Head of Sustainability

Are you interested in joining an organisation undergoing significant business transformation and commitment to sustainability?

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A newly created opportunity has arisen with a prestigious luxury goods brand who is seeking a Head of Sustainability to lead its sustainability function for the UK region.

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The Head of Sustainability will lead development of the company's regional sustainability strategy, and as a key member of the Global Sustainability Team, translate the global sustainability commitments into a regional roadmap, supporting operational teams with delivery against strategic priorities.

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Reporting to the Global Chief Sustainability Officer and the President of UK Region, you will have the opportunity to:

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• Define, in collaboration with the UK leadership team, an appropriate organisation and governance around sustainability topics in the Region.

• Lead a Regional Sustainability Steering Committee and coordinate local committees, providing regular updates to the UK Region Leadership Team.

• Develop a mid-term and annual strategic roadmap for sustainability in the Region in collaboration with the UK Leadership Team, Regional Steering Committee and Global Sustainability Team;

• Manage specific implementation projects, especially projects requiring collaboration between multiple markets and/or business functions - such as the climate agenda.

• Provide ongoing support and coaching to operational teams in order to help them better understand how to integrate sustainability into their daily work;

• Represent the company externally within the Region to industry partners (e.g., retailers, suppliers), collaborative initiatives, working groups or regulatory consultation processes related to sustainability

• Partner with Internal Communications to develop a communication, education, and engagement plan for employees on sustainability topics.

• Support operational teams in their annual sustainability reporting exercise, including data collection, quality control and analysing year-on-year trends.

• Represent the UK Region in strategic discussions for cross-company, global policies, targets and programs on sustainability as part of the senior sustainability leadership group

Whilst the regional strategy will primarily focus on UK and Irish markets, you'll also have exposure to implementation strategies for other countries.

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For this exciting opportunity you will leverage the following:

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• Strong strategy and implementation experience gained in house, ideally from a similar retail or adjacent organisation.

• Experience of working on sustainability across business functions including procurement, store design, operations, facilities management, and logistics.

• Robust project management skillset, capacity to track multiple workstreams across a variety of topics.

• Collaborative approach, valuing collective intelligence and decision-making in cooperation with sustainability colleagues from other Regions and Divisions;

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, allowing for successful development, engagement and management of a diverse internal and external network.

• At ease with external representing a multi-national company on sensitive topics.

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This is a fantastic opportunity to develop and own the regional strategy for an iconic brand on an exciting business transformation journey, with ambitious commitments to sustainability. If this sounds compelling and you have the right skills and experience, please apply below or get in touch with Liam Goldsworthy at liam@acre.com.