Description

Job Title: Head of Sustainability

Location: London & Holkham, North Norfolk

Reporting To: Chief Product Officer

Who we are

At Monica Vinader, we're on a mission to prove that buying better, wearing longer and doing better don't have to be mutually exclusive. From our commitment to making the most sustainable jewellery we can using precious materials, to the timeless style and endless versatility of our pieces, we are driven to making everyday fine jewellery accessible and affordable.

And don't just take our word for it, we are proud to be recognised in the industry through recent awards:

• Ethical Jewellery Business of the Year 2021, Retail Jeweller

• Queen's Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development 2022

• Responsible Luxury Business of the Year 2023 & 2022, Positive Luxury

• Best Sustainable Luxury Jewellery Brand 2022, Marie Claire UK

We are digital first, omni-channel, customer obsessed, female led and inclusive, focused on creating meaningful relationships with our community, who we owe our success to. We are looking for someone special to join our team to help us make luxury something we can all enjoy everyday.

Where we need your help

We have all the makings of an iconic brand - beautiful products that are timeless and designed to last, service that exceeds our customers expectations, a passionate founder that cares deeply about doing what is right and a loyal and growing community who advocate for us.

As part of the New Product Development (NPD) team, the Head of Sustainability is an exciting opportunity to join our fast paced, energetic business, to help us continue with our ambitious development and growth plans, and with our mission to accelerate sustainable change across the jewellery industry.

The Head of Sustainability, reporting into the Chief Product Officer, and managing the Sustainability Manager, will work across the business to lead the overall sustainability strategy, setting and working to an ambitious roadmap and leading ambitious improvement and change to achieve our mission to trailblaze the way with sustainable change in the industry. They will lead the Sustainability Team to oversee our policies and practices to ensure that the sustainability perspective is embedded in all that we do. They will work to manage the overall critical path of delivery, manage external relationships, follow changing legislation and will work against clear defined KPIs and targets. This will be done with pace and with excellence.

This is a role based between London, Norfolk and remote working, with a requirement to be in both the Holkham and London office for 3 days per week.

What you'll do

The Head of Sustainability will work with managers, employees, customers, and the board to address the organisation's approach to environmental & social responsibility with the goal to minimise the company's impact.

Overall Strategy & Roadmap

• Oversees the overall execution, mission, and output of the sustainability program and department.

• Define the overall ESG strategy, in collaboration with the Chief Product Officer, and aligned to our mission: 'We want to accelerate change across the jewellery industry with targets aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals'. Manage associated resources to deliver to this.

• Define roadmap targets, validate and align key priorities

Leading change

• Proposes and implements strategies to address various environmental concerns including energy use, biodiversity, carbon emissions.

• Aligned with our People & Culture Team, proposes and implements strategies to address various social topics, including Human Rights, the EDI agenda, and gender equality.

• Work closely with the supply team to drive an ambitious transparency & traceability agenda, and associated validation & due diligence within the supply chain.

• Manage the internal critical path of continual improvement progress. This requires tight cross functional work across internal departments.

• Understand and manage the business obligations which ensure compliance vs the areas we want to drive and accelerate environmental & social change.

Research

• Conducts research to identify environmental, social and sustainability concerns, interests, and issues, and works internally to propose and manage these topical projects.

• Researches best practice, keeps abreast of sustainability leading brands & initiatives

• Takes an active role to participate within forums which are designed to instigate collective learning & change

Governance, Legislation & Reporting

• Maintains current working knowledge of, and ensures compliance with, all applicable environmental & social laws and regulations.

• Manages a critical path of audits & associated continuous improvement against these.

Communications

• Works with Brand Marketing and external partners to maximise external communications to our customer base, with transparent sharing of information, validated data and clarity.

• Works with internal stakeholders to drive clear internal sustainability communication, ensuring robust training programmes in place, and that the business is kept up to date with evolving updates and equally take responsibility to drive a localised sustainability strategy within teams.

External Relationships

• Manages relationships with external parties to ensure clear, defined and transparent ways of working

Budget

• Develops and maintains appropriate documentation and records including budgets and other financials.

