Chester Zoo is committed to improving sustainability across all its activities. We have an exciting role for an outstanding Sustainability Manager to help drive forward the organisation’s Sustainability Policy, reporting to the Head of Sustainability, with the support of the Executive Team, senior management and Board of Trustees.

The Role

As Sustainability Manager, you’ll help turn Chester Zoo’s Sustainability Policy into practical, organisation-wide action. Bringing specialist technical expertise, you’ll embed sustainability into everyday decision-making, lead reporting and compliance, and ensure robust evidence supports our policies, targets and external reporting requirements. You’ll develop and deliver sustainability initiatives, working with teams across the zoo to drive progress on carbon, waste, procurement and biodiversity, while developing the guidance, action plans, business cases, communications and funding opportunities needed to make change happen.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage sustainability reporting and compliance across the organisation, including maintaining oversight of current and emerging regulatory requirements and working with teams across the zoo to ensure all appropriate data is captured and understood to fulfil regulatory and organisational reporting requirements, including SECR, ESOS and sustainability performance reporting in the Annual Report.
• Programme manage and drive initiatives to deliver and embed sustainability throughout the organisation, with the support of senior managers. This will include delivery of carbon management and energy reduction/efficiency activities, improvement of waste management, support for sustainable procurement practices and improvements for UK biodiversity, through both physical interventions and behaviour change (e.g. training, engagement and communications on sustainability issues) across the zoo to bring about change in attitudes, culture and behaviour.
• Work with the Head of Sustainability to deliver good governance around sustainability, including supporting the Sustainability Steering Group, the Executive and the Board of Trustees, to coordinate and manage sustainability activities across the organisation. This will include producing presentations, business cases and communications which update on progress, highlight key challenges and opportunities and maintain visibility of regulatory risk associated with sustainability.
• Alongside the sustainability target leads and the Head of Sustainability, manage a structured approach to progressing work towards each of the sustainability targets through Delivery Groups. This will include working across the organisation and its site, establishing relationships, developing procedures, guidance and associated action plans and programmes of work in order to deliver towards the zoo’s sustainability targets and wider sustainability legislation and regulation.
• Identify and secure investment to support delivery of sustainability, including supporting management of the budget for sustainability, existing corporate partnership arrangements and preparing funding applications/proposals/business cases.
• Act as a subject matter expert on sustainability and advise on best practice in relation to sustainability internally across the organisation and externally, e.g. to embed sustainability across the organisation, contribute to position statements, policy asks and consultation responses and having involvement in the BIAZA sustainability working group.