Sustainability Director UK&I in Ipswich

About The Company

OCS UK & Ireland is a leading facilities management company with 50,000+ colleagues and a turnover in excess of £2bn. We deliver innovative, award-winning services within facilities management, hard services, cleaning, security and catering. Our mission is to make people and places the best they can be for our colleagues, customers and the communities we serve. Our commitment to doing business the right way is rooted in our TRUE values - Trust, Respect, Unity, and Empowerment.

About The Role

Role Overview: This role is responsible for developing and delivering a sustainability strategy and programme for the OCS UK & Ireland business that aligns with organisational goals and objectives and complements the overarching OCS Group ESG strategy. The post holder will report at a senior level on progress against strategy, influence decision-making on the topic and lead behavioural change in areas of energy, sustainability and environmental management.

Reporting to the Chief Legal & Risk Officer UK & Ireland, the post holder will lead the Sustainability team and will work collaboratively with the Social Value team to ensure organisational awareness of and compliance with ESG related reporting (and other) obligations, support work winning teams with the creation of solutions and initiatives to meet the expectations of potential new customers, and support operational teams with the fulfilment of sustainability commitments.

With OCS on a mission to become the world’s best facilities management company it is naturally committed to improving its organisational sustainability performance and to being a responsible operator and employer. The post holder will play a strategically important role in ensuring the right targets are set to drive OCS forward on this journey and will be actively involved in collecting, analysing and reporting on the data necessary to track, shape and communicate progress.

Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for providing strong functional leadership to the Sustainability team, communicating the expectations of the executive leadership in relation to the business objectives, culture, values, attitudes and behaviours and ensuring that operational policies and practices help drive those appropriately insofar as they relate to sustainability topics.
• Monitor and manage delivery against departmental budget.
• Provide advice and support to the Chief Executive Officer UK & Ireland, other members of the executive team and the senior leadership on all sustainability related matters.
• Drive the design of the business’ sustainability strategy and specific plans and actions to achieve agreed strategic sustainability goals, working with internal and external stakeholders to guide and advise actions and behaviours and drafting policies and processes necessary or desirable for business needs.
• Responsible for the monitoring of business performance against sustainability goals/targets and conducting benchmarking of sustainability performance against peers, industry trends and best practices.
• Responsible for the proactive identification of issues, risks, opportunities and trends that may impact the business from a sustainability perspective.
• Responsible for the development, maintenance and execution of regular cadence of sustainability reporting, both internal and external, including contributing to the production of an annual ESG Report (or similar), and other reporting products as needed.
• Drive internal conversations and action around sustainability performance and improvement, producing recommendations on action, policy or behavioural change and working with internal stakeholders to enact these recommendations and develop a cohesive narrative around them.
• Responsible for directing the business to act in compliance with all sustainability related legislation, keeping up with changes in legislation, regulation and industry standards.
• Contribute constructively to decision making, using the skills and experience they possess and those generally expected of a director with a specialty in sustainability and the environment.
• Responsible for the development, maintenance and execution of appropriate disclosure controls and procedures related to sustainability and the inclusion of key sustainability disclosures in regulatory filings.
• Play a leading role in facilitating sustainability reporting to third parties (customers etc).
• Ensure that the Sustainability team supports operational teams with ideas, solutions and information necessary to meet contractual commitments to customers.
• Ensure that the Sustainability team supports the Sales, Client Solutions and other work-winning teams with ideas, solutions and information necessary to respond to bids and tenders.
• Act as the business’ subject matter expert to raise the profile of the business as a sustainability leader and innovative thinking (writing articles and commentary on the topic and speaking at seminars and industry events).
• Develop strong networks with the external sustainability community.

General

• Avoid conflict of interests between personal interests and the interests of the OCS group.
• Exercise independent judgment, reasonable care, skill and diligence when carrying out their duties.
• Act in good faith and promote the long-term success of each company within the OCS group for the benefit of all members and wider stakeholders.
• Adhere to and promote the OCS group’s policies on equality & diversity, information security, health & safety and data protection in the performance of their duties and the management of the departmental function reporting into them.
• Support and promote the OCS group’s sustainability plans and policies, including the Carbon Management Plan, and carryout duties in a resource effective way, recognizing the shared responsibility of minimizing negative environmental impacts wherever possible.
• Ensure actions and behaviours (personal and team) are TRUE Values led.

Qualifications & Skills

Necessary:

• 8+ years of related experience that includes direct experience with sustainability programmes in a corporate environment, including working with reporting frameworks.
• Demonstrable knowledge of Sustainability / ESG frameworks, standards and trends (e.g. TCFD, SBTi).
• Previous experience in senior level Sustainability or ESG roles.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with a proven ability to influence at all levels.
• Previous experience with public speaking and presentations.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Advanced report preparation skills.
• Ability to work under pressure, plan personal workload effectively and delegate appropriately.
• High level of integrity and dependability.

Desirable:

• Applicants with qualifications in Sustainability/ESG are strongly preferred – this may not be to degree level but could be a postgraduate or other qualification in an environmental or sustainability (or similar) related topic.
• Existing reputation as a Sustainability or ESG subject matter expert with published articles and/or a history of delivering talks, seminars, training etc on the topic.
• Demonstrable knowledge of the Facilities Management industry.

Core Expectations

• Show flexibility in working arrangements to ensure that a high level of service is delivered.
• Self-motivated and able to work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Have a positive and focused attitude when dealing with all colleagues.
• Be able to take personal responsibility.
• Be keen to continuously improve own learning and development.
• Support and embed the OCS TRUE Values.

How to Apply:

You are invited to apply by clicking apply and registering your interest. You can also sign up to our job alerts when registering which will notify you when other suitable vacancies are available. We are an equal opportunities employer and rely on a diverse workforce with a broad range of knowledge, skills, and backgrounds to deliver our goals. We offer an inclusive and welcoming environment and actively encourage applications from all individuals regardless of race, gender, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or age.