Blue Finance Lead

This is a fixed-term role until 31 July 2027.

The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the international organization for public-private cooperation.

The Forum engages the foremost political, business, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Why we are recruiting

Despite its fundamental importance to the global sustainable development agenda, Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14) – the ocean goal – receives the least investment of all the development goals. Yet, healthy oceans are essential for climate stability, biodiversity, and the well-being of communities worldwide.

The World Economic Forum’s Centre for Nature and Climate (CNC) drives innovative solutions and transformative partnerships to advance the climate and nature agenda at speed and scale, through multi-stakeholder collaboration.

Within CNC, the Ocean agenda brings together leaders from business, government, academia, and civil society to fast-track ambitious solutions for ocean health. The OAA focuses on three core areas: 1) supporting industry transitions to nature-positive operations, 2) enabling technological innovation for ocean stewardship, and 3) guiding investment into both ocean-positive business opportunities as well as the restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems.

To unlock the billions needed for ocean-positive action, the OAA is seeking a Blue Finance Lead. This role will be instrumental in designing and piloting innovative financing models, mobilizing private and philanthropic capital, and engaging the full investment value chain – from banks and investors to insurers and public capital providers. By demonstrating new approaches to blue finance, the Blue Finance Lead will build a thriving investment ecosystem for ocean health.

Reporting Lines & Interactions

This position will be based in the Forum’s Geneva office, joining the Ocean Action Agenda (OAA) team and reporting to the Head of Ocean.

Internally this position requires the strong collaboration with other teams within CNC, as well as colleagues from across the Forum especially from Financial Services, Business Engagement as well as Regional teams, Public Engagement, Global programming Group and others as relevant.

Externally, this role will work closely with a broad range of international stakeholders and partners focusing on innovative financing mechanisms for climate and nature, blended and development finance, philanthropists, corporates as well as ocean champions and experts.

Breakdown of main responsibilities & deliverables

Project management

Set the strategic direction of the blue finance workstream, ensuring the vision and mission align with both the Ocean Action Agenda as well as the Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) initiative, in order to mobilize the full potential of public, private, philanthropic partnerships to scale investments for ocean-positive action

Define the workplan and deliverables of the blue finance community, across all workstreams of the ocean agenda and particularly to demonstrate the financial viability of both conservation and restoration projects, as well as opportunities in ocean industries

Coordinate the activities of the finance team, including managing consultants or other external stakeholders as required

Community engagement

Manage, develop and maintain the relationship of existing community members including private and public financiers and investors, philanthropies and corporates actively investing in the ocean economy

Explore opportunities for broader partner engagement across real economy/industrial players, and connect with other key organizations in the blended and development finance space

Content development

Lead the development of reports on the finance workstreams across both industries as well as conservation and restoration

Contribute to research and content development on innovative financing mechanisms to unlock capital in support of ocean opportunities, especially focused on the catalytic role that public and philanthropic capital can play to de-risk financing for SDG14

Support strategic research outputs and collaborate on possible publications

Programming, communications and events

Design, develop and deliver events (sessions, virtual meetings, and face-to-face workshops) and programming on innovative financing for the ocean.

Support the delivery of Forum flagship events such as the Annual Meeting, Sustainable Development Impact Summit or others as needed

In addition, the candidate will be expected to perform all other duties assigned by manager to support the overall deliverables of the ocean team, towards the goal to strengthen CNC as an impactful platform for dialogue and solution delivery to address the climate and nature challenges.

The successful candidate will be assessed on

Demonstrated expertise and deep financial knowledge, ability to engage private financiers and investors on climate and nature topics, and extensive financial literacy

Experience in project / programme management, coordinating across complex ecosystems, different teams, internally and externally, and several geographies

Strong communicator who is passionate about sustainable development and the impact of blue finance

Excellent donor relationship management skills and ability to engage and mobilize philanthropies and other financiers/investors to create opportunities for large scale impact

Experience in managing international programming of events, agendas, and curation of communities. Proven track-record in event design and delivery to achieve a purpose.

Preferred Requirements and Experience

Master’s or doctoral degree from a globally recognized institution with a specialization in sustainable finance and/or economic development preferred.

8-10 years’ relevant full-time professional experience, ideally within public or private financial institutions, and deep investment expertise

Servant-leadership attitude, mission-oriented mindset, entrepreneurial spirit and strategic skills with high standards of professionalism and integrity

Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment characterized by high levels of information ambiguity

Stakeholder management experience in public-private partnership from business, governments, or international organizations, and passion for delivering climate & nature solutions

Exceptional organizational skills, with a clear ability to prioritize and a strong work ethic, as well as the capacity to handle multiple tasks and assignments simultaneously

Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, ability to communicate complex information succinctly and capacity to apply critical thinking

Motivated self-started who enjoys working in a highly collaborative environment and is a quick learner

Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills in English. Other languages desirable.

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Why work at the Forum:

The Forum believes that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to improve the state of the world by building awareness and cooperation, shaping mindsets and agendas, and driving collective action. Join us and become a driver for positive change!

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