Corporate ESG Manager

Kiwa; Rijswijk; Hybrid; EUR 57,000 - 78,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working (60% on-site, 40%remote

8% holiday allowance

Performance-based bonus

Strong pension scheme

Job summary

Kiwa is seeking a Corporate ESG Manager to strengthen its ESG function and connect regulatory developments with business practice. You will collaborate with the Global Head of ESG and country teams to drive implementation across 35+ countries, shaping policies where needed and ensuring compliance.

You will report to the Global Head of ESG, coordinate with Finance, HR, IT, E&C, Legal and Corporate Communications, and lead initiatives to build Kiwa's ESG capabilities and reporting framework.

Qualifications

• Master or Bachelor degree in a relevant area (Sustainability, Environmental Science, Business Economics, Risk Management, Finance or Law).
• 4–8 years ESG experience close to operating business or in CSRD/ESRS context.
• Solid ESG knowledge with CSRD and GHG reporting principles.
• Hands-on and proactive builder mindset; comfortable shaping incomplete frameworks.
• Strong communication, capable of engaging with executives and country teams.
• Fluent in English; Dutch is a strong advantage.

Responsibilities

• From Strategy into action: translate ESG strategy into concrete steps that add value.
• Materiality & ESG Topics: identify which topics matter most for Kiwa.
• Business Connection: align corporate ESG with country/division activities.
• ESG Community & Country Enablement: train and share knowledge across Kiwa.
• Reporting & Communication: contribute to internal and board reporting and external communications.
• ESG Value Proposition: translate ESG into practical business cases.
• ESG Awareness: promote ESG through Planet Week and internal websites.
• Sparring Partner: support Global Head of ESG in wider agenda.
• Be the knowledge expert: monitor CSRD/CSDDD developments and translate them for the business.

Skills

ESG & business acumen

Hands-on mindset

Communication

Fluent English

Dutch language skills

Location: Netherlands-based

Education

Master or Bachelor in Sustainability / Environmental Science / Business / Risk / Finance / Law

Job description

Ready to create trust and drive progress on a global scale? At Kiwa, we are the trusted partner ensuring quality, safety and sustainability across industries worldwide. Our comprehensive Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) services empower businesses to achieve compliance, enhance performance, and build trust.

Your Role: Building Kiwa's ESG Function, Close to the Business

As Corporate ESG Manager, you help further build Kiwa's corporate ESG function and the ESG community around it, and keep both connected to the business. You follow what happens in ESG regulation and translate it into what it means for Kiwa in practice, you help decide which ESG topics matter most, and you make sure that what is agreed centrally actually works in the divisions and in 35+ countries. Where policies, definitions and ways of working do not exist yet, you help create them.

The corporate ESG team is built around three complementary areas: global ESG leadership and stakeholder engagement, the broader corporate ESG Strategy, Governance and approach including regulatory compliance, and ESG reporting, data and performance management. You report to the Global Head of ESG and support all three areas, with a strong focus on the second and on the ESG reporting in the third, and you act as the content sparring partner and right hand for that role. On reporting, you work side by side with the ESG Data & Reporting Specialist, who reports to the same Global Head: the Specialist owns the data and the production of the reporting, and the two of you work together on the interpretation and the communication.

You work together with the country level ESG coordinators and with management to drive the next steps in the ESG area, focusing on the agreed targets. At the same time you stay aligned with your corporate counterparts in Finance, HR, IT, E&C, Legal and Corporate Communication to drive cross-functional ESG initiatives, and you take part in the ESG Council and the CSRD SteerCo. Kiwa is a decentralized company that grows through acquisition, so not every process, responsibility or dataset is standardized yet. For this role, that is part of the appeal: there is still plenty to build.

Your Key Responsibilities:

• From Strategy into action: Help drive the ESG strategy into concrete, actionable steps that add value and keep Kiwa compliant.
• Materiality & ESG Topics: Contribute to materiality questions and help determine which ESG topics matter most for Kiwa, and where the effort should go.
• Business Connection: Connect corporate ESG activities with what happens in the countries and business divisions, identifying opportunities to align efforts, share knowledge and build on each other's work.
• ESG Community & Country Enablement: Build and support the ESG community across Kiwa by providing training and sharing knowledge, connect local initiatives and best practices to enable cross-country learnings, and support local ESG contacts so they can meet the requirements themselves.
• Reporting & Communication: Contribute to ESG reporting and corporate communication, including internal management reporting, reporting to the Kiwa Board, and the annual Kiwa ESG Impact Report together with Corporate Communications. Align with the ESG Data & Reporting Specialist and other relevant stakeholders to connect the dots into meaningful ESG management information.
• ESG Value Proposition: Contribute to Kiwa's broader ESG value proposition, translating ESG into practical choices and business cases.
• ESG Awareness: Drive ESG awareness across Kiwa, for example by supporting the Planet Week agenda, maintaining and developing the internal ESG website, and providing input to Kiwa’s wider ESG communications.
• Sparring Partner: Act as the content sparring partner and right hand to the Global Head of ESG, and step in on the wider ESG agenda where needed.
• Be the knowledge expert: Follow ESG developments and regulation, including CSRD and CSDDD, interpret what they mean for Kiwa in practical terms, and share that knowledge with the business where relevant.

Your Profile

• Education: Master or Bachelor degree in a relevant area, for example Sustainability, Environmental Science, Business Economics, Risk Management, Finance or Law.
• Experience: About 4 to 8 years of experience in ESG or sustainability, including time spent close to the operating business, in countries, divisions or client-facing work. Hands-on involvement in CSRD or comparable regulation is an advantage.
• ESG & business acumen: Solid understanding of ESG, including CSRD, ESRS and GHG reporting principles, combined with the commercial and operational feel to turn requirements into practical choices and business cases.
• Hands-on and builder's mentality: You are a proactive self-starter who likes doing the work as well as shaping it, are comfortable where frameworks are still incomplete, and would rather write the first version than wait for one.
• Communication: You are proactive and open in the way you communicate, as much at ease with a corporate director as with a country team taking its first steps on ESG. You say what you think, you find it natural to pick up the phone to a colleague in another country, because five minutes of conversation usually beats five emails, and you enjoy getting to a workable answer together.
• Languages: Fluent in English, both speaking and writing. Dutch is a strong advantage, as part of the explanation and coaching internally takes place in Dutch.
• Location: You are based in the Netherlands and are entitled to work here.

What We Offer

• The chance to help further build Kiwa's corporate ESG function together with the Global Head of ESG, in the phase where its shape is still being decided.
• A role that reaches from the corporate center to the country teams in 35+ countries, with room to grow within Kiwa and within the wider family of companies of SHV, our shareholder.
• A gross monthly salary between €5,100 and €6,950 for a full-time appointment, plus 8% holiday allowance and a performance-based bonus. Where you land within this range depends on your knowledge and experience.
• Hybrid working (approximately 60% on-site at the Rijswijk office and 40% remote), 33 paid vacation days and a strong pension scheme.
• The opportunity to work for a purpose-driven company contributing to a safer, more sustainable world.

Smarter Search is our hiring partner for this position and works as part of our team. Questions? Contact Tom Coumans at [phone].