Senior Manager, Data Systems, Regions and Partnerships

Position title: Senior Manager, Data Systems, Regions and Partnerships

Department: Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM)

Reporting to: Head, Data Systems, Regions and Partnerships, Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM)

Location: South Africa, United Kingdom - Please note that if your right to work in one of the listed locations is not confirmed at the time of applying, C40 will be unable to proceed with your application.

Salary: (Grade 3) South Africa ZAR 1,067,386 - UK GBP £65,318 (gross per annum) - Due to its commitment to maintain equity and fairness, C40 operates on a spot salary model. This means that our employees are paid the same salary according to their grade and location.

Term: Fixed term until 31st December 2028 (The appointment and the duration of the role are subject to the final approval of funding)

About The Global Covenant of Mayors For Climate & Energy

The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM or Global Covenant), is a global coalition of cities and local governments with a shared long-term vision of promoting and supporting voluntary action to combat climate change and move to a low-carbon, resilient society. The alliance unites and inspires its stakeholders to strengthen global climate coherence, accelerate the energy transition, and generate locally-tailored solutions for a common purpose: creating an inclusive, just, low-emission, and climate-resilient future for all.

Co-chaired by former New York City Mayor and UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions, Michael R. Bloomberg, and European Commission Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, Teresa Ribera, and with the support of global and regional city networks, the Global Covenant of Mayors represents the strongest and clearest signal to national governments that cities are not only acting to stop the effects of climate change, they are leading and leading together. Mayors from across all global regions serve on the Board, and represent city networks, Regional Covenants and bring locally specific perspectives – ensuring that the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy is truly led by mayors.

C40 Cities is the fiscal sponsor of the Bloomberg Philanthropies funded parts of the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM). As the host organization, C40 provides financial, administrative, and operational services to GCoM. C40 and GCoM are working closely together on aligned programmes and areas of activity.

Position Description:

The Senior Manager, Data System Regions and Partnerships is a critical execution and coordination role supporting the global delivery, adoption, and impact of the AI-driven Data System and a coalition on cities, climate, and AI across the GCoM alliance (13,800+ signatories) and C40 cities.

Reporting directly to the Head of Data System Regions and Partnerships, this role is responsible for managing and operationalizing key workstreams related to regional engagement and partnership coordination. The Senior Manager will execute the Data System's regional rollout by coordinating engagement activities with all GCoM Regional and National Covenants and C40 regional teams, while simultaneously managing the day-to-day operations of the AI Coalition to translate city demands into viable product pathways.

A key function of this role is to facilitate partnerships with city networks, Data System developers, and data users to ensure the Data System is interoperable and user-friendly. This requires collaborating closely with the in-house development team to align technical solutions with strategic objectives and supporting regional teams in Data System testing, user requirement gathering, and the deployment of pilots.

The postholder is expected to collaborate and coordinate closely with a Data System Development team to help ensure that GCoM alliance partner needs are sufficiently met, as well as a broader agile team focused on Data System development, engagement, and delivery.

This role requires close engagement with Bloomberg Philanthropies, the European Commission, and various C40 and GCoM alliance teams to effectively catalyze city climate action.

Responsibilities:

• Lead activity focused on global partnerships - collaborating with dedicated Data System regional teams, GCoM Regional and National Covenants, and the C40 Regional and Mayoral Engagement team - to facilitate Data System development, rollout, and uptake as well as a dedicated coalition on cities, AI, and climate.

• Support coalition-building by managing the implementation of partnership projects that futureproof reporting, impact analysis and accompanying visual storytelling, and action-oriented data for multi-level climate action across GCoM and C40.

• Manage day-to-day relationships with Data System development partners, working in concert with the in-house team to translate user requirements and ensure they are sufficiently met during development.

• Execute the implementation of the Data System rollout strategy in tandem with the in-house team, managing the technical delivery of all relevant reporting and AI-assisted components to support the shared vision for simpler, faster, and actionable data.
• Act as a primary technical liaison with the Data System development team to maintain a detailed, working understanding of Data System capabilities and help identify new opportunities.

• Lead day-to-day engagement with GCoM alliance partners, including members of the Strategic Advisory Committee, as well as co-funders Bloomberg Philanthropies and the European Commission, ensuring that their requirements can be met through Data System development.

• Track and manage ongoing partner feedback and engagement on an ongoing basis in close coordination with the Head, Data System Regions and Partnerships.

• Support the generation of knowledge products and communication mechanisms to disseminate this information

• Lead day-to-day engagement between Data System development partners and cross-sector stakeholders - including other levels of government, financial institutions, academia, business, and civil society - to identify opportunities to utilise, display, and manage the information produced through the Data System.

• Facilitate dialogue and partnership through a coalition positioned at the nexus of artificial intelligence (AI) and city climate action, building on insights from the 2024-25 AI x City Climate Action Hackathon and Forum. Specifically, the Senior Manager will act as the primary technical liaison for the coalition led by GCoM to convene a space among networks, companies, governments, and other institutions at the nexus of cities, climate, and emerging technologies, managing relationships with partners and institutions to drive practical implementation.

• Lead delivery, organization and logistics convenings with AI-relevant organizations, GCoM and C40 partners, and other stakeholders, with the aim to signal city demands for AI, demonstrate viable pathways to product development, and update the understanding of how innovative projects and actions can be operationalized.

• Provide targeted, adhoc support to the Data System regional engagement team - in coordination with the broader Data System engagement strategy - to engage GCoM signatories and C40 cities, facilitate Data System testing and user engagement, and guide the deployment of demonstrations and pilots from both the coalition and Data Portal for Cities exploration.

Person Specification:

• Proven experience in program and project management, including coordinating multi-disciplinary workstreams, managing consultants, and tracking project budgets.

• Proven ability to act as a key technical liaison between end-users (cities, practitioners) and developers, with a strong ability to translate user requirements into technical specifications.

• Strong technical literacy and a solution-oriented understanding of how to manage complex data sets, data visualization, and the software development lifecycle.

• Strong analytical skills, with the proven ability to analyze connections between datasets relevant to GCoM and C40 missions on climate action and its broader benefits (e.g., air quality, transport, jobs).

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to manage technical workstreams and report on progress clearly to senior leadership and external partners.

• Outstanding interpersonal and partnership management skills, with a proven ability to convene and engage effectively with partners from government, city networks, and the private sector.

• Significant experience working in urban sustainability, Data System/product management, climate change, or a related field, preferably in a municipal or international context.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Strong problem-solving, interpersonal and strategic thinking capabilities coupled with an outcome/delivery-oriented approach.

• International experience, particularly working across different cultures, languages and time zones.

• Fluency in English essential; proficiency in at least one of French, Spanish, Portuguese, or Arabic preferred.

Other Requirements:

Applicants must already have the right to work in the listed locations. Moderate travel will be required as part of the role.

We seek to recruit individuals who not only have the appropriate skills and experience for the role, but are committed to carrying out their roles in line with our organisational values.

C40 offers a comprehensive benefits package to support employee well-being and work-life balance:

• Paid Time Off: Full-time employees receive 35 days of paid time off annually, which includes all national holidays.
• Company Shutdowns: In addition to the standard paid time off, C40 provides two non-contractual, non-statutory shutdown weeks each year (mid-year and end-of-year) for a full break.
• Parental Leave: All employees are eligible for up to 52 weeks of parenting leave. The first 16 weeks are paid at 100% of the employee's current salary. Weeks 17 through 52 are unpaid by C40, unless payment is required by national law.
• Flexible Working: C40 supports flexible working arrangements to enhance work-life balance, provided they align with business requirements.
• Time off in Lieu (TOIL): Employees can take TOIL to recover following periods of excessive hours or travel.
• Sick Leave: Entitlement to sick leave increases upon the successful completion of the employee's probation period.
• Employee Training: Training and development opportunities are available to all staff (excluding temporary staff and interns) after they have completed and passed their probation period.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP): Confidential services, such as counselling, are accessible for short-term support.
• Pension scheme: C40 offers a pension scheme to employees in eligible locations. Availability is determined by the country of employment.
• Private Health Insurance: This is provided in countries where publicly funded healthcare is not available.

Application Process:

Closing date for applications is Monday, 16th February 2026 at 5pm UK Time. C40 reserves the right to close this job opening before the closing date for applications so please do submit applications early.

To learn more about the work of C40 and our cities, please visit www.c40.org, follow us on Twitter @c40cities and like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/C40Cities.

For any queries about the role, please contact careers@C40.org. Kindly note that this email address is for recruitment related queries only. We are unable to accept CVs and cover letters sent to this inbox. We can only accept and process applications that are submitted via our website.

Background

C40 is a network of nearly 100 mayors of the world’s leading cities, who are working to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis, and create a future where everyone, everywhere can thrive. Mayors of C40 cities are committed to using a science-based and people-focused approach to help the world limit global heating to 1.5°C and build healthy, equitable and resilient communities. Through a Global Green New Deal, mayors are working alongside a broad coalition of representatives from labour, business, the youth climate movement and civil society to go further and faster than ever before.

C40’s team of 400+ staff is based in offices in London, in New York, Johannesburg, Singapore, Delhi, Rio de Janeiro, Copenhagen, Beijing and Paris, and individual staff based across 25+ different locations.

The strategic direction of the organisation is determined by an elected Steering Committee of C40 mayors, which is chaired by Mayor Sadiq Khan of London and Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown. Three-term Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg serves as President of the C40 Board of Directors, responsible for operational oversight. A regionally diverse management team, led by Executive Director Mark Watts, leads the day-to-day management of C40. C40’s two core strategic funders are Bloomberg Philanthropies and Realdania.

Our international staff work with the C40 network under the leadership of city governments to deliver this mission. Using a data-driven approach, our team identifies and promotes the exchange of proven programmes and policies developed by cities; provides world-class research, technical expertise and access to key partners to deliver new programmes and policies with cities; and communicates cities’ individual achievements and collective leadership.

Diversity Statement

C40 is committed to supporting and promoting equity and diversity and creating an inclusive working environment for everyone. We believe that when people with different life experiences are involved in decision-making, we deliver better.

We believe having a diverse workforce ensures we connect better with all the different communities and people affected by the climate crisis. This enables us to make better decisions which lead to better outcomes in the work we do through increased creativity, productivity, greater global impact alongside a broader perspective and approach to our work.

We welcome applicants that are diverse in terms of age, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity and perspective. Our goal is for C40 to be an environment where everyone, from any background, can flourish and can be themselves whilst contributing to our mission. If you identify as a person with a disability, we work to provide reasonable appropriate measures and any additional support needed to provide an equitable working experience. If you are living with a disability, chronic illness or neurodiversity please inform us, to provide you with the proper assistance in the application process.

C40 promotes a work culture where staff can input to improve equity, diversity and inclusion through staff-led groups and formal forums. We know that creating our ideal working environment is a learning process and we are committed to the ongoing effort. For how C40 handles your personal information, please review our Privacy Notice – Recruitment.

C40 is an equal opportunities employer.