Demand for ESG specialists in Russia has increased by 20% over the past year

Photo by: mixetto / iStock

Russian companies are increasingly interested in employees who have experience and education in the field of sustainable development. We are talking about ESG specialisations, where the acronym stands for environment, social and governance. In other words, they are principles of responsible corporate governance.

From the beginning of the year to mid-September, Russian employers needed almost 5,000 professionals with an understanding of sustainability and experience of successfully implementing and developing projects in this area. Compared to the same period in 2021, the demand for ESG specialists in the country has increased by 20%. These figures are given in a study by job search service HeadHunter.

There are currently 79 vacancies on the aggregator’s website mentioning ESG, 47 of which are in Moscow. As a rule, employers are looking for top-level specialists for top positions, as well as experts.

The list of industries where sustainability and ESG professionals are needed the most now includes: mining (40% of vacancies), retail (10%), and instrumentation (4%). Employers in the restaurant and hospitality industry posted 1% of vacancies nationally.

Most companies (42%) are looking for experienced ESG specialists with at least three years’ experience, but 13% are willing to hire even newcomers without any experience. Almost all vacancies (98%) involve full-time work.

Unfortunately, most ESG and sustainability vacancies do not include a salary target, but where they do, salaries for people with experience start at RUB 100,000.

The market for sustainability professionals is likely to continue its upward trend. This year, Sber and the Higher School of Economics have designated ESG as a separate area in their atlas of the professions of the future, alongside medicine, IT and finance.

Cover photo: mixetto / iStock