Head of Sustainability

This job is with Whitbread, an inclusive employer and a member of myGwork – the largest global platform for the LGBTQ+ business community. Please do not contact the recruiter directly.

Head of Sustainability - Dunstable/ London

Salary: Competitive Salary + £7K Car allowance + Bonus up to 40%

At Whitbread our industry leading sustainability programme Force for Good it part of our DNA and core to what we do. We are committed to tackling the complex social and environmental challenges we face, today and for the future and to make positive and impactful change.

To date we've raised £22M for Great Ormond Street Hospital, received a Top Employer Award for 13 consecutive years, reduced direct GHG emissions by 52.5% over the last 5 years as we work to becoming Net Zero by 2040, and opened our first hotel last year powered entirely by renewable electricity, but we know where lots of work still do to help us meet our goals.

As Head of Sustainability, you'll be reporting directly into our General Counsel and Executive team to lead and implement our sustainability strategy for our 40,000 team members in UK and Germany and our millions of guests worldwide.

Location:Hybrid role (3 days minimum a week in the office) Based at Whitbread Court, Dunstable, LU5 5XE, and London Holborn (EC1N 2TD)

What you'll do

• Lead, grow and delivery the sustainability strategy for Whitbread, including monitoring operational delivery, setting of targets and supervision of budgets, and creating future proofed long-term roadmap for sustainability.
• Lead and set direction for group sustainability team across UK and Germany on day to-day-day activities and department strategy.
• Responsible for all communication (internal/ external) and reporting on sustainability with an array of stakeholders including guests, employees, shareholder, Non-Government Organisations, media and legislative bodies.
• Ensure clear reporting and communication of sustainability matters through annual sustainability report, investor reporting, press releases and regular business wide internal communications.
• Lead on critical work stream activities (Net Zero, supply chain integrity, food waste reduction) engaging our stakeholders effectively on ESG and sustainability issues, and act as a spokesperson on all sustainability matters.
• Build strong relationships with our Hotel and Restaurant operations team across the business, raising awareness of our of Force for Good programme with front-line team members.

What you'll need

• Previous experience in leading sustainability/ ESG strategy within a Head of Role or senior consultant role, with commercial acumen and drive to deliver large complex strategies.
• A finance related background or discipline would be beneficial to interpret data and influence key business decisions.
• As the sustainability expert for Whitbread, you'll already have expert knowledge on all sustainability issues and themes, tracking the latest developments and monitoring policies to future proof our strategy.
• You will be a natural leader with strong influencing skills with the experience of navigating change programmes through large teams.
• A strategic and innovative thinker who is skilled at developing new approaches.
• An exceptional communicator with the ability to build effective relationships at all levels of the business up to Executive/ Board level and with external contacts - suppliers, legislative bodies and government institutions.
• Able to speak knowledgeably and accurately on current environmental and ethical matters to a range of audiences (expert/ non-expert), engaging people's hearts and minds and making a clear business case for new initiatives.

Why you'll love it here:

• Bonus: An annual Whitbread performance incentive worth up to 40% of base salary
• Car or Car Allowance up to £7,420
• Healthcare: Family BUPA Healthcare
• Up to 10% Matched Pension, 33 Days holiday and Company Share Save Scheme