Traceability Manager

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Starting Date: ASAP

Contract type: Full-time

Salary: 57'400 GBP commensurate with relevant experience and skills

Location: London, UK

Application closing date: 7 September 2024

About the Job

Are you purpose-led and ready to embark on a journey to shape the future of sustainable cotton? Join us at Better Cotton as Traceability Manager and lead a global team responsible for delivering high impact results for the world's largest cotton sustainability initiative - we support more sustainable farming practices and farm livelihoods for nearly 3 million farmers in the Better Cotton network in 23 countries around the world.

The Challenge

As a part of Better Cotton's 2030 strategy, in 2021 a dedicated team was set up to develop a traceability solution for Better Cotton. The traceability system was successfully launched at the end of 2023 and it is now possible to trace Better Cotton back to its country of origin. But this is just the beginning. In addition to scaling adoption of traceability, we will continue to introduce new features and functionality to achieve our ultimate goal of traceability back to farm and connecting traceable products to impact.

Reporting into the Director of Traceability, as Traceability Manager you will lead a small team responsible for the continued development and improvement of our traceability system. Working collaboratively with IT, supply chain integrity and the country teams you will oversee implementation of the traceability roadmap to deliver a best in class offering.

This is a varied role that will work across our Chain of Custody Standard, the traceability IT platform and onboarding new and existing suppliers to our traceability system. It requires someone that is both creative and technical with the ability to solve complex problems.

Prior experience with traceability or working with other sustainability standard systems will be highly regarded.

Responsibilities

In this role, you will line manage two traceability staff and be responsible for:

Managing the continued development of the traceability system over the next 2-3 years including:

1. Improving the level of traceability offered. Currently we offer traceability to country of origin level, but plan to add:
   • Region level traceability
   • Farm level traceability
   • Connecting environmental and social impact data to traceability
   • Tracing of Better Cotton waste materials
2. Defining and implementing a traceability approach for large farm contexts and specific benchmark partners. This includes defining how stakeholders in these contexts will use the traceability platform and creating an onboarding plan.
3. Developing and leading pilots to test new technology features or functionality for the traceability platform
4. Working with the Standards and Impact teams to develop new chain of custody models to offer new traceability options including credit trading and connecting impact data with traceability
5. Collaborating with IT and Supply Chain Integrity teams to continuously improve the integrity of the traceability system. Integrity tools could include but are not limited to;
   • the use of AI
   • system validation rules
   • strategy for adoption of scientific tracers

To deliver the above initiatives you will work with internal and external stakeholders to understand needs, identify and develop solutions and secure buy in. You will also develop or co-develop project plans for the above initiatives, acting as project manager on some workstreams.

Being accountable for maintaining traceability documentation and communicating technical or systems changes to internal stakeholders

1. Working with other teams within Better Cotton to ensure that changes to the traceability solution are updated in relevant documentation including but not limited to:
   • The Chain of Custody Standard
   • User registration and onboarding documentation
   • Traceability process maps
   • Training content
   • Audits and supply chain monitoring processes
2. Supporting the Traceability Change Manager on the development of new communications for external audiences, providing input and reviewing to ensure technical changes are communicated accurately and clearly

Planning and managing traceability implementation for new Better Cotton countries

1. Collaborating with the Programmes team to understand the plans for new Better Cotton production countries
2. Researching the landscape and assess traceability readiness for new countries
3. Creating and implementing a plan to launch traceability in new countries
4. Documenting lessons learnt and agreed improvements for future projects

Managing or supporting the development of traceability partnerships with other organisations

1. Supporting the Traceability Director on the development of partnerships with other sustainability schemes, exploring and formalising opportunities to collaborate on traceability including benchmarking of relevant supply chain standards and practices
2. Identifying opportunities with other cotton industry players to collaborate on traceability where relevant
3. Working with IT on the traceability integrations strategy to define the roadmap to connect the Better Cotton platform with other systems

We are looking for someone who has

the following skills, knowledge, and experience:

