MetLife

The Sustainability Governance and Operations Specialist is responsible for driving efforts to ensure the company meets its sustainability-related reporting requirements, and the successful implementation of MetLife’s sustainability priorities. 

This primary responsibility for this role is to establish, oversee and manage execution of appropriate governance, controls, metrics and standard operating procedures that guide sustainability/ESG reporting. The specialist will develop and implement governance strategies and documentation to ensure accurate and timely compliance with company program and disclosure expectations. Working closely with Finance (ESG Financial Reporting), Legal Affairs, Internal Audit and functions globally. The position plays a vital role helping to advance the organization's commitment to sustainability, transparency, regulatory compliance and responsible business practices. 

In addition, the position will contribute to and support numerous additional initiatives led by the Global Sustainability Function that drive successful implementation of the Company’s sustainability strategy and priorities across departments and geographies within the company’s operations across 40+ markets around the world. The candidate will lead implementation of projects, serve on cross-functional teams, coordinate with global markets and business units, and will acts as point-person with key external entities. 

The ideal candidate possesses a deep understanding of corporate sustainability best practices, financial and non-financial reporting, and sustainability/ESG controls and governance processes as well as excellent analytical capabilities, writing skills, and the ability to communicate complex information effectively. 
 

Responsibilities Include: 

• Enhance controls and procedures related to sustainability metrics required for external company disclosures 
• Support company sustainability disclosure strategies and communication efforts
• Drive efforts to bolster governance processes in alignment with growing global regulatory requirements 
• Assist in creation of standard operating procedures for company sustainability strategies, commitments and reporting 
• Maintain internal documentation around decisions, analysis, and processes on management and reporting of key sustainability metrics 
• Partner with functions/markets to support development of policies, frameworks, and disclosures in response to enterprise and local sustainability priorities and requirements 
• Work in close partnership with colleagues to ensure that sustainability content, processes and disclosures have appropriate levels of governance and controls in preparation for financial regulatory reporting environment.
• Lead benchmarking, competitive analysis, to ensure the company is apprised of regulatory requirements, emerging sustainability issues, best practices, and industry trends, etc.
• Work with Finance, Internal Audit and other stakeholders to improve assurance-readiness and organizational preparedness for evolving corporate sustainability implementation and disclosure standards   
• Contribute to development of new processes, reports, and technology integration to improve reporting efficiency and efficacy (e.g., presentations, dashboards, evaluation and implementation of new technology, etc.) 
• Lead research and provide analytical insight to help support the strategic direction of MetLife Sustainability Strategy 
• Increase public recognition of company sustainability efforts by developing company responses to customer requests, industry surveys and environmental, social and governance (ESG) investor indices (ex. Dow Jones, MSCI, Sustainalytics, etc.) 
• Review and augment relevant sustainability ratings agencies and investor groups to verify, confirm and augment publicly available information through the year 
• Support opportunities efforts to position MetLife as a thought leader, collaborator and contributor to solutions that address pressing societal issues 
• Partner with key stakeholders to identify ESG gaps/opportunities and advance new initiatives that drive value and minimize risk 

Requirements:

• Proven experience in sustainability/ESG reporting and compliance, minimum 7+ years, preferably within a corporate setting, accounting firm, consultancy or financial institution
• Bachelor's degree in accounting, sustainability/ESG or related disciplines, finance, economics, business administration, or a related field is preferred 
• Accounting, Technical Accounting, Consulting, Sustainability/ESG, CSR, Public Affairs, Data Analysis preferred
• Strong knowledge of sustainability/ESG frameworks (e.g., GRI, SASB, TCFD) and emerging regulations including CSRD, SFDR, ISSB, California, emerging SEC regulation, and market-level regulation
• Strong presentation and facilitation skills – written, oral, PowerPoint/Visual
• Analytical background and strong interest in data management, IT, API, software management, data imports and metrics reporting
• Strong analytical skills, data-driven and capable of managing large data sets to track, measure and identify trends along with business improvement solutions
• Strong knowledge of Excel to identify key trends in the data, communicate progress on goals across the organization, and develop the strategy based on key findings
• Strong ability to collaborate across the organization and drive a shared agenda that recognizes and supports business needs
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously