Manager - Climate, Circular Economy & ESG (Consultant)

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Inkomoko is strengthening its approach to climate resilience, circular economy, and sustainable enterprise development. We are seeking a senior consultant to lead an initial Circular Economy Pilot with local social sector organizations while helping build the institutional foundations for Inkomoko’s longer-term climate and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) capability.
• The immediate focus will be on 15 high-potential refugee-led organizations (RLOs) in Kenya and Ethiopia, supporting them to identify, design, finance, and implement income-generating, climate-smart circular economy interventions focused on food security, renewable energy, and waste management.
• However, the mandate extends beyond successful delivery of the pilot. The consultant will develop the content, tools, processes, workflows, partnerships, and learning required to enable Inkomoko to integrate climate and environmental considerations more systematically into its enterprise-development model and evolving impact architecture.
• This is therefore a strategic, hands-on institution-building assignment. The successful candidate will need to move between strategy and execution: working directly with RLOs, building the capability of Inkomoko teams, developing practical tools and systems, engaging technical and financing partners, and translating learning from the pilot into institutional capabilities that can be applied beyond the initial project. This will be a 12 month Consultancy.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the Circular Economy Pilot

• Own the end-to-end delivery of the Circular Economy Pilot with 15 selected RLOs.
• Design and facilitate an intervention-development process that enables RLOs to identify viable, climate-smart and income-generating opportunities.
• Support RLOs to develop high-quality intervention proposals, including business models, implementation plans, financing requirements, risks, timelines, and expected outcomes.
• Work closely with Investment and relevant Inkomoko teams to assess interventions and facilitate appropriate financing.
• Provide technical oversight and coaching during implementation.
• Ensure the 15 RLOs implement viable interventions and generate measurable economic, employment, environmental, and resilience outcomes.

Build Climate & Circular Economy Capability within Inkomoko

• Develop practical climate and circular economy content, tools, workflows, and guidance that can be embedded into Inkomoko’s existing RLO and enterprise-development programming.
• Develop and deliver a climate resilience module and train Inkomoko staff to deliver it effectively.
• Build staff capability through training-of-trainers, field observation, coaching, and quality assurance.
• Develop practical approaches for identifying climate-related opportunities and risks within enterprise and social-sector programming.
• Create reusable tools and processes that enable country teams to integrate climate considerations without requiring specialist support for every intervention.

Lay the Foundations for Inkomoko’s Climate & ESG Capability

• Work with BGS, MERL, Program Design & Innovation, Investment, and relevant leadership to identify how climate, environmental sustainability, and ESG considerations should progressively be integrated into Inkomoko’s impact model.
• Develop an initial institutional roadmap for climate and ESG integration, identifying priority capabilities, systems, standards, data requirements, partnerships, and ownership.
• Identify opportunities to integrate climate resilience, resource efficiency, circular business models, and environmental considerations into enterprise development.
• Develop recommendations for how climate and ESG considerations can inform programme design, enterprise support, investment, measurement, and organizational decision-making.
• Distil learning from the pilot into an enterprise-level Climate/ESG playbook or foundational framework that Inkomoko can further develop after the consultancy.

Build Partnerships and Technical Ecosystems

• Identify and develop relationships with technical experts, private-sector actors, financial institutions, governments, funders, research institutions, and other ecosystem partners relevant to climate and circular economy.
• Identify opportunities for technical assistance, financing, market linkages, innovation, and co-investment.
• Build partnerships that can help RLOs and entrepreneurs move from pilot interventions to commercially viable and scalable models.
• Bring external knowledge, market intelligence, and emerging climate practices into Inkomoko.

Evidence, Learning & Scale

• Work with MERL to develop appropriate baseline, monitoring, outcome, and learning approaches for the pilot.
• Track implementation, income generation, employment, resilience, and relevant environmental outcomes.
• Generate practical evidence on which circular economy interventions are viable, for whom, under what conditions, and with what level of support.
• Document lessons, case studies, tools, and recommendations to inform future programming and investment.
• Develop a clear scale recommendation for Inkomoko based on evidence from the pilot.

Cross-functional Leadership

• Build coalitions across BGS, Investment, MERL, Program Design & Innovation, Country Leadership, and other relevant teams to embed climate thinking into existing systems rather than create a standalone project.
• Provide regular strategic updates to Inkomoko leadership, highlighting progress, risks, decisions required, and opportunities.
• Influence across functions without relying on formal authority and build internal ownership of the emerging climate agenda.

EXPECTED RESULTS;

The consultant will be accountable for delivering the following immediate results:

Circular Economy Pilot

• 15 RLOs complete a structured circular intervention-design process.
• 15 RLOs receive appropriate financing and implement climate-smart circular interventions.
• Interventions generate measurable income and employment opportunities, with an ambition of 3,000 jobs created.
• Participating RLOs demonstrate improved climate resilience and organizational capability.

Institutional Capability

In addition to the pilot results, the consultant will leave Inkomoko with:

• A practical climate resilience and circular economy curriculum and delivery package.
• Standardized intervention-design tools, processes, and workflows.
• A Climate & ESG integration roadmap for Inkomoko.
• Foundational guidance for integrating climate and environmental considerations into enterprise development and the evolving impact model.
• A network of strategic technical and ecosystem partners.
• Evidence and recommendations to inform future scale, investment, and institutionalization.
• Internal staff capability sufficient to continue and expand the work beyond the consultancy.

Requirements

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We are looking for a climate and sustainability leader who can both build and do. This person should be comfortable designing strategy and systems at an institutional level while working directly with organizations and teams to turn ideas into viable interventions.

The ideal candidate will have:

• 8+ years of relevant professional experience in climate, circular economy, sustainability, environmental management, ESG, responsible business, climate finance, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing climate or circular economy initiatives that generate economic and/or employment outcomes.
• Experience translating technical climate or sustainability concepts into practical tools, business models, training, and operating processes.
• Strong understanding of the intersection between climate, enterprise development, livelihoods, markets, and inclusive economic growth.
• Demonstrated experience building institutional capability, systems, or new functions, not only delivering projects.
• Strong facilitation and human-centered design skills, with the ability to work effectively with local organizations and entrepreneurs.
• Strong strategic partnership and stakeholder-management capabilities, including experience working across private sector, government, development, and community actors.
• Strong project management and execution skills, including managing multiple stakeholders, budgets, timelines, and risks.
• Experience working with refugees, local organizations, or in fragile/complex contexts is an advantage.
• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Management, Sustainability, Climate Science, Development Studies, Business, Governance, or a related field. A Master’s degree is preferred. 

Benefits

WHAT YOU’LL GET

This role is inside a high-growth, mission-driven social enterprise. By joining, you’ll access:

• Meaningful work that directly contributes to sustainable livelihoods and job creation across East and Central Africa.
• Competitive consultancy fee commensurate with experience and expertise
• Incredible company culture, with opportunities for learning and growth
• Opportunity to shape and build an emerging climate, circular economy, and ESG capability within a rapidly growing organization
• Diverse colleagues across the region, and policies that demonstrate commitment to equity and inclusion 
• A dynamic and entrepreneurial team environment committed to innovation and social impact