Essential

• University degree in social sciences, sustainability, IT or design
• Experience and detailed understanding of different chain of custody models used by sustainability schemes (segregation, controlled blending, mass balance, book and claim/credit trading)
• Knowledge of textile and/or commodity supply chains
• Demonstrated experience finding solutions to complex technical problems
• Experience in gathering and prioritizing requirements
• Project management skill set
• Excellent people manager with the ability to prioritise workload, develop and inspire staff
• Succinct written and verbal communicator: able to understand and digest complex concepts and translate them simply for internal and external stakeholders
• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills and the ability to work with people from varied cultures and backgrounds
• Demonstrated integrity and business ethics
• Proficient IT skills, including but not limited to MS Office suite (PowerPoint, Word and Excel).

Desirable

• Experience or knowledge of the following areas will be highly regarded
  1. Traceability tools
  2. IT Product Management and/or Innovation
  3. Cotton industry experience
  4. Sustainability legislation
• Knowledge of a 2nd or 3rd language

What we offer

• Competitive salary
• Hybrid working - one day per week in the offices central London
• The opportunity to work from anywhere in the world for up to one month per year
• Flexible working, with core hours from 10 am to 4 pm local time
• Continuous learning and development
• Pension scheme
• 25 days paid annual leave, plus 8-9 Bank Holidays and a further 3 days off over Christmas/year end period
• Enhanced parental benefits
• A warm, positive working environment where everyone is valued
• The opportunity to make your mark and make a difference.

Working arrangements

The position is full-time (40 hours per week) and will be based in London. Better Cotton offers flexible working, with core hours being 10 am - 4 pm. Some travel may be required 10 - 20%

Apply now

Send us your CV (2 pages maximum) with a cover letter explaining your motivation for the role (1-page maximum) by or before 07.09.2024.

In your cover letter, please include an explanation of why your experience is specifically relevant to this role at Better Cotton. The cover letter is important to us, we want to see your personal style - what makes you tick and why you think your next opportunity is here with us.

Our hiring process

Initial Screening:

If you are selected, you will be contacted for an initial screening, which may involve a brief phone interview or video call. The purpose is to learn more about you, confirm basic qualifications, and discuss the role and organisation.

Interviews:

If you are confirmed after the initial screening, you will be invited for interviews. The interview process at Better Cotton may include one or more rounds of interviews with various stakeholders, such as the hiring manager, team members, and potentially senior management.

Assessment and Testing:

Depending on the role, you might be required to complete assessments, technical tests, or skills evaluations to gauge your competency and suitability for the position.

Reference Checks:

Once you progress further in the process, reference checks are conducted to validate your work history, skills, and qualifications, and for some roles, your education and criminal history.

Offer stage:

After completing interviews, assessments, and reference checks, the hiring team evaluates your performance and fit for the role. If you are selected and your references are relevant and satisfactory, you will receive a formal job offer letter outlining the terms of employment, compensation, benefits, and any other relevant details.

About Better Cotton

Better Cotton is the world's largest cotton sustainability programme. Our 200+ colleagues of 37+ nationalities are united by a shared passion and commitment to achieving the Better Cotton mission: to help cotton communities survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment. Through our network of field-level partners a quarter of the world's cotton is now grown under the Better Cotton Standard. We have united the industry's stakeholders behind our efforts, from ginners and spinners to brand owners, civil society organisations and governments. Everyone who cares about cotton and its sustainable future can now be part of something better.

About our Values

The post holder will be expected to operate in line with our workplace values which are:

• Trustworthy (including honest, transparent, credible)
• As having Integrity (including responsible, authentic)
• Positive (including problem-solving, pragmatic)
• Engaging (including adaptable, inclusive, holistic)
• Daring (including courageous, innovative, game-changing)

Being you @ Better Cotton

Better Cotton is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to good practice and transparency in the management of natural, human, and financial resources.

We have a zero-tolerance approach to any attitudes or behaviours that put children or adults at risk of harm. Safeguarding incidents are acts of serious misconduct and are grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including, dismissal and referral to relevant authorities for criminal prosecution. Therefore, all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks.