Sr. Supplier Climate Program Manager

Job Description

Job Title: Sr. Supplier Climate Program Manager

Department: Procurement Sustainability – Climate

Location: Mumbai, India.

ABOUT UNILEVER:

With 3.4 billion people in over 190 countries using our products every day, Unilever is a business that makes a real impact on the world. Work on brands that are loved and improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us. We are driven by our purpose: to make sustainable living commonplace, and it is our belief that doing business the right way that drives performance. At the heart of what we do is our people – we believe that when our people work with purpose, we will create a better business and a better world. At Unilever, your career will be a unique journey, grounded in our collaborative, and flexible working environment. We don’t believe in the ‘one size fits all’ approach and instead we will equip you with the tools you need to shape your own future.

ABOUT PROCUREMENT:

 Part of the Global Business Operation family, Procurement is accountable for over 30B Euro of material and services spend globally with more than 60,000 suppliers, over half of them in MBS. Getting the right services and materials, sustainably sourced and ensuring responsible procurement is critical to ensuring our brands with purpose grow. Our teams work closely with the business to understand stakeholders needs, bring innovation to meet changing consumer, employee and customer needs, and drive financial value for Unilever through competitive buying. We’re at the forefront of digital procurement, bringing new tools and analytics to drive data-based decisions.

Context and Job Purpose:

The Sr. Supplier Climate Program (SCP) manager, within the Procurement Sustainability Climate Team, is a critical role in supporting our commitment to reaching -40% CO2 (industrial & energy) emissions and -30% CO2 (forest, land & agriculture emissions) in our Scope 3 value chain by 2030.

The SCP program is the biggest lever in driving decarbonization for UL. It has established a good foundation with the engagement of TOP300 suppliers, and close to 200 delivering on the program ask to establish a CO2 baseline, set a target, and provide Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data.

The program has now reached a tipping point and will become integrated into procurement and business group priorities and processes (e.g., budget forecasts, contractual clauses, etc.). This will enable more granular engagement with suppliers, further embed climate into the procurement commercial infrastructure, and drive the delivery of concrete CO2-reduction action plans and deployment of decarbonization solutions with suppliers to accelerate impact.

For 12 priority portfolios, we will evolve towards granular costed portfolio-level decarbonization roadmaps and bring in contracted commitments.

Distinct enabling internal & external partners with specific capabilities are supporting the program: GHG measurement & accounting, emission factor management, PCF validation, technical (engineering) advisory, climate capability-building, co-financing…

This role is the strategic lead of the SCP program, setting the direction, targets, infrastructure, capabilities, with team leadership to drive delivery and measure and report progress on implementation.

Key accountabilities

• Set strategic program direction and targets for the Supplier Climate Programme
• Define roadmaps, plans and objectives for delivery
• Monitor and track performance
• Coordinate and engage Net Zero procurement squad (internal procurement stakeholders and enabling functions)
• Select and manage external implementation partners (briefing, performance monitoring, learn & adapt).  Manage the budget.
• Provide appropriate technical delivery support (engineering capabilities to support supplier’s decarbonization)
• Measure, track, and report progress at regular intervals
• Represent SCP on external events, and panels when appropriate
• Develop a capability-building approach for the internal buyers community to integrate Climate as a distinct procurement capability and target.
• Establish knowledge transfer solutions to support suppliers (eg. Energy/utilities procurement & green technology)
• Streamline the PCF data collection process with suppliers, verification, and reporting (with external partner) and establish global PCF standard with PACT.
• Structure supplier's financing needs and establish a process estimate location/supplier-specific costs and provide concrete value propositions that make commercial sense.
• Evaluate the relevance and possibly establish an external PMO to run & track the implementation of decarbonization projects with suppliers.

Professional skills

ESSENTIAL

• Expert knowledge and demonstrated interest in climate change mitigation.
• Excellent apprehension and track record of Scope 3 decarbonization and procurement / supplier engagement. 
• Proficiency in program management, strategic analysis and implementation (results-oriented)
• Working knowledge of product carbon footprint (PCF), LCA, and sustainability standards (ex. PACT)
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, capacity to convey complex concepts in a simple way to diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams including Procurement, and adapt to a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Attention to detail and a commitment to producing accurate and reliable deliverables.
• High level of self-leadership, reliability, autonomy, a starter-finisher.

Experience required

• Bachelor's degree in environmental science, engineering, sustainability, climate studies, or a related field. Master's degree is preferred.
• 8-10 years of relevant work experience in supplier engagement or procurement sustainability
• Experience with Scope 3 decarbonization.
• Knowledge of relevant standards and methodologies, such as the GHG Protocol and SBTi standards.
• Familiarity with the FMCG industry and its sustainability challenges is advantageous

D&I statement:

Equal Opportunity Employer: Unilever is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, or any other basis protected by applicable law, and will not be discriminated against based on disability. Unilever embraces diversity and encourages applicants from all walks of life. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity.