Regeneration Lead

Position Summary

We are currently recruiting for a fantastic opportunity to join our Nestlé Sustainability team as the Regeneration Lead. This role will be based in either our Gatwick or York offices, reporting directly into the Head of Sustainability. This role plays an important role in advancing our sustainability agenda focused on ‘advancing regenerative food systems at scale’.

This role requires an individual with a passion for Environmental Sustainability and Sustainable Development, and the ability to work across and provide a link and leadership coordination between corporate functions, businesses and the outside world on landscape restoration and regenerative agriculture. The role holder will need to identify external & internal sustainability trends and issues, understand and prioritise the key environmental challenges associated with our supply chain, collaborate with internal and external stakeholders and resources to lead a coordinated approach to delivering regenerative programmes which align with Nestlé's sustainability commitments and protect its resilience and reputation.

Role holder provides functional leadership on regenerative agriculture and landscape restoration, acts as an ethical/sustainability role model and supports the development of regeneration knowledge and capabilities in the Market. Role holder is a combination of influencer, advisor and programme manager for regeneration.

The role will focus on driving a transition towards more regenerative agricultural practices within the supply chains of our locally sourced ingredients including dairy, cereals, and sugar. It will involve working closely with suppliers, farmers, and a wider network of stakeholders to engage them on the journey, build and implement programmes and partnerships, innovate to find new solutions to existing challenges and seek to drive change at scale. You will work closely across a range of Nestlé business units to help measure and track the progress being made and to help bring the work we are doing to life through our brands for customers and consumers.

A bit about us

Our purpose at Nestlé is to unlock the power of food to enhance the quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come. We want to help shape a better and healthier world, a sustainable world, for people, families and pets, for our communities and for the planet.

We are the Good Food, Good Life company. We have more than 2000 brands ranging from global icons to local favourites and are present in 187 countries worldwide. We focus our energy and resources where unlocking the power of food can make the greatest difference to the lives of people and pets, protect, and enhance the environment, and generate significant value for our shareholders and stakeholders alike.

As a company, we’re committed to change. We’re reducing landfill waste to zero, fighting deforestation with satellites, moving to 100% renewable energy and 100% recyclable or reusable packaging. We’re investing in regenerative agriculture, reforestation and biodiversity schemes and restricting the use of fertilisers and antibiotics. We’re changing our products to focus on balanced, healthy ingredients.

We’ve committed to helping 50 million children to lead healthier lives; improving the livelihoods of 30 million people; and reducing impact and becoming a more regenerative business.

A day in the life of the Regeneration Lead

A day in the life of the Regeneration Lead will see you working towards the goal to source ingredients from regenerative agricultural practices, 20% by 2025 and 50% by 2030. This will require partnering with all Nestlé businesses (product categories) to help plan and implement strategies to achieve this in collaboration with external stakeholders. You will:

• Play an active role in developing and strengthening the UK & I strategy to improve the environmental performance of our ingredients supply.
• Identify, prioritise, and create the business case for new collaborative activities on regenerative agriculture and landscape restoration.
• Proactively seek and build new opportunities to advance our regeneration goals, deliver impact and build trust and pride.
• Represent the organisation externally in different fora including conferences, stakeholder roundtables etc. to showcase the work we are doing and build and strengthen external networks.
• Work closely with the wider Nestlé network of colleagues working on regenerative agriculture to share insights and exchange best practices.
• Play an active role in upskilling colleagues, providing training to develop knowledge on regenerative agriculture and landscape restoration across the organisation.
• Act as the key point of contact with some key external stakeholders, particularly on the Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs) model.
• Support the businesses with incorporating regenerative agriculture and landscape restoration activities into the brand proposition.
• Input to key communications assets to share our work with others to encourage more collaboration, build confidence in our approach and help build trust in Nestlé.
• Line management responsibilities for one team member working on regenerative agriculture projects.

What will make you successful?

• Be a strategic thinker, able to synthesise lots of information and create compelling case for action.
• Understand the importance of working in partnership with a range of stakeholders to deliver results.
• Be curious and courageous, embracing new ideas and driving great results and change.
• Demonstrate the ability to learn quickly and take ownership of your personal development journey.
• Good interpersonal skills, able to engage with different stakeholders across different levels of seniority.
• Demonstrate a keen interest and passion for sustainability across environmental, social, economic, and health.
• Be willing to speak up, input ideas and challenge the status quo to help drive change.

What you need to know

What can we offer in return? Great benefits you’d expect from a business the size of Nestlé – in the shape of a competitive salary and benefits package, bonus scheme, flexible working scheme, 25 days holiday plus bank holidays plus flex leave, pension scheme and a real focus on personal development and growth.

Job advert closing date 14th January 2025