Global Sustainability Director, Mars Science & Diagnostics

Base salary pay range: $145,500-$218,000

Sustainability is critical to delivering on the Mars Petcare purpose, driving growth, and maintaining the Segment and Divisions' license to operate around the world. As Science & Diagnostics (SDx) seeks to grow its diagnostics business globally, robust Sustainability initiatives and governance need to be developed and delivered by teams across a range of functions and geographies with strong support from senior management. This work is an essential part of the Mars Inc. Sustainable in a Generation Plan.

The Global Sustainability Dir for SDx is responsible for substantive Sustainability program management, operations & governance, strategic leadership and special initiatives. As SDx aims to grow and embed Sustainability at the core of its business, this vital leadership role will leverage extensive expertise in Sustainability management and technical areas, rely on experience managing complex topics and successfully navigating ambiguity and delivering results, and serve as an effective leader of this critically important topic area with the SDx LT, Petcare leaders, and globally across Mars and externally. Success will require as much capability in ‘top-down’ strategic leadership and management as ‘bottom-up’ results orientation, program oversight, and performance delivery.

Reporting into the Corporate Affairs function, and a member of the Petcare Sustainability Working Group (Petcare Sustainability VP’s dotted-line LT), this role has responsibility for collaborating with key Functional and Regional leaders to effectively structure, plan, govern, and guide the successful deployment and delivery of the cross-functional, cross-regional Sustainability plan.

Responsibilities include ensuring progress and performance against critical milestones and KPIs, escalation and management of issues that threaten progress, effective mobilization, engagement and upskilling of the key experts and leaders required to deliver success.

What are we looking for?

• Must have a minimum of 8-10 years experience in Management Strategy or Consultancy, Strategic Initiatives, Corporate Affairs, Sustainability or Project Management
• Bachelor's degree preferred
• Deeply passionate about sustainability and the value it can bring to the planet, people, pets and to Mars
• Substantive experience delivering Sustainability programs for Mars or another external organization
• Excellence in development and delivery of presentations for executive audiences, with ability to distill and effectively communicate highly complex information to leaders
• Strong quantitative analysis skills – excellence in overseeing the tracking, reporting, and analyzing and interpreting of a wide range of technical data and systems with precision
• Excellent written & verbal English language skills
• Strong inter-personal skills and demonstrated great line management, effective at building strong collaborative relationships with a wide range of colleagues across functions and cultures, taking a team and partnership approach to success
• Previous experience addressing and/or managing a wide range of complex business and/or sustainability issues in or with a global CPG business
• Quick to learn, highly detail oriented, and hardworking

What will be your key responsibilities?

Performance, Operations & Governance

• Establish SDx Sustainability Steer Co (sub-set of LT, meets quarterly).
• Serving as a SDx representative to the global Petcare Sustainability Leadership Team.
• Responsible for the review and approval of Annual and Quarterly sustainability performance reports, Investment status updates, and ensuring the integration of Sustainability into all relevant governance processes and routines.
• Additionally, engaging on a period basis with the SDx LT regarding Sustainability, and with individual LT members on a routine basis as needed to ensure effective program delivery.
• Responsible for organizing, administering, and effectively managing SDx’s various sustainability teams/forums across all environmental and social aspects of the Sustainable in a Generation plan and Mars Petcare Sustainability Roadmap, ensuring effective program oversight, issue escalation, and strong alignment to underpin successful program deployment. Leading effective escalation and resolution of key issues as needed.

Strategy & Special Initiatives

• Responsible for leading periodic strategic reviews of SDx’s sustainability strategy, plans, goals and targets – including ensuring that KPIs, reporting and management approaches are fit-for-purpose to drive results and also integrating emerging trends, new best practice insights and innovation & technology into our work.
• Ensures programs account for Associate education and engagement and cover the relevant pillar in the Petcare Roadmap
• Responsibility for leading special initiatives as needed to advance SDx’s sustainability programs in a range of areas, including breakthrough new research, organizing convenings of experts or key stakeholders, deep analysis of key components of current or future potential programs, etc.

What can you expect from Mars?

• Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
• An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.
• Work with over 130,000 diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.
• Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.