Senior Sustainability Manager (Maternity Cover)

The OVO Group’s purpose is to drive progress towards net zero carbon living. To reach Plan Zero, we need everyone to come together - not just as customers buying energy, but as members with a common goal. As part of this ambitious plan, our goal is to become the ‘Leading Employer in the UK’ by 2030. If you think you could be the talent we’re looking for, then come and join the adventure!

Where in the world of OVO will I be working? 

You’ll be in our central, cross-functional Sustainability team at OVO, within the Corporate Affairs function, reporting to the Head of Sustainability.

You’ll need to be based within commuting distance of our London office (Notting Hill). We work flexibly, typically two days per week in the office and three days working from home. Occasionally we visit other OVO offices across the UK.

What will I be doing?

This is a 12-month maternity cover contract, from January 2022 to January 2023.

You will support the development and implementation of OVO’s sustainability strategy, Plan Zero. You’ll plan and lead workstreams to help position OVO as a sustainable business leader.

Key responsibilities include:

Sustainability data & reporting

• Lead the collection, analysis and reporting of sustainability data (environmental and social) for internal audiences and external audiences
• Run the sustainability data assurance process, including management of third party external auditors.
• Lead sustainability-related compliance - including Streamlined Energy and Compliance Reporting (SECR), Modern Slavery Act and Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme.

Strategy development 

• Support the development of strategies that will enable OVO to deliver its Plan Zero commitments 
• Contribute to OVO’s bi-annual impact and materiality assessment
• Keep abreast of sustainable business best-practices, and develop recommendations for how OVO can progress towards these 

Subject-matter expert advisory services

Support enquiries from all areas of OVO’s business as the technical expert for:

• Carbon footprinting
• Product lifecycle analysis
• Sustainable supply chain
• Human rights and modern slavery
• Any other social or environmental risk, impact or opportunity as needed 

External engagement

• Manage existing corporate sustainability partnerships (e.g. EV100 and EP100) and support the establishment of any new partnerships. 
• Attend and speak at external events to raise OVO’s profile as a sustainable business leader.

Internal employee engagement

• Support OVO’s network of Plan Zero Champions.
• Support the development of employee engagement programmes relating to Plan Zero. 

Supporting OVO’s operational and commercial teams

• Support and empower OVO’s operational business teams (e.g. in field operations, facilities management, customer care) to understand, measure, manage and improve their social and environmental impacts.
• Support and empower OVO’s product and proposition teams to develop OVO’s portfolio of decarbonisation products and services, by providing advice on innovative ways to help our members live more zero carbon lifestyles. 

Supplier sustainability assessments

• Assess the social and environmental risks of working with prospective suppliers as part of OVO’s sustainable procurement process. 

Third-party supplier management

• Maintain relationships with third-party agencies. This includes identifying needs and budget, defining scope of work required, managing procurement, overseeing delivery activities, costs and timelines, evaluating performance and providing feedback.

Is this the job for me? 

We’re looking for a top-class sustainability professional that’s seeking to solidify their experience as a senior sustainability manager with a purpose-led company.

You’ll have excellent knowledge of carbon footprinting and reporting. But you’ll also be able to turn your hand to a broad range of environmental and social sustainability topic areas, and quickly upskill in areas that are new to you.

We’re a small but mighty central Sustainability team, so you’ll be great at teamwork. You’ll have the experience and confidence to independently lead and deliver the workstreams you own, and the intuition to know when to call out risks or issues.

You’ll be a people person - with the ability to communicate and build networks with a variety of internal stakeholders at both operational and strategic levels. You can influence decision making effectively, and empower and inspire others to take action.

Lastly, you’ll be no stranger to a fast-growth organisation like OVO, accustomed to agile culture and operating in a fast-paced environment. 

Ideally you will have:

• A minimum of 5 years experience in corporate sustainability (in-house or in sustainability consulting).
• Degree in environmental studies, sustainable business or a related field.
• Proven experience in managing and delivering sustainability-related projects.
• Proficiency in spreadsheets and slide decks (ideally Google Suite, or else Microsoft Excel / PowerPoint)
• Knowledge and experience of sustainability-related compliance, reporting and assurance.
• A strong understanding of sustainability innovations and trends.
• Experience of managing teams and third parties.
• Strong business and commercial competence - energy industry experience is a nice-to-have, but not a necessity.
• Familiarity with using the Enablon sustainability reporting system is a bonus, but not a necessity

From us you’ll get*

• An annual discretionary bonus
• 4% of your salary to spend on flexible lifestyle benefits
• 5% matched employer contribution to your pension
• 25 days holiday + 1 for your birthday
• And many more... 

(*) Please note that certain benefits kick-in once you have passed probation which can be up to 6 months after your start date.

We want the best people 

At OVO, we empower our people to have choice around where and when they work - flexible working arrangements can be discussed for all of our roles. Please speak to the Talent Acquisition team for more info.

We’re keen to meet people with varied backgrounds - our view is the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We want to build teams which represent a variety of experiences, perspectives and skills, and we recognise talent on the basis of merit and potential.

We understand some people may not apply for jobs unless they tick every box. If you're excited about joining us and think you have much of what we're looking for, even if you're not 100% sure… we'd love to hear from you.

Learn more about working in the OVO family of companies on our careers page and Glassdoor. We’re also delighted to have received a Top Employers certificate in 2018, 2019 and 2020!