Job Description

International Sustainability Standards Board—Call for a member from Asia–Oceania

Who we are

The IFRS Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organisation created in 2001 to develop—in the public interest—high-quality, understandable, enforceable and globally accepted standards for financial reporting, and to promote and facilitate their adoption.

The Standards—IFRS® Accounting Standards and IFRS® Sustainability Disclosure Standards—are collectively referred to as IFRS® Standards. They are set by the Foundation’s two independent standard-setting boards, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), using a rigorous, inclusive and transparent due process. The IFRS Foundation Trustees oversee the IASB and the ISSB and are accountable to a Monitoring Board of public authorities.

The ISSB’s Standards provide a global baseline of sustainability-related disclosures designed to meet investors’ information needs. Jurisdictions around the world—currently over 40, representing 60% of global GDP—are in the process of adopting or using the Standards.

The ISSB works with the IASB to ensure that a company’s sustainability-related financial disclosures work well with its financial statements, providing investors with transparent and decision-useful information about a company’s financial position, performance and sustainability-related risks and opportunities. While the ISSB’s Standards can be applied together with the IFRS Accounting Standards, they need not be applied together.

The ISSB comprises professionally and geographically diverse senior experts with experience in sustainability and its reporting, gained through backgrounds such as preparers, investors, standard-setters, regulators, auditors, sustainability specialists and academics.

The ISSB members and staff are based in the Foundation’s offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, London, Montreal, San Francisco and Tokyo.

Full details about the ISSB—as well as the Foundation’s structure, activities and key personnel—can be found here

What are we looking for

The Foundation is seeking candidates from Asia–Oceania with substantial senior experience to fill a vacancy on the ISSB from 1 October 2026. This is a senior, high-profile appointment with global reach and impact. It offers an opportunity to contribute to the continued development and implementation of a global baseline for corporate sustainability disclosures, responding to investors’ demand for high-quality, consistent and decision-useful information about sustainability-related risks and opportunities.

The role is full time, although the Trustees will also consider candidates wishing to serve on a part-time basis, provided they can demonstrate and maintain the required level of independence and the ability to effectively contribute on a part-time basis.

The position is based in the Foundation’s Asia–Oceania office in Tokyo and involves frequent international travel to engage with fellow board members and staff, as well as a wide range of stakeholders.

Role responsibilities include:

• Working with the ISSB—engage with fellow ISSB members as part of a collegial standard-setting board, contributing to the development and maintenance of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.
• Working with the ISSB’s technical staff—liaise closely with members of the technical staff, providing advice, guidance and thought leadership, suggesting creative solutions to resolve issues and help projects progress on a range of complex sustainability disclosure issues.
• Engaging with external stakeholders—engage with a wide variety of external stakeholders to assist in the development of high-quality IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards that meet the financial markets’ needs and to promote IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards as the globally accepted standard for sustainability disclosures focused on meeting investors’ information needs.
• Working with the IASB—engage with the IASB to ensure the two boards develop Standards that are compatible and avoid inconsistencies and conflicts.

Role requirements

Membership of the ISSB requires:

• a strong understanding of, and interest in, sustainability disclosures and the broader global environment in which the ISSB operates (including financial, economic, business, environmental, social and other relevant societal matters);
• intellectual rigour and balanced judgement;
• extensive stakeholder engagement, demonstrating sensitivity and responsiveness, and influencing skills;
• independence; and
• a commitment to serving the public

Additional abilities required include:

• excellent strategic and analytical thinking skills combined with a pragmatic mindset and strong management skills;
• the ability to work as a team player with personal impact with a range of individuals from across the globe; and
• strong oral and written communication skills, with the ability to represent the ISSB effectively and to engage with the views of others.

Members of the ISSB are appointed for a term of up to five years. Consideration will be given to a second term. Second terms are usually for a further three years and a maximum of five.

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How to apply

Please apply via the "Apply" feature at the top of this page, including a CV and covering letter addressed to Ken Robinson, IFRS Foundation, Nominating Committee Chair by 8 May 2026.

Interviews for successful applicants will commence around Q2/Q3.

The Trustees have the discretion to review applications received after the specified date.

For further information, visit www.ifrs.org

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Role Specification—Member of the International Sustainability Standards Board

Background: The Organisation and its mission

The IFRS Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organisation created in 2001 to develop—in the public interest—high-quality, understandable, enforceable and globally accepted standards for financial reporting, and to promote and facilitate their adoption. The Standards—IFRS® Accounting Standards and IFRS® Sustainability Disclosure Standards—are collectively referred to as IFRS® Standards.

IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (ISSB Standards for short) are developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), which was created as part of the IFRS Foundation in 2021 to meet investor, company and international policymaker (including the G20, G7, IOSCO and Financial Stability Board) demand.

ISSB Standards provide a global baseline of sustainability-related disclosures designed to meet investors’ information needs. 40 jurisdictions around the world, representing 60% of global GDP, are in the process of adopting or using the Standards.

The ISSB works with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to ensure that a company’s sustainability-related financial disclosures work well with its financial statements, providing investors with transparent and decision-useful information about a company’s financial position, performance and sustainability-related risks and opportunities

Both boards follow a transparent, inclusive and rigorous due process. The IFRS Foundation Trustees oversee the ISSB and IASB and are accountable to a Monitoring Board of public authorities.

The ISSB currently comprise 12 members and will gradually transition to 10 members by the end of 2028. Members are appointed by the Trustees. The main qualifications for membership of the ISSB are professional competence and recent relevant professional experience. The Trustees select members of the ISSB, consistently with the ‘Criteria for ISSB members’ set out in the Annex to the IFRS Foundation Constitution, so that the ISSB comprises a group of people representing, within that group, the best available combination of expertise and diversity of international sustainability business and market experience. That experience may be drawn from a range of professional backgrounds, including preparers, users of sustainability information, standard-setters, auditors, academics and market and financial regulators. A broad base of skills, experience and perspectives is needed, therefore ISSB members may have other professional backgrounds that reflect a diverse range of expertise and roles that are relevant to sustainability and its reporting. The ISSB’s objective is to develop high-quality global sustainability disclosure standards that are capable of assurance, enforcement and consistent application to meet investors’ information needs. Accordingly the ISSB collectively is expected to demonstrate expert knowledge and relevant industry expertise in sustainability and corporate reporting, and share practical, relevant and up-to-date experience of them.

Members of the ISSB are required to commit themselves formally to acting in the public interest in all matters.

The ISSB members and staff are based in the Foundation’s offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, London, Montreal, San Francisco and Tokyo.

Member of the ISSB

This is a senior and prestigious appointment, demanding not only a high degree of expertise and ethics but also a high level of stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, as well as drive and energy.

The ISSB is charged with developing and maintaining sustainability disclosure standards that will enable companies to provide comprehensive sustainability information for the global financial markets to meet investors’ information needs. Meetings of the ISSB will be held in public.

The role is full time, although the Trustees will also consider candidates wishing to serve on a part-time basis provided they can demonstrate and maintain the required level of independence.

The position is based in the Foundation’s Asia-Oceania office in Tokyo and involves frequent international travel to engage with fellow board members and staff, as well as wide range of stakeholders.

Members of the ISSB are appointed for a term of up to five years, with eligibility for renewal for a further three years, with the possibility of renewal of up to five years.

Key Relationships

Reports to: ISSB Chair

Key relationships: All members of the ISSB

All members of the IFRS Foundation Trustees

Members of the International Accounting Standards Board Members of the IFRS Foundation’s various advisory and consultative committees (such as the IFRS Advisory Council, the Sustainability Consultative Committee, the Sustainability Standards Advisory Forum and other consultative bodies)

ISSB technical staff

Members of other standard-setting bodies Regulators

Other key stakeholders including civil society as and when needed

Purpose

• To act as an integral member of the ISSB setting IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, working with fellow ISSB members and technical staff on standard-setting projects, and liaising with external stakeholders to build awareness and understanding of the ISSB’s work and gain feedback on its proposals.

Major Responsibilities

Work with the ISSB and the ISSB’s technical staff

• Engage with fellow members of the ISSB as part of a collegial standard-setting
• Contribute to the ISSB’s debate on sustainability disclosure projects by:
  • reviewing proposals developed by the technical staff and reviewing and approving due process documents drafted by the technical staff;
  • making impartial, objective and well-reasoned decisions, and voting in the ISSB’s approval process for new IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards;
  • ensuring connections with IFRS Accounting Standards;
  • facilitating compatibility with requirements that are jurisdiction specific or aimed at a wider group of stakeholders than investors.
• Provide input in all technical discussions with a particular emphasis in own particular areas of expertise.
• Liaise closely with members of the ISSB’s technical staff, providing them with advice and guidance on projects, acting as a sounding board on potential issues, and suggesting creative solutions to resolve issues and help projects progress.

Work with external stakeholders

• Liaise with a wide variety of external stakeholders to explain the intent, rationale and benefits of the ISSB and its proposals and decisions, while listening and responding to these stakeholders’ views and reflecting them in the standards’ development and review
• Raise the profile of the ISSB and self, speaking at conferences, seminars,
• Liaise and build relationships with jurisdictional reporting initiatives and regulatory
• Promote IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards as the globally accepted standard for sustainability disclosures focused on meeting investors’ information needs.

Candidate Specification: Key Selection Criteria

Criteria for ISSB members

The criteria for ISSB membership are:

• Demonstrated competence and knowledge of sustainability and reporting—all members of the ISSB, regardless of whether they are from the accounting or sustainability reporting profession, preparers, users of sustainability information, regulators or academics, should have demonstrated a high level of knowledge and competence in sustainability and reporting. The credibility of the ISSB and its individual members and the effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation will be enhanced by members who have such knowledge and skills from recent experience.
• Ability to analyse—members of the ISSB should have demonstrated the ability to analyse complex issues, including sciences-based, and consider the implications of that analysis for the decision-making process.
• Communication skills—effective written and oral (both when engaging in person and virtually) communication skills are necessary. These skills include the ability to communicate effectively, including in ISSB meetings, meetings with stakeholders and in written materials such as IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, speeches, articles, memos and external correspondence. Communication skills also include the ability to listen to and consider the views of others from a range of backgrounds and geographical regions. A working knowledge of English is necessary.
• Judicious decision-making—members of the ISSB should be capable of considering varied viewpoints, weighing the evidence presented in an impartial fashion, and reaching well-reasoned and supportable decisions, guided by an overarching conceptual framework, in a timely fashion.
• Awareness of the sustainability reporting environment—the quality and efficiency of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards will be a function of their relevance in a complex and potentially fast-changing set of financial, economic, business, environmental, social and other relevant societal Members of the ISSB should have an understanding of such matters in the global environment in which the ISSB operates. This global awareness should include awareness of sustainability, business and financial reporting issues that are relevant to, and affect the quality of, transparent sustainability reporting and disclosure in the various capital markets worldwide.

• Ability to work in a collegial atmosphere—members should be able to show respect, tact and consideration for one another’s views and those of third parties. Members must be able to work with one another in reaching consensus views based on the objective of the ISSB to develop high-quality and transparent sustainability disclosure standards, working in a multilocation and multicultural environment, engaging in person and virtually with
• Integrity, objectivity and discipline—the credibility of members should be demonstrated through their integrity and objectivity. This includes intellectual integrity as well as integrity in dealing with fellow members of the ISSB and with stakeholders. Members should demonstrate an ability to be objective in reaching Members should also demonstrate an ability to show rigorous discipline and carry a demanding workload.
• Commitment to the IFRS Foundation’s mission and public interest—members should be committed to achieving the objective of the IFRS Foundation of establishing IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards that are of high quality, resulting in the provision of comparable and transparent information. A candidate for the ISSB should also be committed to serving the public interest through a private standard-setting process.

Ideal Expertise and Experience

• Strong understanding of sustainability reporting
• Experience at the top of their profession, for example:
  • a Chief Financial Officer, a Chief Sustainability Officer or other senior business executive with strong connection to sustainability reporting and experience integrating sustainability into business decisions;
  • a senior investor/analyst with experience in sustainability investment and the integration of sustainability factors into investment and governance decisions;
  • a senior research professional experienced with the production and use of sustainability data, analytics rankings and scores;
  • an experienced corporate or sustainability reporting standard-setter;
  • a senior regulator;
  • a broad-based academic able to synthesise a wide-array of sustainability science relevant to the financial markets;

and with associated expertise in conference speaking, stakeholder engagement and high-level project management, etc.

Critical Competencies for Success

• Strategic and analytical thinking—intellectually rigorous and able to shape far-reaching policies. A broad thinker who can understand different viewpoints and perspectives and contribute to all of the ISSB’s work while also contributing a specific area of expertise to the development of global sustainability disclosure standards. An able debater, willing to listen and to synthesise others’ arguments to agree on the best course of action.

• Communication and representational skills—able to interact effectively with a senior and demanding team and a range of stakeholders, such as groups representing businesses, investors and other capital market participants, jurisdictional standard-setters, regulators, and other international multilateral and governmental bodies.
• Influencing and negotiating skills—proactively work with colleagues and stakeholders, influencing and shaping the agendas to achieve successful Resilient with high energy levels and strong relationship building skills.
• Personal impact—able to operate as a focal point, with appropriate diplomatic, ambassadorial and public speaking skills, for a high-profile organisation, demonstrating natural authority and credibility.

Other Personal Characteristics

• Practical and pragmatic, being open-minded and willing to consider the art of the possible, rather than being overly dogmatic.
• Adaptable to change and able to accommodate ambiguity and
• A team player with a hands-on approach, able to get things done, and effective in moving projects forward.
• Ability to operate at both a strategic and operational level, meaningfully contributing to both the ISSB’s strategy and execution of its priorities and projects.
• An interest in taking on a public service
• A willingness to take on considerable international
• Working knowledge of English, though not necessarily as a first language.

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How to apply

Please apply via the "Apply" feature at the top of this page, including a CV and covering letter addressed to Ken Robinson, IFRS Foundation, Nominating Committee Chair by 8 May 2026.

Interviews for successful applicants will commence around Q2/Q3.

The Trustees have the discretion to review applications received after the specified date.

For further information, visit www.ifrs.org

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About us

At the IFRS Foundation, we believe better information leads to better decisions. We set financial reporting standards that enable companies to meet the evolving information needs of the global capital markets. United by our purpose to foster trust, growth and long-term financial stability in the global economy, we engage in challenging, meaningful work every day—across all our areas of expertise.

If you share our passion for this mission, we want to hear from you.

Diverse perspectives. International expertise.

Working for our global organisation offers many benefits, including:

• rewarding work that serves the public interest;
• engagement with diverse international experts;
• inclusive and collaborative teams;
• intellectually challenging projects;
• flexible working arrangements;
• numerous areas of specialisation; and
• opportunities for professional growth and development.

Diversity and inclusion are seen as key strengths of our organisation. These qualities are essential for us to engage with and meet the needs of our varied global stakeholders, and they are part of what makes the IFRS Foundation a great place to work.

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