General Manager of Standards

The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) is the World's leading standards-setting and certification organisation for the jewellery supply chain. With nearly 1,700 member companies and growing rapidly, the RJC spans the entire supply chain from mine to retail. What unites its members is their shared belief that responsible business, without causing harm to people or the planet, is good business and that this can only be achieved by working together, in partnership with others.

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The RJC has an important role to play as the voice for the industry on its most critical Environmental, Social and Government (ESG) issues, helping to accelerate collective progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

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The RJC is now looking for a General Manager of Standards who will be responsible for the provision of expert technical support, direction, and interpretation of its current and emerging standards. Reporting to the Operations Director, this is a critical appointment that will ensure the highest levels of credibility and relevance of the RJC Standards.

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To be considered for this specialised role, it is likely that you will be a sustainability expert with a track record of setting and interpreting standards. Experience in precious metals or the jewellery industry, such as diamonds, gold, platinum, or silver, would be highly welcomed. Similarly, experience within other commodities with complex supply chain challenges would also be considered.

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As the General Manager of Standards, you will be:

• Leading, overseeing and providing technical expertise, solutions, recommendations, and management on the current and emerging standards of the RJC. This includes interpreting and setting the technical requirements of the standards and their scope.

• Providing swift strategical responses on the RJC's standards in relation to: current and potential implementation challenges; global emerging developments in the industry including legislative changes; current and potential overlapping voluntary standards schemes.

• Constant monitoring of the future standards horizon affecting the RJC's members.

• Working collaboratively with the RJC's working groups, committees, and the standards team to safeguard trust in their current and new standards.

• Proactively seeking opportunities to externally represent the RJC standards, public speaking at relevant conferences, events, industry panels, technical working groups and task forces.

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You will be able to leverage the following experience/ skills in this role:

• Your expertise in the technical development of sustainability standards in a similar role.

• In-depth knowledge of up-to-date industry and sustainability compliance, standards, and certification processes.

• Analytical, evaluation and reporting skills. Ability to identify and anticipate critical regulatory and standards issues.

• Strong leadership skills, with the ability to influence and drives forward the standards agenda of the RJC.

• Direct experience of working within a multi-stakeholder initiative, or experience of multi-stakeholder engagement and project management.

• Experience in precious metals or the jewellery industry, such as diamonds, gold, platinum, or silver, would be highly welcomed. Similarly, experience within other commodities with complex supply chain challenges would also be considered.

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The RJC office is based in Central London, with flexible hybrid working on offer. You will ideally be based in the UK and can commute to London on a weekly basis.

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If you are a sustainability leader with knowledge of standards development and launching industry standards, and are now looking for a role in pushing forward the social and environmental performance of the jewellery and watches industries, this is the perfect challenge for you. Please reach out to Canace Wong at canace.wong@acre.com for more information on the role.