VP of Mission & Sustainability

The world is changing. So is food. And Danone North America is at the heart of that change.

While our company name may be new, our beloved brands and commitment to changing the way people eat for a healthier world are not.

About the job:

One Planet. One Health reflects Danone’s vision that the health of people and the health of the planet are interconnected. It is a call to action for all consumers and everyone who has a stake in food to join the food revolution: a movement aimed at nurturing the adoption of healthier, more sustainable eating and drinking habits.

The VP of Mission & Sustainability leads the team to set the strategy and deliver the path forward to accelerate the company mission and sustainability agenda, hard wired into our brand and overall business strategies and plans. The One Plant. One Health (OPOH) team is part of the Enterprise Strategy and Transformation (ES&T) team of Danone North America (DNA).

The team provides strategic oversight, direction, and governance across relevant topics for the organization and works collaboratively to advance One Planet. One Health initiatives important to our stakeholders, internally and externally.

The VP of Mission & Sustainability reports to the Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer and will lead DNA efforts by partnering with cross-functional team members to evolve our strategy, activities, and governance in three key areas:

1. Use business as a force for good: Lead our B Corp certification and continue to grow our impact internally and externally of Danone as one of the world’s largest B Corps by leveraging the power of business to have a positive impact.
2. Cultivate a food system for the future: Including climate action topics such as Net Zero, Regenerative Agriculture, and responsible water usage.
3. Empower health through sustainable diets: Including improving our nutritional offering and our approach to accessible nutrition.

Working with multiple functions and leaders across the local and global organization, they will establish a clear strategy and priorities to enable Danone North America to deliver positive impact and business results.  

Location: Broomfield, CO or White Plains, NY

Key Responsibilities:

• Evolve our OPOH strategy and priorities in line with global Danone guidance and marketplace assessment, including benchmarking best practices and identifying where Danone can and should play a leadership role
• Animate the B-Corp principles and responsibilities within the company while leading the B-Corp re-certification process in North America
• Partner with Brands, Sales, Communications, HR, Supply Chain, R&I, Public & Scientific Affairs, Procurement and other functions to ensure we are achieving maximum impact against our priorities and leveraging that impact across a broad stakeholder group, including consumer, customers, current and potential employees, investors, public policy stakeholders, key opinion leaders, etc
• Partner with key experts across the business to manage critical partnerships including proactively initiating, driving, and implementing visible integration, engagement and policy initiatives for the company, and collaborating with key NGO, community, governmental, health experts, and internal partners on core topic areas
• Collaborate across the business to manage highly diverse initiatives involving participation in the formulation and evaluation of policies and/or long-term programs, or making decisions, which have broad organizational impact
• Lead and serve on project teams, leveraging our internal team member as well as manage outsourced projects with partners when relevant.
• Represent the organization through attending and presenting at seminars and industry and stakeholder workshops where the objective is to both learn and influence action and policy on sustainability issues.
• Focus on elevating the tracking of external trends and best practices in the area of sustainable development looking for leadership opportunity to link and leverage brand manifesto and purpose impact focus areas
• Strengthen financial integration with cross-functional leaders to better enable forecasting and cost/benefit analysis for OPOH priority areas, such as carbon reduction investments to enable business unit leaders to make informed decisions to improve sustainability impacts and maximize financial returns/payback

About you:

Education and Experience (Requirements):

• At least 15 years of experience in sustainability and/or strategy field, including time spent in a senior leadership role
• Bachelor’s degree required, MBA or Master’s degree strongly preferred
• Experience establishing and delivering strategies across cross-functional teams is strongly preferred
• Prior program management experience within the areas of environment, energy, risk management, sustainable agriculture, responsible sourcing, nutrition and other corporate sustainability initiatives is desired

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong stakeholder management, demonstrated leadership skills, industry knowledge, and experience with environmental, energy, economic vitality, sustainable agriculture, responsible sourcing, water stewardship, public health and other sustainable development issues and best practices.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and communicate a clear strategy and priorities
• Outstanding written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills and the ability to communicate complex while inspiring the audience.
• Strong research, analytical, organizational, creative, and strategic thinking skills.
• Excel at managing multiple projects simultaneously from conception to implementation.
• Applying knowledge of business and the marketplace to advance the organization’s goals.
• Ability to continuously assess an evolving industry landscape to identifying possibilities and integrating them into breakthrough strategies 
• Willingness challenge the status quo using business acumen to deliver on our mission and vision.
• Operating effectively, even when things are not certain, or the way forward is not clear.

Compensation

The base compensation range for this position is $210-250K commensurate with experience. Danone North America additionally offers a performance-based bonus and has a strong benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, Prescription Drug Coverage, 401k Plan, Wellness Program, Life Insurance, Tuition Reimbursement, Flexible Time Off, and Paid Parental Bonding Leave, among other benefit plan options.To give our employees flexibility, Danone is a hybrid work environment with opportunities to work both remotely and in office when desired.