As a People Manager

• Coach and develop your direct report(s) to deliver their role to the best of their ability

• Maintain a foundational understanding of company policies that affect your team, including any team members in other territories or business divisions, and ensure those policies are applied fairly and consistently

• Recognise and celebrate successes

• Manage your team's performance, attendance and any incidents that arise

• Support your team in prioritising their wellbeing, providing guidance on workflow management and prioritisation to enable work/life balance

• Lead by example, showcasing the MV behaviours, competencies and values

• Empower your team to make decisions, providing guidance and support and identifying the learning opportunity from our 'test and learn' behaviour

• Collaborate with the People & Culture team for advice on complex or sensitive matters

As a committee member (Green Team, WeBelong)

• Attend scheduled meetings, contributing and taking accountability for delivery of goals and actions that fall within your remit

• Represent Team MV internally and externally, upholding Company values and behaviours as an Ambassador or representative of your Committee or Group

• Raise awareness of emerging issues, contributing to the success of employee led Committees or functions to deliver against overall Company objectives

• Use additional support (training, membership of external groups and Committees, webinars etc.) to influence improvement, prioritisation and implementation of goals of your Committee or Group

What you'll bring

• Prior experience working within the sustainability arena, ideally having specialised within either the environmental side or social side.

• Leadership skills to efficiently lead the department and manage internal senior stakeholders and the board

• The ability to work in an ambiguous environment, where the answer is not always obvious, and the right questions need to be asked

• Excellent relationship building skills

• Excellent communication and negotiation skills

• Adept at managing multiple priorities and with meticulous attention to detail

• Strong sense of accountability and ownership, sound decision-making and the ability to quickly identify problems and implement solutions.

• The ability to work under pressure in a dynamic environment with the ability to plan and prioritise

• Team player with a collaborative attitude, and strong willingness to learn and progress within the NPD Team

• A passion for getting things done, always willing to offer support and help to others

• You are calm under pressure

• Sound ability of Microsoft Office including Excel

To be successful at Monica Vinader...

• You are a doer

• You're a team player

• You're humble

• You are honest, straightforward, and transparent

• You are a good teacher/mentor (approachable and accessible)

• You want to get your hands dirty

• You solve problems

• You are resilient

• You are flexible

• You are entrepreneurial, smart, and passionate

• If you don't know something, you say so. Then go figure it out quickly

• You love working in a creative environment

• You have a sense of humour

• You are an insatiable learner

Additional Requirements

- Ability to document your authorisation to work in the United Kingdom.

Travel Requirements

Travel between London and Holkham office will be required

Ad-hoc overseas travel

Full UK driving licence required

Our Aims and Values

Our mission is to be the leading accessible luxury brand, by delivering outstanding quality, design and customer service. We are:

Customer Obsessed

Our customers are at the core of everything we do. We will always deliver an outstanding and personal experience to them every time they interact with us, to ensure their ongoing support and loyalty.

Caring

We treat people with respect, as we would want to be treated. We are apolitical and assume good intentions in others. We are open and honest with each other while ensuring we take an empathetic and supportive approach.

Fast Paced

We are passionate about what we do, and we want to reach as many customers as fast as we can. We combine focus with pragmatism and flexibility so that we can move at pace in whichever direction we need to take.

Exceptional

We have a relentless desire to continually learn and improve to ensure our products and approach are exceptional. Our tenacity, high standards and attention to detail give us a competitive advantage.

Commercial

We focus hard on facts and approach things in a logical, rational and analytical way. We challenge each other to make sure we make decisions and take actions that create value for our business and our customers.

Monica Vinader as a global business makes the following inclusive culture pledge:
Our jewellery is for everyone and so is our community. Together, we will continue to implement sustainable changes to ensure that career opportunities and progression are open to all. We commit to celebrating the diverse voices of our employees, partners, and the customers we serve.

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of duties to be performed by the employee. This job description may be altered to reflect the business needs of the company.

Monica Vinader Ltd, Holkham Studios, Longlands, Holkham Park, Wells-next-the-Sea,
Norfolk, NR23 1SH

www.monicavinader.com

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At Monica Vinader, we're on a mission to prove that buying better, wearing longer and doing better don't have to be mutually exclusive. From our commitment to making the most sustainable jewellery we can using precious materials, to the timeless style and endless versatility of our pieces, we are driven to making everyday fine jewellery accessible and affordable. We are digital first, customer obsessed, female led and inclusive, focused on creating meaningful relationships with our community, who we owe our success to. We are looking for someone special to join our team to help us make luxury something we can all enjoy everyday.Further information is available at www.monicavinader.com