EVP – Sustainability and Transition — Water And Utilities Business

The mandate

The next planning cycle has brought into focus transition commitments that are not yet embedded in capital decisions within a listed infrastructure developer and asset operator. The immediate arena is the water and utilities business during a portfolio monetisation. For mandate 333, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The EVP – Sustainability and Transition operating perimeter covers approximately S$24,700 million in project and operating-asset portfolio, with activity spanning several water and utilities business customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The EVP – Sustainability and Transition Infrastructure remit carries direct influence over roughly 625 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a EVP – Sustainability and Transition who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the water and utilities business. The EVP – Sustainability and Transition Infrastructure seat must resolve a portfolio monetisation, while preserving the underlying strengths of the water and utilities business. For mandate 333, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The EVP – Sustainability and Transition’s first year on the water and utilities business is expected to end with credible transition economics, delivery governance and auditable progress. In mandate 333, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a newly created EVP – Sustainability and Transition — Water And Utilities Business seat approved as part of the next operating model; it is not an incumbent replacement. The board is running a planned 4–6 month search so the appointee can join ahead of the next capital and talent cycle. Current leaders retain their existing accountabilities until the water and utilities business remit is formally activated. Confidentiality protects organisation design choices while the board compares external and adjacent-sector talent.

What you will own

• Set the EVP – Sustainability and Transition value-creation thesis for the water and utilities business, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately S$24,700 million in project and operating-asset portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the EVP – Sustainability and Transition Infrastructure organisation of about 625 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the water and utilities business economics and execution constraints created by a portfolio monetisation, with EVP – Sustainability and Transition-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one EVP – Sustainability and Transition operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the water and utilities business; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Demonstrate enterprise authority across functions and markets, with outcomes visible in cash, customers or controlled risk in mandate 333.
• Build the EVP – Sustainability and Transition’s three-year succession and capability plan for the water and utilities business, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Infrastructure organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the water and utilities business baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to transition commitments that are not yet embedded in capital decisions, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal EVP – Sustainability and Transition portfolio and organisation choices for the water and utilities business, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable water and utilities business trend against credible transition economics, delivery governance and auditable progress, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the EVP – Sustainability and Transition’s agreed first-year water and utilities business value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A EVP – Sustainability and Transition forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the water and utilities business’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the EVP – Sustainability and Transition mandate’s highest-priority water and utilities business risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical water and utilities business talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the EVP – Sustainability and Transition’s direct reports.
• A quantified EVP – Sustainability and Transition-owned improvement in the water and utilities business operating constraint behind a portfolio monetisation, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 333: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a EVP Sustainability, Transition Director or Strategy Leader in a listed Infrastructure or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the water and utilities business, your EVP – Sustainability and Transition track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from infrastructure, construction, utilities, transport assets or project finance will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this EVP – Sustainability and Transition brief.

As a EVP – Sustainability and Transition candidate, you bring 18–22 years of progressive Infrastructure or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 18-22 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of S$14,350 million and led an organisation of at least 450 people.

For mandate 333, the board wants two transitions: a difficult water and utilities business portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a portfolio monetisation. As the prospective EVP – Sustainability and Transition for this water and utilities business, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 333 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The EVP – Sustainability and Transition must be based in Singapore; international relocation is supported, but this Infrastructure role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of EVP Sustainability, Transition Director or Strategy Leader, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Infrastructure governance forum.
• Proven EVP – Sustainability and Transition ownership of at least S$14,350 million and leadership of no fewer than 450 employees in a comparable water and utilities business context.
• One completed Infrastructure or adjacent-sector example of transition commitments that are not yet embedded in capital decisions with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from infrastructure, construction, utilities, transport assets or project finance; experience that is purely functional and lacks EVP – Sustainability and Transition-level water and utilities business consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Singapore location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 333.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated EVP – Sustainability and Transition package is S$360,000–480,000 base + annual incentive, calibrated to the final water and utilities business scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 333 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The EVP – Sustainability and Transition appointment in Singapore, centred on the water and utilities business, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 333.

Confidentiality

This search is being conducted without naming the client for mandate 333. Identifying information will follow only when both sides elect to proceed under confidentiality; nothing in the published mandate should be treated as a clue to ownership or brand for mandate 333.