Title: Net Zero Finance Innovation Manager
Rate: £500 / £700 per day - Full time / Part time
Location: Remote with occasional trips to the office for meetings / Sackville House
Type: Temporary - November 2025
Opus People Solutions are working with Cambridgeshire County Council to recruit for an interim Net Zero Finance Innovation Manager to develop and test the evidence base for a new 'Net Zero Asset' or equivalent model, with investors, and apply this to a real-life case study to attract funding into a place for net zero delivery.
Working as the Net Zero Finance Innovation Manager you will provide strategic leadership on the Cambridgeshire elements of PANZ. You'll bring your expert technical investment, financing and economic development knowledge to the project, to test new solutions to deliver complex multi-technology net zero projects.
Main Responsibilities:
- Build wider understanding and knowledge in the Council on the complex challenges of financing place-based net zero delivery for urban and rural communities.
- Lead the development and testing of portfolios of net zero projects with investors to build an evidence base for place/neighbourhood-based investment in Net Zero.
- Test and iterate the concept of a Net Zero Asst class or similar model. drawing on best practice models from other places, as well as ideas generated within the PANZ project.
- Turn concept into reality, by building a real case study that brings together a portfolio of Net Zero projects to test financing options and commitments. For example, bringing together Net Zero projects with high and low returns to offer a balanced return and risk management.
- Research and review academic, industry and policy statements to drive methodological innovation for Net Zero investment into places.
- Lead the analysis of economic research into place-based net zero financing opportunities to understand the drivers and barriers to scaling delivery. Identify the local powers and flexibilities of organisations including the public sector, that can be used to drive green economy outcomes.
Person Specification:
- Detailed technical understanding of financing and investment models, including process to develop and establish new models, particularly those applicable to the financing of new project portfolios
- Thorough understanding of different sources of financing, and their application to environmental or social projects.
- Understanding of financial risk, and approaches to managing this risk.
- Able to model and analyse complex financial propositions to inform options for discussion with investors and all stakeholders.
- Industry knowledge of key individuals and businesses working in the financial and investment sector.
- Extensive knowledge of project and organisational governance to ensure robust decision making.
- Local, regional and national political and economic context impacting on net zero delivery
- Knowledge of the role that public institutions play in supporting innovation and economic growth.
- You may also have an interest in particular topic areas, net zero finance; green economy; environmental economics, health economics as well as scientific and technological developments.