Sustainability Manager

Role Purpose:

To drive the development and implementation of SANS sustainability strategies, engage stakeholders to enhance Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts for collaborative progress, and monitor performance to optimize resources and maximize the organization's environmental impact while ensuring long-term resilience and alignment with corporate and societal values, all within established KPIs, budgets, and company policies and procedures.

Key Accountability Areas

Key Activities

Strategic Sustainability Planning

• Develop and lead the implementation of the company's sustainability strategy, aligned with organizational goals.
• Conduct regular assessments of environmental, social, and governance impacts, identifying opportunities for improvements.
• Set and monitor KPIs to track the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives and ensure continuous improvement.
• Create long-term sustainability roadmaps that align with industry standards, regulatory changes, and stakeholder expectations.

Initiatives Planning and Implementation

• Develop detailed plans for specific sustainability initiatives, including clear objectives, timelines, and resource requirements.
• Monitor project progress, ensuring alignment with established criteria and goals.
• Ensure adequate resources (financial, human, technical) are allocated effectively to sustainability initiatives.
• Optimize resource utilization to achieve sustainability goals efficiently.

Stakeholder Engagement & Communication

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders, including operations, finance, HR, and marketing, to drive sustainability objectives across departments.
• Serve as a key point of contact for external stakeholders, such as customers, regulatory bodies, and industry groups, to communicate the company's sustainability vision.
• Prepare and deliver sustainability reports, presentations, and updates to senior management, investors, and other stakeholders.
• Develop and implement employee engagement initiatives to foster a culture of sustainability within the organization.

Monitoring and Reporting

• Monitor the progress of sustainability initiatives, ensuring they meet defined criteria and goals.
• Create comprehensive reports detailing initiative progress and present these findings to leadership.
• Support in detailing project plans, timelines, and budgets for sustainability initiatives.

Innovation and Continuous Improvement

• Identify and explore new technologies, practices, and trends in sustainability that could enhance operational efficiency and sustainability impact.
• Lead pilot programs for sustainable practices and initiatives, tracking their success and potential scalability.
• Manage the identification and evaluation of industry innovations and emerging best practices in sustainability, ensuring their strategic alignment with the company's objectives and goals.
• Collaborate with the R&D team to create or source sustainable materials and methods that support product or service development.

Policies, Processes and Procedures

• Support in monitoring day-to-day activities to ensure compliance with stipulated policies and procedures
• Contribute to the identification of opportunities for continuous improvement of systems and processes taking into account leading practices, changes in business environment, cost reduction and productivity improvement

People Management

• Actively participate in on-the-job training, mentoring and coaching of subordinates
• Provide clear direction, prioritize tasks, assign and delegate responsibility and monitor the workflow
• Promote a high-performance working environment embracing SANS's values.

Knowledge and Experience

• 9 years of experience in sustainability management, ESG roles, environmental management, or a related field.

Education and Certifications

• Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Sustainability, Business Administration, or a related field.