Manager, Sustainability & Financial Reporting

Cushman & Wakefield • Chicago, IL

3d

About The Position

The Manager, Sustainability & Financial Reporting will be a key member of the Global Controllership team. This role will be primarily responsible for assisting with the company’s sustainability reporting, including the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”) and EU Taxonomy. This individual will support the effective management and control of sustainability data, including over greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions, and drive compliance with current and future sustainability regulations globally. This role will also participate in various external reporting initiatives such as statutory reporting, SEC reporting, system implementations, developing global policies, technical accounting transactions and control remediations as needed. This position will report to the Senior Director, Global Controllership and partner closely with other teams within Global Controllership, Finance, Global Corporate Sustainability, Legal, HR and Operations. A successful candidate will be a hands-on, adaptable, professional with experience in financial reporting and a forward-looking approach to leveraging AI tools, who can effectively lead cross-functional teams in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance or Sustainability
• Minimum 6 years public accounting experience and/or experience in financial reporting or sustainability reporting
• Experience with a global company and/or foreign operations
• Management experience
• Project management experience
• Understanding of ESG reporting frameworks (CSRD, ISSB, GRI)
• Experience working with ESG-related assurance engagements and limited assurance reviews
• Excellent oral and written communication skills including the ability to build and manage relationships with partners at all levels
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret complex data and make recommendations for continuous improvement
• Leadership and relationship management skills, with a demonstrated ability to collaborate cross-functionally and influence senior stakeholders
• Self-starter with a focus on process improvement and project management
• Highly flexible and adaptable to frequent change

Nice To Haves

• CPA preferred

Responsibilities

• Monitor, interpret and assess emerging sustainability regulations, determine applicability by jurisdiction, and evaluate impacts to financial statements, disclosures and reporting processes
• Review global and regional sustainability disclosures to ensure consistency and compliance with regulatory requirements
• Lead the integration of sustainability metrics into financial reporting, including to facilitate required EU Taxonomy disclosures
• Perform disclosure gap assessments (including for revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards), document technical positions, conduct peer benchmarking and supervise the execution of remediation plans to address compliance gaps
• Partner cross-functionally to design and operationalize sustainability reporting processes and support the sustainability operating model and governance objectives globally
• Assist with the maintenance of the company’s internal controls related to sustainability data, including understanding the inventory management plan, updating process flowcharts and maintaining risk & control matrices
• Support the Global Corporate Sustainability team throughout limited assurance engagements, acting as a key liaison with external auditors
• Perform technical accounting research on reporting topics and complex accounting issues
• Contribute to the adoption of new accounting standards and policies globally; provide comprehensive consulting to process owners at a high technical level to drive continuous improvement
• Support broader external reporting and controllership workstreams, such as SEC filings, statutory reporting, process improvements, trainings and special projects as needed
• Supervise, coach and develop team members, including reviewing work performed by the sustainability reporting senior associate
• Leverage AI tools (e.g., Claude (Anthropic), Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT) to automate recurring tasks, accelerate research and generate technical materials, memos or policies
• Collaborate with the Global Corporate Sustainability team throughout the implementation of sustainability reporting systems (e.g., Workiva and/or Watershed), ensuring alignment with reporting requirements, data governance and internal controls
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key business partners

Benefits

• health, vision, and dental insurance
• flexible spending accounts
• health savings accounts
• retirement savings plans
• life, and disability insurance programs
• paid and unpaid time away from work

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager