Senior Sustainability Manager - Leeds

Arla Foods Deutschland GmbH; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading dairy cooperative in the UK is seeking a Senior Sustainability Manager to enhance their commercial sustainability agenda. In this role, you will drive the Arla UK Sustainability Plan, partner with stakeholders, and lead sustainability compliance efforts. Ideal candidates will have extensive experience in FMCG sustainability, possess strong leadership capabilities, and demonstrate project management skills. This position offers flexible hybrid working conditions and competitive salary options.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Flexible hybrid working

26 days holiday + Bank Holidays

Flexible benefits

Strong career development and training

Qualifications

• Several years of experience working with sustainability in the FMCG industry.
• Comfortable operating with senior leaders and navigating complexity.
• Ability to create commitment and followership across teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop and drive the Arla UK Sustainability Plan.
• Create strategic direction for customer sustainability programmes.
• Identify and leverage best practices in sustainability.

Skills

Project management

Stakeholder management

Commercial acumen

Leadership

Job description

Are you passionate about sustainability and ready to make a meaningful impact? Join Arla Foods as Senior Sustainability Manager and help shape a positive future for dairy and the environment by elevating our commercial sustainability agenda across the UK.

How you will make an impact

In this role, you will lift the commercial sustainability agenda in Arla UK to a more strategic level by commercialising opportunities together with customers and key stakeholders. Reporting to the Managing Director of Arla UK, you will act as a sustainability business partner—bridging global ambitions with local plans, driving our internal and external sustainability voice, developing key commercial concepts and solutions, and securing commitment and deployment with UK stakeholders and customers.

• Develop and drive the Arla UK Sustainability Plan.
• Create strategic direction for the FarmAhead customer sustainability programme and secure buy-in and close collaboration with Retail and Foodservice customers.
• Identify and leverage best practices in commercialising sustainability.
• Oversee sustainability positioning across the UK organisation and play a key role in compliance of plans and activities.
• Lead the Sustainability Compliance function (line management of the Sustainability Compliance Lead).

The role sits within Arla UK and collaborates closely with the global sustainability team. You will support internal stakeholders with initiatives, drive sustainability training and engagement across the UK organisation, promote Arla’s reputation for sustainability externally, and represent Arla UK in relevant external forums.

What will make you successful

You are passionate about commercialising sustainability and driven by results and ambition. With a strategic mindset, you demonstrate leadership and engage stakeholders at all levels to bring the right players on board. You excel as a project manager and change agent, creating commitment and followership across teams, stakeholders and senior leaders. You bring several years of experience working with sustainability in the FMCG industry and pair it with solid commercial acumen. Thriving in a matrix setup across markets you understand how to get the best out of it. You are skilled in stakeholder management and comfortable operating with senior leaders, navigating complexity and aligning diverse interests. You may or may not have prior people leadership experience; if not, you are ready to take on this challenge and grow into it. You communicate clearly, build trust quickly and translate global ambitions into concrete local plans that deliver measurable impact.

What we offer

• Competitive salary (discussed at application stage)
• Flexible hybrid working - 3 days per week in the office
• 26 days holiday + Bank Holidays
• Flexible benefits - option to purchase additional holidays, reward gateway scheme with retailer discounts
• Strong career development and training (internal & external)

Would you like to join us?

Please apply as soon as possible as we will process applications on a continuous basis.

Shape the Future of Dairy

Arla is a global leader in the dairy industry, committed to enabling good food choices that make life better, providing people with natural, sustainable nourishment, while taking care at every step to ensure Arla is a choice they can feel good about. If you are looking to shape the future with an ambitious global cooperative that truly cares about your growth, where everyone feels valued and empowered, and collaboration is the core of culture, Arla is a choice you can feel good about.