Position Summary
The ESG Associate is a member of H.I.G. Capital’s ESG Team, reporting to the Global Head of ESG within a lean team structure. The Associate is responsible for the effective execution of responsible investment program workstreams across all asset classes and strategies. The role requires a commercially minded professional with ESG subject-matter expertise, ability to leverage a range of project management and analytical tools, including generative AI tools, and the credibility to partner effectively with investment professionals and other stakeholders globally. The Associate liaises with external advisors and consultants used to supplement team capacity, and collaborates with summer interns and cross-functional colleagues across H.I.G.’s investment and operational teams.
Position Description
The Associate supports core workstreams spanning investor servicing, regulatory and voluntary reporting, pre- and post-investment ESG integration, and ESG-linked value creation. A significant aspect of the role is driving excellence in data capture, analytics, and reporting, including communicating H.I.G.’s ESG approach and impact against the frameworks with which the firm is aligned (e.g., UN PRI, SFDR, EDCI, and others). The Associate also supports ESG capability building across H.I.G.’s investment teams globally and implementation of other aspects of the firm’s responsible investment strategy.
Responsibilities
ESG Data, Metrics, and Reporting
- Project manage the annual UN PRI reporting process – one of the Associate’s two highest-priority recurring workstreams, together with ESG monitoring below – including coordination of ESG Champions and deal-team contributors, data collection, internal review, and final submission; manage the firm’s scoring model and benchmarking against peers. Own the ongoing evolution of the firm’s PRI strategy as the framework and/or H.I.G.’s investment activities expand into new areas.
- Lead ESG monitoring across the global portfolio, with volume concentrated today in private equity and certain credit strategies globally and expanding to additional strategies as applicable. Develop and utilize portfolio-level analytics that identify climate and ESG risk exposure and value creation opportunities across strategies. Apply ESG domain knowledge and strong analytical thinking to support the team in capturing high-quality, consistent, and comparable ESG data across strategies, working with consultants, software platforms, deal teams, and portfolio companies.
- Utilize ESG monitoring data to identify and drive consistency in asset- and fund-level ESG messaging, including integrating it into internal and external communications, reports, and fund materials, consistent with the firm’s strategic positioning.
Investor Support
- Manage H.I.G.’s ESG DDQ responses tied to fundraising and ongoing LP monitoring – interpreting incoming LP questionnaires against a detailed understanding of H.I.G.’s funds, developing and maintaining standardized content across strategies, coordinating substantive inputs from deal teams, ESG Champions, and control functions, tracking supporting data and response status across concurrent requests, and ensuring responses are accurate, thorough, and delivered against competing deadlines – using the firm’s ESG workflow infrastructure (currently built in Asana; prior experience with the platform is not required).
- Support LP meetings and ad hoc inquiries with timely, well-substantiated responses, coordinating with the Capital Formation Group and Investor Services and maintaining quality control of all ESG-related investor deliverables.
- Track LP ESG engagement and capital flows to produce data-backed analysis linking ESG activity to fundraising outcomes and LP relationship health.
Strategy Formulation and Execution
- Support H.I.G.’s alignment with key voluntary and regulatory ESG frameworks (e.g., UN PRI, SFDR, EDCI).
- Project manage ESG workstreams (both ongoing and special initiatives) under the direction of the Global Head of ESG.
- Conduct research to stay abreast of key industry trends, peer practices, and emerging LP expectations; synthesize findings into well-reasoned recommendations for consideration by senior leadership.
- Prepare and present materials for the ESG Committee, including quarterly reviews and ad hoc senior briefings.
Pre- and Post-Investment ESG Integration
- Project manage annual SFDR Article 8 reporting across relevant strategies, and track key dates and deliverables to ensure funds deliver on their Article 8 commitments on schedule.
- Support the ESG Team in building and refining the firm’s strategy-specific pre-investment ESG toolkits, which embed standardized ESG diligence and IC documentation into transaction processes led by deal teams; support deal teams as needed in applying the toolkits.
- As appropriate, support the ESG Team’s delivery of portfolio-level ESG value creation where ESG team domain expertise is sought by deal teams (e.g., ESG Action Plans, ESG-linked margin ratchets, etc.).
- Support deal teams on exit-readiness ESG preparation, including anticipating buyer ESG diligence expectations, providing ESG performance data and connecting portfolio activities to ESG relevance where deal teams may not otherwise draw the link.
Firm-Level ESG and Capability Building
- Support the ESG Team’s development and delivery of ESG training and knowledge-building initiatives for investment and fundraising teams globally; produce strategy-specific materials and case studies that build durable ESG fluency across the platform.
- Partner with HR, Compliance, Legal, and other firm functions to advance firm-level ESG initiatives and support governance and audit readiness.
- Represent H.I.G. in external ESG forums, working groups, and lender and LP engagements as appropriate.
Emerging Topics
- Adapt to evolving ESG priorities as they emerge, including areas such as supply chain and human rights due diligence, biodiversity and nature-related risk, and other topics driven by changing regulatory requirements or LP expectations.
Other
- Establish and maintain strong internal relationships across H.I.G. strategies, geographies, and functional teams, including with capital formation and investment professionals globally.
- Engage with external advisors and consultants used to supplement team capacity; supervise and support summer interns as needed.
Qualifications
- Minimum three (3) years of professional experience, with demonstrated progression in ESG, responsible investment, or a related field.
- Bachelor’s degree or beyond with strong academic performance.
- Prior experience in private equity, private credit, or multi-asset investment management strongly preferred.
- Holder of an ESG-related industry credential preferred (e.g., CFA ESG Certificate).
- Deep working knowledge of key materiality and reporting frameworks, including SASB, UN PRI, SFDR, EDCI, and TCFD/ISSB; familiarity with physical and transition climate risk frameworks and methodologies.
- Comfort using AI platforms beyond conversational research, with demonstrated willingness to utilize AI-powered tools and workflows (including custom GPTs, Claude skills, and similar applications) to scale team capacity and support more efficient ESG analysis. Given H.I.G.’s firm-wide adoption of tools such as Claude and ChatGPT, candidates should show both current proficiency and a commitment to deepening it.
- Strong command of ESG data platforms and workflow management tools; demonstrated ability to build, maintain, and improve data collection and reporting infrastructure.
- Experience with ESG-linked financing structures (e.g., sustainability-linked loans, margin ratchets) is a plus.
- Intellectual curiosity, an innovative mindset, and analytical rigor: a genuine interest in how ESG intersects with investment risk and value, the ability to assess competing approaches with an open mind, and the confidence to form and clearly articulate a well-reasoned view to senior stakeholders when multiple options exist.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills; proven ability to present ideas and analyses with credibility and precision.
- Strong analytical skills, including comfort working in Excel and experience building ESG models, scenario analyses, and data visualizations.
- Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Excel, Word).
- Strong project management skills, with a demonstrated ability to lead a diverse range of concurrent projects, including workstreams with loosely defined parameters and evolving scope.
- High personal accountability, comfort with ambiguity, and demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities independently in a lean, fast-paced environment.
- Track record of cross-functional collaboration and influence without authority across investment and operational teams.
