Environmental & Sustainability Lead

EMEA Recruitment; Noord-Brabant; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

EMEA Recruitment has partnered with an international industrial business to recruit an Environment & Sustainability Lead. This senior, full-time on-site role will shape environmental direction across multiple sites while managing governance and risk.

The role requires English fluency with Dutch/French/German advantageous and involves extensive travel across sites, particularly in the first 6–12 months. Location options include the Netherlands, France, Belgium, or Germany.

Qualifications

• 10+ years' environmental experience in metals, mining, chemicals or another complex, highly regulated industrial environment.
• Regional or multi-site responsibility with experience shaping environmental strategy, standards and improvement programmes.
• Strong knowledge of air, water and soil emissions, environmental risk, waste and biodiversity.
• Hands-on CSRD/ESRS reporting, environmental data governance, external assurance and audit preparation.
• Master's degree in Environmental Science/Environmental Engineering/Chemistry; ISO 14001/auditing credentials advantageous.
• Fluency in English; Dutch, French or German advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Develop and embed environmental strategy, policies and governance across an international portfolio of operations.
• Drive improvements across air emissions, water, soil, waste, resource efficiency, circularity and biodiversity.
• Provide oversight of environmental risks, incidents and corrective programmes, ensuring lessons and improvements are shared across sites.
• Partner with operational leaders to integrate environmental considerations into site strategy, investment decisions and day-to-day performance.
• Lead environmental reporting and assurance activities, including data quality and readiness for CSRD/ESRS requirements.
• Build effective relationships with regulatory authorities, external assurance partners and other key internal and external stakeholders.
• Strengthen capability across the organization through benchmarking, knowledge sharing, training and support to regional and site-based teams.

Skills

Environmental strategy

Regulatory knowledge

CSRD/ESRS reporting

Data governance

Stakeholder management

Multi-site leadership

English fluency

Education

Master's degree in Environmental Science/Engineering/Chemistry

Job description

EMEA Recruitment has exclusively partnered with an international industrial business in its search for an Environment & Sustainability Lead.

This senior role combines strategic leadership with operational influence, shaping environmental direction across multiple sites while strengthening governance, managing risk and driving long-term improvement.

Please note, this role can be based in the Netherlands, France, Belgium or Germany. It requires extensive travel across sites, particularly during the first 6-12 months. This is a full-time, on-site role.

Key responsibilities of the Environmental & Sustainability Lead:

• Develop and embed environmental strategy, policies and governance across an international portfolio of operations
• Drive improvements across air emissions, water, soil, waste, resource efficiency, circularity and biodiversity
• Provide oversight of environmental risks, incidents and corrective programmes, ensuring lessons and improvements are shared across sites
• Partner with operational leaders to integrate environmental considerations into site strategy, investment decisions and day-to-day performance
• Lead environmental reporting and assurance activities, including data quality and readiness for CSRD/ESRS requirements
• Build effective relationships with regulatory authorities, external assurance partners and other key internal and external stakeholders
• Strengthen capability across the organization through benchmarking, knowledge sharing, training and support to regional and site-based teams

Experience required:

• 10+ years' environmental experience within metals, mining, chemicals or another complex, highly regulated industrial environment
• Proven regional, group or multi-site responsibility, with experience shaping environmental strategy, standards and improvement programmes
• Strong technical knowledge across air, water and soil emissions, environmental risk, waste and biodiversity
• Strong understanding of European environmental legislation and regulatory frameworks, including experience within IED, Seveso or similarly regulated operations
• Hands-on experience with CSRD/ESRS reporting, environmental data governance, external assurance and audit preparation
• Master's degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Chemistry or a related discipline; ISO 14001/auditing credentials are advantageous
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with experience engaging senior leadership, operational teams and environmental regulators
• Fluency in English, with Dutch, French or German advantageous

EMEA Recruitment is committed to promoting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the workplace. We act as a neutral third party in the recruitment process, basing our candidate searches on skills and experience. We welcome all applications regardless of age, gender, sex, relationship status, disability, race, religion/beliefs, or sexual orientation.