Sustainability Operations Director

UK or East Coast US (any site or flexible arrangements considered)

2 years’ fixed term contract (with the possibility to go permanent)

Are you energized by a global sustainability leadership role that requires strategic thinking, driving real change and extensive internal and external engagement? If so, this Sustainability Operations Director role for GSK could be an exciting opportunity for you to explore.

GSK has announced new ambitious environmental sustainability goals to have a net zero impact on climate and a net positive impact on nature by 2030 across our entire end to end value chain.

As our Sustainability Operations Director you will lead, design, innovate and ensure implementation across our global sites and facilities towards our net zero and net nature positive goals. You will champion sustainability programmes and projects across a range of stakeholders both internally and externally, delivering performance and positive change which can be verified according to recognised standards as part of the wider Trust agenda and ESG framework. You will act as a recognised expert and leader in sustainability implementation across global business operations, setting strategic direction and standards for the company to comply with, including decarbonisation, employee engagement programmes, financial mechanisms to drive sustainability cases and able to influence at senior levels.

You would inspire, motivate and empower others, building a high-performance culture leading and supporting transformational change in our functions and business units globally and be part of our highly collaborative culture. As a member of the core central sustainability team and reporting directly to the VP Sustainability, you will a key contributor to strategic development of GSK’s environmental sustainability journey.

Why you? 

To be successful in this business-critical role you will require:

• Minimum 5-7+ years’ experience in leading and implementing sustainability change within multinational business and matrix organisations, particularly within regulated manufacturing environment.
• Proven track record of designing and hands-on implementing Sustainability strategy and change management projects on a global scale.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the proven ability to lead workshops, webinars and build capability across teams.
• Comprehensive understanding of concepts and principles of sustainability within an operational context, such as process improvements, transformation and customer added value particularly delivering results in carbon, water, waste (materials) and biodiversity impacts at site/business unit level
• Knowledge and experience of working to ISO 50001, ISO 14001, Science Based Targets, RE100, EV100, CDP, TCFD. Greenhouse gas protocols and GRI as a minimum, with knowledge of the WEF guidance and other sustainability indices as advantageous
• Experience delivering assurance for climate and other environmental related risk assessments in compliance with externally audited standards or certifications.
• Experience in developing life-cycle assessments for products and services, particularly in carbon but other full LCA assessments an advantage
• Leadership experience of cross functional teams without direct line management in a complex, global matrix business
• Proven expertise as a subject matter expert across a broad range of initiatives relating to environmental sustainability and wider ESG, particularity for business
• Strategic thinking and significant experience operating and influencing at senior levels (VP, SVP and C-Suite)
• Ability to prioritise activities and lead positive transformation change across a complex set of programmes including employee engagement, influencing financial mechanisms to facilitate change such as carbon pricing, leading innovation for new technologies and approaches to deliver environmental reductions across our operational footprint.

Why GSK? 

We are a FTSE100 Science-Led Healthcare Company. We research, develop and manufacture a broad range of innovative medicines and vaccines. Our purpose is to help people do more, feel better and live longer. Realising our purpose starts with us. When we feel at our best, we perform at our best. 

When you set out on your adventure at GSK, we make a deal. You commit to living GSK's values and expectations and performing against our Innovation, Performance and Trust priorities. And in return, GSK commits to providing the right environment for you to thrive. Put simply, it’s about you being motivated to do your best work, in a place where you can be you, feel good and keep growing.  

Together we build an environment where we can all thrive and focus on what matters most to each of us. It is only through the energy, dedication, drive and passion of all of us that we can be the very best for GSK, and importantly, for our patients and consumers.  

When applying for this role, please use the ‘cover letter’ of the online application or your CV to describe how you meet the competencies for this role, as outlined in the job requirements above. The information that you have provided in your cover letter and CV will be used to assess your application. 

During the course of your application you will be requested to complete voluntary information which will be used in monitoring the effectiveness of our equality and diversity policies. Your information will be treated as confidential and will not be used in any part of the selection process. If you require a reasonable adjustment to the application / selection process to enable you to demonstrate your ability to perform the job requirements please contact 0808 234 4391. This will help us to understand any modifications we may need to make to support you throughout our selection process.

As a company driven by our values of Patient focus, Transparency, Respect and Integrity, we know inclusion and diversity are essential for us to be able to succeed. We want all our colleagues to thrive at GSK bringing their unique experiences, ensuring they feel good and to keep growing their careers. As a candidate for a role, we want you to feel the same way.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we are open to all talent. In the US, we also adhere to Affirmative Action principles. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race/ethnicity, colour, national origin, religion, gender, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, disability, genetic information, military service, covered/protected veteran status or any other federal, state or local protected class*(*US only).

We believe in an agile working culture for all our roles. If flexibility is important to you, we encourage you to explore with our hiring team what the opportunities are.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you’d like to discuss any adjustments to our process which might help you demonstrate your strengths and capabilities. You can either call us on 0808 234 4391, or send an email ukdiversity.recruitment@gsk.com

As you apply, we will ask you to share some personal information which is entirely voluntary. We want to have an opportunity to consider a diverse pool of qualified candidates and this information will assist us in meeting that objective and in understanding how well we are doing against our inclusion and diversity ambitions. We would really appreciate it if you could take a few moments to complete it. Rest assured, Hiring Managers do not have access to this information and we will treat your information confidentially.

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