portion of the Group Sustainability Report and related disclosures, and ensuring that content aligns with the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards and other regulatory requirements. A distinct early task is helping shape the approach to the first mandatory climate reports for two standalone funds within Wealth Management, which means designing methodology rather than following an established template. Beyond reporting, the position strengthens how the business manages environmental and social risk. That includes conducting commercial or financial analysis of ES risk across deals, financing and commercial agreements, performing organisational analysis against Environmental and Social Risk policies, and supporting forecasting and modelling such as climate scenario analysis to test portfolio resilience. You would advise management and senior stakeholders on risks, opportunities and emerging regulatory trends so that business planning and decisions account for them. Operationally, the role builds things that last: advisory frameworks, measurement methodologies and internal controls, plus policies, systems, presentations and training. Monitoring market developments in sustainability and climate policy would be ongoing, feeding into how Macquarie adapts its approach. The work is a mix of recurring reporting cycles and one-off advisory questions from deal teams and senior management.

This position sits at the intersection of reporting rules and live financial decisions, so the technical learning is likely deep. You would build fluency in the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards as they are applied in practice, including the judgements behind measurement, boundary setting and controls. Working on the first mandatory climate reports for two Wealth Management funds means learning from a situation with few precedents, which tends to sharpen both reporting and project skills. On the risk side, you would gain structured exposure to environmental and social risk assessment in deals, financing and commercial agreements, and to climate scenario analysis used for portfolio resilience. That combination of disclosure and risk modelling is fairly rare and is valuable across banking. You would also see how a large institution builds internal controls and advisory frameworks, knowledge that transfers to any regulated sector. There is likely mentoring available through senior management exposure and through Macquarie's learning and development offerings. The posting mentions support for professional membership or subscriptions, so further study or certification could be within reach.

The posting is specific about experience. You will likely need several years in a comparable sustainability or ESG advisory role, with a working command of climate and sustainability reporting frameworks, notably the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards. Experience preparing reporting advice, meaning you have drafted or reviewed disclosures rather than just read them, is central. Forecasting and modelling experience counts too, particularly scenario analysis applied to portfolios or businesses. The role also asks for commercial or financial analysis and environmental and social risk analysis in a financial services context. That suggests the successful candidate can read a deal or a financing arrangement and identify the ES exposure, then articulate it in risk or financial terms. Experience in organisational performance analysis, business planning or performance monitoring is useful because this person supports management rather than a reporting team alone. On the softer side, the ad emphasises advising and influencing senior leaders. A candidate who has persuaded a business line to change course, and can describe how, will do well. Formal qualifications in law, finance, economics or environmental management are common in this kind of role, though the posting does not require a specific certification.

To stand out here you likely need to do more than restate the job ad. Research Macquarie's recent Group Sustainability Report and the Banking and Financial Services division, then prepare a short account of how you would approach a first mandatory climate report for a Wealth Management fund under ASRS. Demonstrate real comfort with scenario analysis: if possible, attach a one page summary of a climate scenario exercise you have run, the assumptions you used, and what decision it informed. Your cover letter could name two specific gaps you see in how financial institutions commonly document measurement methodologies and internal controls, and then outline the framework you would build. Because she will advise senior leaders, prepare for interview questions on how you have influenced a decision without formal authority. Ask precise questions about how ES risk currently sits with deal teams versus risk functions, since the answer will shape your daily work. For culture fit, note the language of the posting: this role exists to help the business make decisions, not just to produce disclosures. Bring proof that you can translate technical reporting rules into commercial terms a banker will act on. If you have exposure to Australian regulatory settings, say so explicitly, and if not, show that you have learned comparable frameworks quickly.

