Global Category Specialist - Raw Materials Sustainability

Global Category Specialist - Raw Materials Sustainability

Location: Open to candidates based in Dublin, London, Glasgow, Edinburgh & Plainfield Technical Centre (US)

Contract: Permanent

Closing Date: 22nd March 2026

About Us

With over 200 brands sold in nearly 180 countries, we're the world's leading premium drinks company known for our wonderful collection of iconic brands such a Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray, Guinness and more. Bring your passion and use your curiosity as you explore, collaborate and innovate to build brands consumers love. Together with passionate people from all over the world, you'll test new ideas, learn and grow, and unlock a brighter, more exciting future.

Join us to create a career worth celebrating!

About the Function

Our Procurement team are innovators, always seeking new ways to help our business, people and much-loved brands thrive. We're dedicated to maximising the £12 billion+ we spend every year, building brands of premium quality, while creating sustainable value and growth. Together, we're shaping the services, partnerships and innovations that meet our future needs.

Our procurement team delivers outstanding end-to-end value across our supply chain and offers innovative supplier solutions. Together, we're driving our 'Society 2030: Spirit of Progress' plan across suppliers and agency partners to create a more sustainable world. Wherever you choose to carve your career, we'll support and encourage you in our inclusive culture.

• Serve as the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Raw Materials, collaborating with Category Managers, Supplier Excellence, and G2G to define ESG strategy and priorities for annual category plans.
• Lead ESG relationships with priority raw-material suppliers, ensuring a coordinated and strategic approach to partnership and engagement.
• Develop and implement decarbonisation programmes with suppliers to advance ESG and Spirit of Progress 2030 Grain to Glass goals.
• Build supplier technical capability to enable robust Scope 3 roadmaps and programmes that reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
• Support Carbon, Regenerative Agriculture, Water, and Social Responsibility initiatives in partnership with G2G, leading projects in these areas.
• Provide ESG guidance for sourcing activities, contract clauses, and negotiations to support Raw Material Category Managers.
• Assist the Supplier Excellence team in deploying external supplier engagement programmes, helping local procurement teams understand sustainability relevance.
• Lead the rollout of priority supplier-level projects to deliver Scope 3 and ESG reductions, including PCFs and JBP initiatives.
• Partner with G2G, Technical, Sustainable Finance, and other teams to manage Scope 3 roadmaps, contribute to Compass and MAPP reporting, and identify digital solutions for target delivery.
• Build collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders to influence change and accelerate delivery of sustainability goals.
• Support internal and external reporting requirements, including data validation, market collaboration, and project outcome tracking.
• Provide agile support to Raw Material Category Managers across strategy, sourcing, and contracting activities.

• Significant project management experience, ideally within a supply environment, delivering complex, cross-functional projects at pace.
• A proactive, highly motivated individual with strong critical-thinking skills and a growth mindset.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to turn data into clear insights and compelling proposals.
• Strong analytical, verbal, written, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated success leading and collaborating with global, cross-functional teams, executing programmes aligned to category and procurement strategies.
• Experienced stakeholder manager and influencer, capable of motivating and engaging diverse stakeholders to deliver results.
• Ability to prioritise multiple projects simultaneously and work effectively within challenging timelines and matrix organisations.
• Proven capability in integrating sustainability into business practices, with a passion for value creation through value-chain collaboration.
• Creative thinker with the ability to ideate, navigate ambiguity, and apply unconstrained problem-solving approaches.
• Experience in Supplier Collaboration / Supplier Relationship Management programmes (desirable).
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes, manufacturing excellence, and material supply chains (desirable).
• Six Sigma / Lean project skills (desirable).
• Member of professional bodies, e.g., CIPS or IEMA (desirable).