Global Sustainability and Innovation Grant Consultant | London, UK

Global Sustainability and Innovation Grant Consultant

Global Sustainability and Innovation Grant Consultant

We have an exciting opportunity available to join our dynamic and growing EY Innovation & Sustainability Incentives team, based in one of our national offices. This team specialises in helping clients access government funding to invest in Innovation, economic development and sustainability/energy transition-focused projects. We work across a broad client base - from FTSE100 companies to ambitious scale-up, many of whom have declared net zero goals and are seeking our support to accelerate their transition through grant funding.

Our service offering includes UK and international R&D tax credits, Government business and innovation grants, Innovation loans, the Patent Box, and increasingly, sustainability-oriented cash grants and incentives. In response to growing demand, we're expanding our grants team to support a portfolio of companies committed to the green transition and climate innovation.

You'll be joining a collaborative and agile team focussing on forward-looking cash grant and other incentive mechanisms where you will, over time, be supported to develop your own niche within that team's innovation, economic development & sustainability/energy transition pillars.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Work as an effective member of a project team, exhibiting strong communication skills and collaboration across multi-disciplinary teams
• Engage with clients' senior technical, commercial, and sustainability-focused stakeholders (e.g. Head of Sustainability, Head of Transformation, Head of Engineering, etc.) to develop a deep understanding of their innovation and net zero roadmaps
• Translate innovative sustainability-focused projects into compelling grant applications, aligning with national and international funding priorities
• Participate in and facilitate structured workshops to capture relevant technical, commercial and environmental details for project proposals
• Conduct horizon scanning of both UK and international sustainability funding calls, including EU-level funding
• Support client business development efforts, assessing potential for grant support and contributing to net zero-aligned proposals
• Maintain technical awareness of innovation within key sectors while also deepening your knowledge in sustainability, clean tech, and environmental innovation
• Deliver advice and solutions to clients, upholding EY's reputation for quality, integrity and sustainability leadership

• You have a STEM background and ideally an advanced degree from a top university
• Passion for sustainability and an understanding of key topics related to net zero, decarbonisation, energy transition, or clean innovation, and technology more broadly
• Ability to convert complex technical and environmental projects into impactful written content, tailored to specific funding bodies
• Capability to act as a trusted advisor to clients, facilitating cross-functional collaboration between sustainability, finance and R&D teams
• Excellent interpersonal skills, able to work both autonomously and as part of a wider team
• High attention to detail and strong problem-solving capabilities, especially under tight deadlines or limited information
• Flexibility to adapt to different industry sectors and grant programmes across geographies
• Experience in managing innovation projects with a commercial or environmental impact lens

• Experience with cash grant applications, bid writing or reviewing, ideally with exposure to sustainability-driven funding
• Familiarity with technical or engineering concepts and challenges in areas such as clean energy, sustainable product design, or green manufacturing
• Strong communication skills and experience engaging senior internal or external stakeholders
• An interest in helping organisations meet climate goals through grant-funded innovation
• A collaborative approach and the ability to juggle multiple projects while maintaining a high standard of delivery

• Experience interacting with grant funding bodies and understanding their climate-related policies and criteria - this could include developing policy or assessing grant applications
• Demonstrable experience contributing to or leading the development of environmental or sustainability-focused grant proposals
• Understanding of financial and technological risks in innovation and how these intersect with sustainability transitions
• Familiarity with tools or frameworks commonly used in the net zero planning and reporting space
• Knowledge of the economic and environmental impact criteria used by grant funders
• Experience coordinating cross-functional innovation projects or building effective green tech consortia