The focus is squarely on reporting and risk. On the reporting side, the role concentrates on the BFS contribution to the Group Sustainability Report and on first-time mandatory climate reporting for two Wealth Management funds, under the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards. That means the environmental angle leans toward climate disclosures, greenhouse gas accounting and scenario analysis rather than broader environmental programmes. On the risk side, the emphasis is environmental and social risk in a financial services context: how ES factors show up in deals, financing, commercial agreements and products, and how they are assessed against Macquarie's ESR policies. Governance features strongly too, since the role develops measurement methodologies and internal controls and advises management on regulatory requirements and controls. The social dimension appears through the ES risk lens, for instance in how transactions affect communities or labour practices, and through Macquarie's own reporting and ESG disclosure. Overall, this is an offer where sustainability work is embedded in finance and risk decisions rather than run as a standalone programme.

The most obvious challenge is the moving target. Climate and sustainability reporting requirements, including ASRS, are still bedding in, and interpretations will evolve while the first mandatory reports are produced. This person will be making judgements that may be revisited later, which can be uncomfortable. Producing the first climate report for two standalone Wealth Management funds adds difficulty because there is little internal precedent to follow. A second challenge lies in influence. The role advises management, deal teams and risk functions, but likely holds no direct authority over them. Environmental and social risk can be seen as a constraint on commercial activity, so messages may meet resistance or be negotiated down. The role also blends technical reporting work with commercial analysis, and the two audiences have different expectations and timetables, which means prioritisation will be constant. Finally, the regulatory horizon is crowded. Monitoring market developments across several jurisdictions, and turning that into practical advice for an Australian retail bank and its funds, requires the ability to filter noise. Keeping frameworks and controls current while reporting deadlines approach will test time management.

A typical day likely mixes analysis and advice. You might spend part of the morning reviewing draft disclosure content or working through a measurement question with finance or fund teams, then shift to an advisory call where a deal team or business unit asks how an environmental and social risk should be treated. Drafting framework documents, methodology notes or internal control descriptions would be regular work, particularly while the ASRS reporting approach is being built. Meetings take up a fair share of the calendar. There could be sessions with senior stakeholders to explain a regulatory development and its implications for planning, working groups on the fund climate reports, and catch ups with risk, legal or group sustainability colleagues. Preparing presentations or training material for the business would appear periodically, especially when a new policy or reporting requirement needs to be explained. The rhythm varies with the reporting cycle. Ahead of disclosure deadlines the work becomes more concentrated on drafting, review and controls, while outside those periods it leans toward advisory questions, scenario analysis and monitoring regulatory and market developments.

This role sits close to Macquarie's statutory reporting obligations, which means the work is visible to senior management across Banking and Financial Services and the wider group. Success could open paths into broader sustainability leadership, into risk functions, or into advisory roles within Macquarie Capital or the funds businesses. Someone who becomes the go to person for ASRS and ES risk will likely be pulled into transactions, product design and policy work, which widens their remit over time. There is also the possibility of deepening technical expertise into a recognised specialism, such as climate scenario analysis or environmental and social risk in lending. Macquarie's internal mobility across 30 markets means a lateral move into another division or region is plausible for strong performers. The role provides a foundation for later positions such as Head of Sustainability Reporting or senior ES risk leadership, though those moves depend on the firm's needs and the individual's track record.

The closest relationships are likely with the Banking and Financial Services sustainability and reporting teams, since this role contributes to the Group Sustainability Report and to fund level climate reporting. You would work alongside finance, risk and legal colleagues who own parts of the disclosure process, and with the Wealth Management teams responsible for the two standalone funds. Interaction with the group sustainability function is also probable, given the need for consistency across Macquarie. A significant part of the role involves advising management and senior stakeholders, so expect regular contact with executives who need sustainability input for business planning and decisions. Deal teams, financing colleagues and product specialists would be another group, since this person provides environmental and social risk advice in transaction and product contexts, and conducts analysis across deals and commercial agreements. Externally, the role may involve engaging with industry bodies, auditors or advisers on reporting and regulatory questions. Macquarie's presence in 30 markets means some stakeholder contact could be with overseas colleagues, particularly if frameworks need to align with more than one jurisdiction.