Energy, Environment & Sustainability
The ongoing profound transformation in the energy and environmental sectors is accompanied by crucial recruitment needs.
The emergence of renewable energies, in particular, has led to the creation of new entities or new activities within existing companies, thereby requiring new skills.
Key Industry Challenges
Key Industry Challenges
The emergence of renewable energies (solar, wind, hydroelectricity, biofuels, biogas, geothermal) is giving rise to a whole new segment of the economy with creation of new roles.
Another consequence is the disruption of the geographical distribution of economic activities: certain historical employment areas were deeply dependent on carbon-intensive industries (and therefore significant greenhouse gas emitters). In some regions, up to 40% of employment was tied to the industrial sector. The exposure to the transition is thus not homogeneous across the country, and in the coming years, we may witness areas of tension or, at the very least, the emergence of regions that are newly struggling with attractiveness.
Impacts On Organisations
Impacts On Organisations
The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions impacts many sectors, forcing environmental skills to spread across all professions. This shift of skills from the oil and gas sectors to renewable energy or decarbonized mobility roles raises the question of training for the employees involved. It is essential to support the upskilling of these new functions.
In addition to the direct creation of jobs, this transformation generates indirect opportunities, particularly in business services and in management positions to oversee these new, highly skilled profiles.
Major Recruitment Challenges
The emergence of new activities linked to the energy transition paves the way for new roles, such as Impact Directors and CSR Managers.
The development of skills in these sectors is occurring in stages. For instance, the marketing function currently has mainly an operational scope, as strategy is most often driven by business development.
Our Expertise & Approach
Our Expertise & Approach
In the ever-changing context of this sector, recruitment is evolving into a demanding quest. The necessary skills are often scarce, with little to no prior experience. Recruiters are like explorers in the Amazon rainforest, searching for talents who have either been pioneers in the market or can transfer their skills from other industries.
We are proud to contribute to this dynamic and constantly evolving sector by working alongside producers, distributors, specialized funds, listed companies, and new players. Our strong foothold in this sector is a powerful asset, sought after and valued by our clients, and word of mouth continues to strengthen our reputation. The energy transition offers exciting opportunities, and we are here to support our clients on this journey.
We have recently recruited various management profiles and assisted our clients in shaping their executive committees, considering the evolution of the roles they offer, both in France and internationally.
Business cases
Chief Operations Officer (M/F)
Industrial Energy Performance • Start-Up • France / Paris
Certified B Corp™, our client is an innovative company that helps industrial businesses reduce their energy costs, lower their CO2 emissions, and secure grants for their modernization projects. As part of its strong growth, we supported the Presidency in the recruitment of the Chief Operations Officer.
General Manager • Markéting & Communication Director • Construction Director (M/F)
Renewable Energy • Scale-up • France / Paris
Our client, a high-growth company, aims to lead the digital revolution of existing photovoltaic plants with innovative technologies and a unique service offering. To continue its development in France and expand into the European market, we are supporting the Presidency in recruiting expert profiles and, for some, members of the executive committee.
Impact Director (M/F)
Renewable Energy • Scale Up • France / Paris
Our client is an ambitious French scale-up listed on the stock exchange. As a mission-driven company, it operates in the Renewable Energy market. We were approached to assist them in structuring their Executive Committee during a period of acceleration, particularly to help them recruit their Impact Director.
In this sector, and with the stock market listing, this role was essential and covered much more than just CSR: we were looking for an energy sector expert with an excellent network in Public Affairs, and despite the ‘youth’ of this function, a certain level of seniority in ESG topics.
Strategy and Development Director (M/F)
Renewable Energy • Group • France / Alsace
A subsidiary of a group firmly established in the renewable energy market, our client approached us to help them recruit their Director of Strategy and Development. With a value proposition primarily focused on long-term but promising R&D, the complexity of this recruitment lay in targeting solid, expert profiles within their market and adjacent markets, while also identifying someone driven by the desire to support an entrepreneurial venture with its uncertainties, long timelines, but also the excitement of starting from scratch and shaping the strategy from a blank page.
Leadership Team (H/F)
Renewable Energy • Scale Up • France / Paris
Our client is an ambitious French mid-sized company operating in the Renewable Energy market. During its acceleration phase, they entrusted us first with reflecting on the sizing and structuring of their Executive Committee, and then with recruiting several of its members.
In the initial phase, we conducted role and compensation studies. We then proceeded to recruit the profiles identified as priorities to complete the management team: CFO, Public Affairs, and General Counsel.
General Manager Chili (H/F)
Renewable Energy • SME • Chili / Santiago
Our client is a French mid-sized company, an independent producer of electricity from renewable energy, who asked us to assist them in recruiting their General Manager in Chile.
In the context of evolving the local energy market and regulations, six years after its creation, this subsidiary was fully autonomous and needed to initiate a new phase of its growth.
Chief People Officer (H/F)
Sustainability • Scale-up • France / Paris
Our client is a French start-up that has experienced exponential growth in just a few years and is now a unicorn in French Tech.
The challenge was to establish an HR organization to structure and support the company’s development and international expansion.
VP Finance (M/F)
Renewable Energy • SME • France
A French group, one of the leaders in renewable energy production, entrusted us with the recruitment of its VP Finance to lead the financial structuring of the group in preparation for a significant fundraising round.
The triple dimension of technical, strategic, and managerial aspects was at the heart of our search and candidate evaluation. Supporting the founding executives in the decision-making process was a key step in the success of this recruitment.