Manuel S.

Senior consultant
Happy to mentor
Happy to be contacted

About me

Manuel S.
Environment
Environmental science and management
Taught Postgraduate
Vanbrugh
2013
United Kingdom

My employment

Senior consultant
EcoAct
United Kingdom
Environment and energy
Medium-size business (50-249 employees)
2020

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A day in the life of a Senior consultant in the United Kingdom

I always wanted to help others in their climate and carbon reduction journeys and my undergraduate and masters degrees at York supported me in understanding the power of strategy and policy making

Briefly describe the organisation you work for

EcoAct is a small climate consultancy, now part of Eviden business, focused on taking corporate and public clients from the start of their climate action journey to Net-Zero using our AtoZero program. We proud ourselves in being experts and transparent.

What do you do?

I manage project and programs of work with large and small clients delivering carbon footprints, carrying out climate scenario analysis, developing strategies, implementing internal carbon pricing, and other services. I’m also a mentor and line manager, and own and develop a as service line.

Reflecting upon your past employment and education, what led you to your current career choice?

I always wanted to help others in their climate and carbon reduction journeys and my undergraduate and masters degrees at York supported me in understanding the power of strategy and policy making, which I can apply and draft as a consultant to several companies with a large and wide impact!

Is your current job sector different from what you thought you would enter when you graduated?

No, quite the opposite. I work with as variety of sectors and businesses!

Describe your most memorable day at work

Submitting a science based target for a health care manufacturing company with global operations for a 1.5C aligned pathway and immediately working with them on the approach to reduction!

Are there any challenges associated with your job?

Client management, technical delivery and continuous change in technical guidance and climate policy spectrum. Also communicating to clients the complexity of climate action

What’s your work environment and culture like?

Friendly, collaborative, expert, exciting, fun, and more!

What extracurricular activities did you undertake at university and what transferable skills did you develop through these?

I played rugby, set up the Portuguese language society, supported international students arriving at York, and was the welfare officer for banging. These all allowed me to develop interpersonal skills, committing with a wide range of people from different backgrounds and requirements, and it but my confidence in my knowledge and skills!

What would you like to do next with your career?

Focusing on developing others within my team and potentially move to a public sector position to draft and influence climate policy nationally and internationally

What top tips do you have for York students preparing for today’s job market and life after graduation?

Look at your experiences and what you can gain from each of them and apply on the next challenge/job/task. Start broad and look to gains general understand across disciplines and apply learnings from one to the other. Keep in mind what you'd like to do in the long term and what tires of company you’d like to work with - most times there’s more than just the salary to discuss (like culture, impact, purpose, and other benefits like slow travel days).

What topics from students are you happy to answer questions on?

Any topics, particularly around consultancy vs in-house. I’m very strategic minded so strategy and conceptual thinking topics. I’m passionate about making a as difference and having and impact - if you want to speak about capitalising these happy to!

Next steps...

If you like the look of Manuel’s profile, the next steps are down to you! You can send Manuel a message to find out more about their career journey. If you feel you would benefit from more in-depth conversations, ask Manuel to be your mentor.

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