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 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

• Functional leadership of the Sustainability team, communicating executive expectations related to business objectives, culture, values, attitudes and behaviours, and ensuring that policies and practices 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 design of the business’ sustainability strategy and specific plans to achieve agreed goals, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders and drafting policies and processes as needed.
• Monitor business performance against sustainability goals/targets and benchmark against peers, industry trends and best practices.
• Identify issues, risks, opportunities and trends that may impact the business from a sustainability perspective.
• Develop, maintain and execute regular cadence of sustainability reporting, including contributing to an annual ESG Report (or similar) and other reporting products as needed.
• Facilitate action around sustainability performance, producing recommendations and enacting changes with internal stakeholders to develop a cohesive narrative.
• Ensure compliance with sustainability related legislation and keep up with changes in legislation, regulation and industry standards.
• Contribute to decision making as a director with a specialty in sustainability and the environment.
• Develop and execute disclosure controls and procedures related to sustainability and inclusion of key disclosures in regulatory filings.
• Lead sustainability reporting to third parties (customers etc).
• Ensure the Sustainability team supports operational teams with ideas and information to meet contractual commitments to customers.
• Support Sales, Client Solutions and other work-winning teams with ideas and information for bids and tenders.
• Act as the business’ subject matter expert to raise the profile of the business as a sustainability leader, including writing articles, commentary and speaking at 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 in 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 performance of duties.
• Support and promote the OCS group’s sustainability plans and policies, including the Carbon Management Plan, and conduct duties efficiently with shared responsibility for minimizing environmental impacts.
• Ensure actions and behaviours (personal and team) are TRUE Values led.

Qualifications & Skills Necessary

• 8+ years of related experience including 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 the ability to influence at all levels.
• 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

• Qualifications in Sustainability/ESG are strongly preferred; postgraduate or other qualification in environmental or sustainability related topic.
• Reputation as a Sustainability/ESG subject matter expert with published articles or speaking engagements.
• Demonstrable knowledge of the Facilities Management industry.

Core Expectations

• Show flexibility in working arrangements to ensure 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 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

If you are interested in joining a business that encourages professional development, career progression and the chance to work with inspirational people then please click apply and register 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.