Senior Sustainability Manager

Senior Sustainability Manager; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid flexible working arrangements

Airport car parking 24/7

Wellness Day (additional leave)

Career development opportunities

Social impact days

Job summary

Melbourne Airport is seeking an experienced Senior Sustainability Manager to lead our Environment & Sustainability agenda and partner with major projects, development, operations and finance to translate strategy into commercially viable outcomes.

You will drive decarbonisation, strengthen ESG reporting, embed sustainability into capital investment and major projects, and influence senior leaders across the business without direct authority.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in sustainability, ESG, climate or infrastructure.
• Experience turning strategy into practical implementations across complex environments.
• Knowledge of climate risk, decarbonisation and reporting frameworks (AASB S2, IFRS S2, TCFD).

Responsibilities

• Lead priority components of Melbourne Airport’s sustainability agenda and drive implementation across the organisation.
• Partner with Major Projects, Development and Operations to embed sustainability into project planning and investment decisions.
• Influence senior stakeholders to achieve practical sustainability outcomes while balancing commercial and operational priorities.
• Lead decarbonisation initiatives including Scope 3 emissions management, climate risk and resilience.
• Oversee sustainability disclosures and ensure data validation and assurance.
• Provide strategic commentary on emerging risks, opportunities and trends.
• Identify opportunities across embodied carbon, circular economy and water efficiency.
• Represent Melbourne Airport with industry, government and external stakeholders.

Skills

Sustainability strategy

Stakeholder engagement

Commercial acumen

Climate risk & reporting

Influence without authority

Education

Tertiary qualification in Sustainability or related field

Job description

We currently have an exciting new opportunity for an experienced and commercially minded Senior Sustainability Manager to join our Environment & Sustainability team at Melbourne Airport.

This is a broad and influential role with the opportunity to help drive Melbourne Airport’s sustainability agenda across the organisation. Working as a senior sustainability subject matter expert and strategic advisor, you will partner with leaders across Major Projects, Development, Operations, Finance and other business areas to turn sustainability strategy into practical, commercially sensible outcomes.

You will play a key role in progressing our climate and decarbonisation priorities, strengthening ESG and climate reporting, embedding sustainability into capital investment and major projects, and helping the business respond to increasing stakeholder, regulatory and shareholder expectations. Just as importantly, you will bring people on the journey — building trusted relationships, influencing without direct authority and finding practical ways to integrate sustainability into how we plan, invest and operate.

Explore how we are thinking big with exciting projects like the Third Runway, state-of-the-art terminals, and thriving business park developments. You can also learn more about life at Melbourne Airport – our culture, values, and what makes us unique at https://www.melbourneairport.com.au/corporate/our-culture-and-values. Join us in shaping the future of aviation as we propel Melbourne Airport towards becoming Australia's favourite Airport destination.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead priority components of Melbourne Airport’s sustainability agenda and drive implementation of sustainability commitments and targets across the organisation.
• Partner with Major Projects, Development and Operations teams to embed sustainability into project planning, design, procurement, investment decisions and delivery.
• Influence senior stakeholders and business leaders to achieve practical sustainability outcomes while balancing commercial, operational and project priorities.
• Lead and support decarbonisation initiatives, including Scope 3 emissions management, climate risk, scenario analysis, resilience and emerging aviation decarbonisation pathways such as sustainable aviation fuel and electrification.
• Oversee sustainability and climate disclosures, including AASB S2 and other reporting frameworks, and ensure sustainability data is appropriately validated, challenged and assured.
• Provide strategic advice on emerging sustainability risks, opportunities and trends, translating complex information into clear, commercially relevant recommendations.
• Identify opportunities across embodied carbon, circular economy, water efficiency, climate resilience, nature-positive outcomes and broader environmental and social sustainability.
• Represent Melbourne Airport with industry, government and external stakeholders and contribute to the continued development of sustainability capability across the business.

The successful candidate will have:

• Significant experience in sustainability, ESG, climate change, infrastructure or a related discipline, ideally within a client-side, asset owner or major infrastructure environment.
• Demonstrated experience taking sustainability strategy through to implementation and influencing outcomes across complex business environments.
• Strong knowledge of climate risk, carbon management, decarbonisation and sustainability reporting, with exposure to frameworks such as AASB S2, IFRS S2, TCFD, NGER, GRESB or equivalent.
• Experience working with major projects, capital investment or complex physical assets, with the ability to balance sustainability outcomes with cost, risk, delivery and operational considerations.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders and work collaboratively across multiple business units without direct authority.
• Commercial judgement and the ability to translate sustainability opportunities and risks into practical business outcomes.
• Strong analytical capability and the confidence to interrogate sustainability data, reporting and assurance rather than simply accept information at face value.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present confidently to senior stakeholders and represent the organisation externally.
• A tertiary qualification in Sustainability, Engineering, Environmental Science or a related discipline.
• Ideally 10+ years’ relevant experience. Aviation experience would be highly regarded but is not essential.

About the Company:

Melbourne Airport (Australia Pacific Airports Corporation) is proud to be one of Australia's premier transport hubs and Victoria's gateway to the world, connecting us to the global marketplace. We are committed to creating connections that matter and enhancing the traveller experience across every aspect of our organisation to deliver our vision of becoming Australia's favourite Airport destination. Currently, in an exciting phase of change, we are delivering rewarding career opportunities, making Melbourne Airport a dynamic and fast-paced place to work for our people.

APAC is a majority Australian-owned private company that also operates Launceston Airport, the tourism gateway to Tasmania and an industry multi-award-winning airport.

Culture and Values:

By joining the team at Melbourne Airport, you will work within a friendly, high-performance culture with a focus on our people and their development.

Our vision is to become Australia's favourite Airport destination and our people are paramount to achieving this success. We provide a supportive environment, with values that encourage all of our employees to Be You, Think Big, Own it and Work Together.

Benefits:

• Free access to Higher State, our state-of-the-art Fitness Club & Wellness Hub at Novotel & ibis Styles Airport hotel.
• Airport car parking 24 hours/365 days a year for both business and personal use
• Hybrid flexible working arrangements
• Airport Holiday, an additional day of leave
• Wellness Day, a further additional day of leave
• Discounted onsite childcare at Creative Garden Early Learning
• Mental health and well-being initiatives, including Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Long-term career and professional development opportunities
• Active social culture and participation in a range of social impact days and activities
• Signature Experiences including an airfield family day
• Access to an employee benefits scheme including access to corporate rates and airport retailer discounts (including SkyBus)

APAC is committed to weaving Diversity into our DNA. We believe that Diversity and Inclusion will help us realise our greatest potential as a company, and maximise the potential of all our team members. We strive to create a culture where our team members understand that each individual is unique and that embracing diversity makes us more flexible, productive, and creative.

APAC provides equal opportunity and advancement in employment regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, cultural background, caring responsibilities, disability or socioeconomic background. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds who share our workplace values of Being You, Thinking Big, Owning It and Working Together.