Climate / Circularity Specialist

(Full Time, 38 hours per week)

BUSINESS UNIT / DEPARTMENT
The Quality and Sustainability team works within the commercial department and is responsible for our sustainability program (ASP) with a focus on product related themes including sustainable sourcing, supply chain transparency, social compliance, packaging, circularity and climate. As well as ensuring that products perform to Actions standards and legal legislation of its country of operations, product quality performance and specification. 

PURPOSE OF THE JOB

The sustainability specialist is responsible for the strategic direction and policy creation for the different domains within product sustainability such as circularity, packaging, raw material management, human rights management and environmental impact. 

The sustainability specialist will, by creating the strategic direction and setting the targets in which we operate, be leading in supporting/educating/center of excellence for the Buying department to “make future proof decisions” and ensure Action maintains its future right to operate in multiple countries of operation.  

Since product sustainability is part of the overall ASP strategy and overlaps with other areas within the business, this position will work cross functionally  with other business stakeholders to make sure the results will also significantly contribute to our overall sustainability strategy. 
 

AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Policies & Procedures

• Develop in alignment with, for example, Heads of Buying and Sustainability Manager the strategic direction for the field of expertise within product sustainability based on our overall ASP ambitions, competitor benchmarking and E.U. and country specific legislation.
• Development and implementation of policies that are in line with the strategic direction for the field of expertise within product sustainability (e.g. Circularity and Climate). 
• Knowledge of SBTI target setting for retailers 
• Develop and implement procedures that are in line with the strategic direction for the field of expertise within product sustainability (e.g. raw material management). 
• Aligning the policies and procedure with relevant stakeholders. Such as Heads of Buying, Head of Commercial Operations etc.  
• Develop sustainability ambitions and KPI’s; including product and category roadmap. 

Quality & Control

• Develop and implement dashboard and reports to gain insight in performance and progress in policy and ambition. 
• Regularly report out to key stakeholders on performance and progress related to the targets that have been set for the specific domains of climate and circularity.
• Monitor KPI’s and report on product, category and business sustainability achievements.
• Give expert guidance and has a direct influence on business decisions to insure that buyers are well informed and on track to deliver sustainability targets related to our ASP roadmap.
• Guiding and giving expert guidance to external suppliers to ensure that the policy and ambition of Action is executed and respected. 
• Align, influence and be the ambassador for Action towards NGO’s and external policy influencers (e.g. Governmental institutions). 

Systems & Reporting

• Create, develop and implement systems that are in line with the global approach and definitions of the sustainability initiatives (e.g. Climate/Carbon management). 
• Create insight and trend and data awareness internally and externally.
• Deliver clear circularity requirements into the category in conjunction with buying teams to drive circular category buying strategies. 
• Report insights on category related circularity targets. 
• External disclosures such as but not limited to our Annual Update.
• Collaborate with 3rd parties such as CTI tool, to be able to create useful category insight
• Knowledge of climate tools to drive our scope 3 ambitions.

Professional Development

• Benchmark Action circularity and climate efforts against our competitors 
• Proactively look for improvements and keep up with trends and developments in the market 
• Collaborate with industry experts (such as Ellen MacArthur Foundation) to ensure our circularity strategy is up to date and best in class. 
• Build and maintain network of contacts relevant to the role. 
• Seek new ideas relevant to circularity, driving forward strategically relevant innovations, including material, design and recyclability improvements. As well as other relevant circularity processes 
   

ACTION VALUES

• Customer orientation 
• Cost consciousness
• Teamwork  
• Simplicity
• Respect 
• Discipline

REQUIREMENTS – HARD SKILLS

• Educational level: Completed Bachelor degree, Master-  or Equivalent qualification.
• Has a minimum of 6 years’ experience in the field of sustainability, with a focus on  ideally in retail/manufacturing or product development. 
• Computer literate, MS Office. Preferably advanced Excel skills.
• Fluent in English is essential. Dutch would be advantageous.
   

REQUIREMENTS – SOFT SKILLS

• Commitment and history of putting the customer first and central to everything they do.
• Is cost conscious in everything they do. Deliver true value to the business and customer. 
• Excellent communication skills within technical function, buying, supply base and global offices and ability to work as a team player showing respect, support and discipline. 
• Multi tasked orientated working with tight deadlines while maintaining entrepreneurialism. 
• Project management experience and strong presentation skills.
• Familiar with latest E.U. sustainability legislation
• Ability to work across multiple sourcing models (import, private label, direct).
• Able to analyse data e.g. KPI’s, circularity and climate data to shape future strategy.
• Able to translate data sets into easily digestible information for internal teams.
• Able to manage Blue Sky thinking for newness and project delivery.