Head of Sustainability and Social Responsibility

The Heineken Company; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 900 000 - 1 200 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading beverage company in Johannesburg seeks a Head of Sustainability and Social Responsibility to manage its sustainability strategy and drive initiatives under Brew a Better World. The role includes overseeing compliance, fostering partnerships for responsible consumption, and leading community development programs. Candidates should have a postgraduate degree and at least 15 years of experience in sustainability management, particularly within the FMCG sector. This position involves significant stakeholder engagement and budget management.

Qualifications

• At least 15 years proven track record in sustainability strategy management.
• Understanding of South Africa’s legislation regarding sustainability.
• Experience in managing community impact Trusts.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the implementation of the sustainability agenda across the business.
• Manage and report on sustainability initiatives to ensure compliance.
• Drive community initiatives on recycling and water balancing.

Skills

Communication skills

Project Management

Critical thinking

Relationship management

Education

Post Graduate degree in Social Sciences or equivalent

Job description

Job Title: Head of Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Location: Gauteng, Johannesburg

Deadline: January 16, 2026

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Purpose

• The Head of Sustainability and Social Responsibility is tasked with managing HEINEKEN beverages' sustainability strategy known as Brew a Better World (BaBW).
• The role involves overseeing the implementation of the initiatives under BaBW throughout the company, focusing on our environmental, social, responsibility and locally the BBB-EE commitments.
• The role also involves reporting and communicating HEINEKEN Beverages’ progress on its BaBW programs, seeking shared value partnerships with key stakeholders and ensuring compliance to applicable sustainability & responsibility legislation.

Key Responsibilities

Drive HEINEKEN Beverages sustainability strategy

• Manage and oversee the implementation of the sustainability agenda across the business and support the orchestration of the BaBW strategy across different functions.
• Drive awareness across the business on HEINEKEN Beverages BABW programmes, targets and progress.
• Support Supply Chain to develop roadmap and action plans to achieve HEINEKEN Beverages targets on water balancing / replenishment.
• Represent HEINEKEN beverages on strategic partnership platforms including industry associations on sustainability and policy forums.
• Lead and oversee implementation of community initiatives on recycling and water balancing.
• Position HEINEKEN beverages as a key contributor of best practice and a thought leader on key sustainability topics such as Net Zero Carbon, Water Stewardship, amongst others.
• Work with the communications team to bring our BaBW stories to life for internal and external stakeholders with inspiring and impactful communications.
• Being a focal point from CA to work closely with supply chain (SC) and legal regarding new regulation updates and/or amendment of environmental law / regulations.
• Be the custodian of the Brew a Better World eco‑system, governance and reporting framework including the sustainability council, Social and Ethics Committee, Board, and other shareholders.

Champion partnerships to promote responsible alcohol consumption

• Identify opportunities for collaboration with key stakeholders, including government entities, for effective delivery of HEINEKEN's responsibility programs.
• Develop collaborations with industry partners such as Aware.org to advocate responsible consumption initiatives and implement harm reduction initiatives.
• Convene the HEINEKEN Beverages alcohol responsibility forum to prioritize the harm reduction mandate for the business and management team.
• Serve as a custodian of the employee responsible consumption policy and facilitate training sessions for all employees.
• Draft position statements for HEINEKEN Beverages concerning pertinent alcohol issues in cooperation with the regulatory function.

Drive HEINEKEN Beverages’ social responsibility strategy

• Develop social impact programmes for HEINEKEN Beverages, aligned to the HEINEKEN global social impact strategy and the country’s economic transformation agenda.
• Oversee the execution of social responsibility initiatives throughout the business, ensuring CSI / CSR ambassadors are adequately trained.
• Position HEINEKEN Beverages as a key contributor to best practices and a thought leader in active citizenship, shared value, and social responsibility.
• Foster positive relationships with communities, especially those near our operations, through meaningful community development programmes that align with the national development agenda.

Manage strategy relationship with Makwande Trust including strategy development

• Lead the repositioning of Makwande Trust to be aligned with HEINEKEN Beverages social impact mandate, and to deliver equity to the HEINEKEN Beverage brand.
• Co‑shape the strategy of Makwande Trust, and delivery thereof including partnerships with implementing partners.
• Oversee the investment strategy of the Trust to ensure long‑term financial sustainability of the Trust.
• Provide administrative support to the Makwane Trust, including line management of the Chief Executive Officer of the Trust, as well as serving as a Board Trustee.

Lead Implementation of HEINEKEN Beverages Black Economic Empowerment Strategy

• Develop HEINEKEN Beverages B‑BBEE strategy in partnership with other relevant departments and design an eco‑system for the B‑BBEE strategy to be implemented in an integrated manner, with coordinated reporting.
• Design and implement a reporting system for tracking B‑BBEE initiatives and train all internal stakeholders on B‑BBEE strategy and use of the reporting system.
• Oversee B‑BBEE audits and ensure HEINEKEN Beverages B‑BBEE rating is on par with competitors in our industry, or higher.
• Implement ways of working, and partnership accord between HEINEKEN Beverages and the BBB‑EE empowerment Trusts.
• Provide support to HEINEKEN Beverages employee share ownership scheme to ensure compliance with B‑BBEE codes of good practice and reporting.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting

• Track, monitor and report on progress of BaBW initiatives.
• Commission impact assessments on flagship social impact and alcohol responsibility programmes.
• Provide strategic inputs and verified data for the annual sustainability report including the Public Interest Commitment report to the Competition Commission.
• Amplify impact of sustainability programmes—internally and externally—and ensure impact stories anchor the corporate brand key messages and communicate to stakeholders.
• Prepare reports for the Social and Ethics Committee and other relevant internal committees on sustainability, social impact, and public interest commitments.

Shared Accountabilities

• Collaboration and alignment with Supply chain on environmental sustainability programmes, targets, and reporting.
• Collaborate with regulatory and stakeholder engagement portfolio on HEINEKEN Beverages Sustainability & Responsibility agenda and programmes.
• Partner with HR, Procurement and Supply Chain on delivery of B‑BBEE strategy and targets.
• Align with MT and global stakeholders on HEINEKEN Beverages sustainability targets and plans.
• Align with internal stakeholders on ways of working and accountability matrix.

Budget responsibilities and global reporting

• Manage the budget for the portfolio.
• Contribute to HEINEKEN Beverages cost‑conscious mindset and cost‑saving initiatives.

People Management role

• Manage five (5) direct and indirect reports:
• Social Responsibility Manager
• Social Responsibility Coordinator
• B‑BBEE Specialist and sustainability coordinator
• Sustainability Projects Manager
• Enterprise & Supplier Development Manager

Education & Experience

• Post Graduate degree in Social Sciences, Policy, Development, Business management or equivalent.
• At least 15 years proven track record in developing, driving, and implementing sustainability strategy in large corporations / FMCG /, including managing community impact Trusts.
• Understanding of South Africa’s socio‑economic context and legislation relating to sustainability, social impact and alcohol responsibility.

Functional Competencies

• Communication skills—writing, editing and presentation.
• Understanding of the SA Socio Economic context, environmental legislation and B‑BBEE.
• Project Management, monitoring, evaluation and reporting.
• Critical thinking & problem solving.
• Relationship and partnership management.
• Strategic / action orientation, self‑driven and innovative.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks and assess priorities.
• Research and strategy development.
• Data analytics.
• Administrative / Management jobs.