Senior Consultant, Climate and Sustainability | Foresight | Melbourne

On Sunday afternoon Emily Bates plays her 100th AFLW game, against Adelaide, at Hawthorn's new home in Dingley. It is the club's first home fixture since it left Glenferrie in 1973. In a 12-round season, 100 games is reckoned to be the equivalent of 300.

Bates is the one worth pausing on.

Foundation Brisbane Lion. Premiership in 2021. The league's best and fairest in 2022, and the players' MVP the same year. Three-time All-Australian. Four-time Brisbane best and fairest.

Then she left for a Hawthorn side that had finished 15th and 14th in the only two seasons it had existed.

In her first year there, they were minor premiers.

They still have not won it. Straight sets in 2024, including a semi-final lost by one point. Straight sets again in 2025. The job is not finished, which is exactly why it is worth turning up to.

That is the decision we are asking you to make.

/01 THE FRANCHISE

Foresight is a specialist climate change and sustainability consultancy working with businesses and governments across the Australian economy.

Our court: climate risk, climate change advisory, sustainability advisory, sustainability assurance, and nature and biodiversity. Transition plans, actionable roadmaps, and confidence in disclosure.

We bring the rigour of the Big Four to a boutique setting, and we expect the same standards of integrity and judgement from everyone who suits up. We are creative on complex problems, accountable in every interaction, and deliberate about building a team that does not all think alike. Short list, no layers, no bench to hide on, and no version of this where your contribution is invisible.

We are not the biggest name on your shortlist. We are the one where your minutes count.

/02 WHY NOW, SPECIFICALLY

This is not a market where the work is coming. It is already here.

Group 2 entities entered their first mandatory reporting period on 1 July 2026. That was two months ago. Group 1 entities are now in their second period,



which is when Scope 3 stops being optional. Group 3 follows on 1 July 2027.

Every one of those entities needs a 1.5°C scenario and a higher warming scenario at minimum under the Corporations Act. Every one of them is heading toward reasonable assurance against ASSA 5000 and ASSA 5010.

The standards are being applied for the first time, by everyone, at once. Precedent is thin. Judgement matters more than playbooks. That is the game we are asking you to come and play.

/03 THE PLAYER WE ARE DRAFTING

You are a structured thinker with strong analytical instincts. You do not put up numbers in the background: you turn data into insight a board can act on. You thrive in ambiguity and you hold your own work to a standard nobody has to enforce.

You want the ball in the last quarter.

/04 YOUR MINUTES

- Own a workstream end to end, from data gathering to delivering the insight.
- Run rigorous quantitative and qualitative analysis on complex, ambiguous problems.
- Interview client stakeholders and industry experts for the knowledge that is not in the dataset.
- Synthesise complexity into explicit, actionable material for senior leadership.
- Work directly with our directors and with clients.
- Contribute to our methodologies and IP, and help shape what Foresight does next.

/05 THE COMBINE NUMBERS

- Experience: 2 to 3 years in a consulting firm, ideally Big Four, in an analytical, strategic or financial capacity.
- Education: strong academic record. Quantitative disciplines (economics, engineering, mathematics, finance, science) preferred, but all disciplines welcome where analytical rigour can be demonstrated.




- Problem-solving: demonstrated ability to break complex problems into structured components.
- Technical: advanced Excel is non-negotiable. Python, R, SQL or data visualisation is a strong advantage.
- Communication: exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts in plain language.

/06 THE TAPE WE WATCH TWICE

None of this is a dealbreaker. If the measurables fit, we want to hear from you.

- Time at a Big Four or global consulting firm. Rigour gets built in plenty of places, so we care more about the capability than the logo.
- Financial analysis and modelling: connecting climate data to financial performance, building climate risk into valuation, working with Bloomberg, Capital IQ or Refinitiv.
- Technical engineering modelling: energy systems, grid integration or industrial decarbonisation, including LCOE modelling and tools such as HOMER, PLEXOS, MATLAB or PyPSA.
- AASB S2 / ASRS, TCFD, the GHG Protocol or ISO 14064.
- Sustainability and climate assurance experience, particularly against ASSA 5000.
- A postgraduate qualification, or CA, CFA, Engineers Australia or CEnvP.
- A track record in business development or thought leadership.

/07 WHY TAKE OUR OFFER

Hawthorn's AFLW rebuild was built around a clear idea. Bring in the best midfielder in the competition, give her a meaningful role, and build a list capable of competing around her.

Bates joined a side that had finished near the bottom in each of its first two seasons. A year later, they were minor premiers. The transformation did not happen because she joined an established powerhouse. It happened because she joined while it was still being built.

That is the opportunity here.

Mandatory climate reporting has changed the market. The work is live, the standards are being applied for the first time, and our list is still short enough that one signing changes the shape of it.

📌 Senior Consultant – Climate & Sustainability (Melbourne)
🏢 Foresight Consulting Group
📍 Melbourne