Manager – Sustainability

WE ARE HIRING: Manager – Sustainability

Location: Narammala, Sri Lanka
Employment Type: Full Time
Industry: Manufacturing / Apparel & Textile Manufacturing

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Manager – Sustainability to lead and oversee sustainability operations, compliance initiatives, environmental performance, and sustainability risk management. The successful candidate will be responsible for driving sustainability excellence across local operations while supporting global sustainability objectives through effective governance, stakeholder engagement, compliance management, and environmental stewardship. This role requires a highly capable sustainability professional who can lead compliance programs, manage sustainability certifications, oversee environmental performance initiatives, and partner with cross-functional teams to strengthen sustainability practices and long-term business resilience.

Key Responsibilities

Compliance, Governance & Risk Management

• Foster a strong compliance culture throughout the organization while promoting employee health, safety, labour rights, and ethical business practices.
• Ensure best-in-class standards in health, safety, environmental, and social compliance.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant health & safety, labour, environmental, and regulatory requirements.
• Monitor legal and regulatory developments and ensure timely implementation across the organization.
• Develop, implement, review, and continuously improve sustainability and compliance policies and procedures.
• Conduct regular factory inspections to identify compliance gaps, business risks, and improvement opportunities.
• Implement corrective actions and monitor effectiveness of compliance programs.
• Lead internal and external compliance audits and ensure timely closure of audit findings.
• Communicate sustainability and compliance risks effectively to management.
• Support customer onboarding activities from a sustainability and compliance perspective.

Customer & Stakeholder Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with customer compliance and sustainability teams.
• Represent the organization in discussions, audits, assessments, and negotiations with customer sustainability representatives.
• Provide sustainability and compliance guidance to internal business functions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure sustainability objectives are integrated into operational activities.
• Influence and engage stakeholders at different levels to support environmental, social, and governance objectives.

Sustainability Programs & Environmental Management

• Lead sustainability operations and initiatives while aligning local activities with broader sustainability goals.
• Monitor, calculate, analyze, and report sustainability performance metrics including greenhouse gas emissions and environmental KPIs.
• Support sustainability risk management activities including climate transition risks, reputational risks, and physical risks.
• Develop and implement energy, water, waste, and resource efficiency initiatives to reduce environmental impact.
• Drive environmental improvement programs aligned with sustainability objectives and business requirements.
• Ensure sustainability programs contribute to long-term operational efficiency and environmental responsibility.
• Manage environmental data collection, reporting, and performance monitoring activities.
• Ensure timely submission of sustainability information to customer portals and corporate reporting systems.

Certifications & Audits

• Manage sustainability certification programs and compliance assessment activities.
• Maintain and administer certifications and standards including SMETA, WRAP, SLCP, Higg FEM, BSCI, GSV, WCA, GRS, OCS, and other relevant frameworks.
• Lead certification preparation, implementation, audits, and corrective action processes.
• Manage sustainability certifications including OEKO-TEX, GOTS, GRS, OCS, and customer-specific requirements.
• Ensure continuous compliance with certification requirements and industry standards.

Supply Chain & Social Compliance

• Ensure subcontractors are evaluated, approved, and monitored according to customer and company requirements.
• Verify that service providers and contractors meet social compliance and labour standards.
• Ensure customer supply chain security requirements are effectively implemented and maintained.
• Support people sustainability and employee-related sustainability reporting initiatives.
• Work with HR teams to monitor and improve sustainability-related workforce metrics and action plans.

Candidate Profile

• Bachelor's Degree in a relevant discipline.
• A Master's Degree or relevant professional sustainability-related qualifications will be an advantage.
• Minimum 5–7 years of experience managing sustainability, compliance, environmental, or ESG-related initiatives.
• Strong experience managing sustainability programs within manufacturing, apparel, textile, or export-oriented industries.
• Proven experience in sustainability risk management including climate transition, reputational, and physical risks.
• Experience leading compliance audits, certification programs, and sustainability reporting activities.
• Strong understanding of sustainability frameworks, social compliance standards, and environmental management systems.
• Experience managing sustainability certifications such as SMETA, WRAP, BSCI, GRS, OCS, OEKO-TEX, GOTS, or similar standards.
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration capabilities.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and leadership skills.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and reporting capabilities.
• Ability to translate sustainability risks and opportunities into meaningful business actions.
• Strong problem-solving mindset with a proactive approach to continuous improvement.

Ready to take your career to new heights?

We're InTalent Asia, your go-to recruitment partner in Sri Lanka, and we've got an exciting opportunity for you!

Our client is looking for a skilled individual to fill the role of Manager – Sustainability.

Apply now and see how you can be the perfect fit for this exclusive position!

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