The Juniorisation of Sustainability Hiring

Linkedin Post:
Here's why I'm seeing brilliant sustainability strategies fail before they even start...

The market has created a dangerous trap: 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

Companies are hiring sustainability roles at levels that risk the future.

I'm watching organisations recruit mid-level hires for challenges that need C-suite influence. They're offering £80k salaries for roles that require £150k decision-making power.

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠:

𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 — Asked to "transform the business" but can't access the budget holders who actually make transformation possible.

𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 — Brilliant at carbon accounting, invisible when procurement decisions get made.

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 — Stuck reporting what happened rather than shaping what happens next.

The result?

Sustainability becomes a tick-box exercise run by someone who wasn't given the tools to make it strategic.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠.

It's the 18 months of missed opportunities whilst a junior hire struggles to influence senior stakeholders who don't report to them.

It's the board asking "Why isn't sustainability moving the needle?" when they've structured the role to ensure it can't.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞.

They're hiring sustainability directors who sit two levels closer to the CEO.

They're paying for influence, not just expertise.

They understand that sustainability transformation requires someone who can challenge procurement, influence product development, and reshape investor narratives and develop new strategies.

𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? 𝐎𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐨?

What's your experience with sustainability role positioning?