Sustainability Manager

Job Description –

Sustainable Agri Value Chain Manager

Position Title: Sustainability Agri Value Chain Manager

Location: Ahmedabad, India (Regional role with travel across countries)

Reporting To: Group Head – Sustainability

Role Overview

The Sustainable Agri Value Chain Manager will serve as the central sustainability lead across all agricultural commodities in Africa. This role will coordinate with country-level sustainability managers to ensure compliance, traceability, and sustainability documentation are consistently maintained. A key focus of the role will be ensuring readiness and compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and similar global standards. The manager will also oversee sustainability budgets, drive cost optimization, and work closely with procurement and sales teams to ensure that sourcing, trading, and customer documentation align with international regulations and sustainability commitments.

Key Responsibilities

Central Coordination

• Act as the central sustainability lead for all agri-commodities across Africa.
• Coordinate with country-level sustainability, sales, and procurement teams to align strategies, targets, and reporting frameworks.
• Standardize and centralize sustainability processes, tools, and reporting across all commodities.

Sustainability Compliance & Documentation

• Ensure full compliance with regulatory and customer requirements, with a strong emphasis on EUDR compliance.
• Maintain up-to-date documentation on traceability, supplier information, certifications, and country-specific compliance.
• Equip procurement and sales teams with accurate and current EUDR-aligned documentation to meet customer and legal expectations.

Budgeting & Cost Optimization

• Manage sustainability budgets across countries and commodity verticals.
• Drive efficient budget planning and tracking while identifying cost optimization opportunities without compromising sustainability impact or compliance.

Cross-Functional Liaison

• Collaborate with procurement teams to ensure sustainable sourcing and supplier compliance with traceability standards and EUDR.
• Support sales teams by providing accurate and EUDR-compliant documentation to enhance transparency and customer trust.
• Enable trading teams with the traceability data necessary to navigate market requirements and boost market access.

Monitoring, Reporting & Stakeholder Engagement

• Consolidate and analyze sustainability reports from country teams to create a regional sustainability performance overview.
• Monitor initiative progress and report against key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Engage proactively with external stakeholders including regulators (especially related to EUDR), certification bodies, NGOs, and industry associations.
• Facilitate supplier engagement and capacity-building initiatives to support sustainability compliance, including EUDR readiness.

Qualifications & Skills

• Master’s degree in Agriculture, Sustainability, Supply Chain Management, Business, or related field.
• 7–10 years’ experience in sustainability management within agri-commodities (e.g., cocoa, coffee, cashew, grains).
• Proven expertise in EUDR implementation, traceability systems, and certification schemes.
• Experience coordinating multi-country teams and managing cross-functional sustainability projects.
• Strong budgeting and financial tracking experience.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Willingness to travel extensively across African regions and work across diverse cultural contexts.

Core Competencies

• Strategic thinking with strong leadership and coordination capabilities.
• High attention to detail in compliance tracking and documentation.
• Collaborative, solutions-oriented approach.
• Strong ethical grounding and a commitment to sustainability values.
• Ability to anticipate and adapt to evolving regulatory landscapes, particularly EUDR and associated global frameworks.