Industry Engagement Lead

Role Description

We are looking for an Industry Engagement Lead to work within the Industry Engagement and Partnerships Team. In this role, you will support and guide brands and retailers in their transition to preferred production systems. This team sits within the Engagement and Partnership Department.

Reporting to the Director of Industry Engagement and Partnerships, the Lead will work alongside our Climate and Nature and Standards System teams. This role involves direct responsibility for engaging with brands and retailers to drive the adoption of best practices, track progress, and increase the adoption of preferred production systems and their resulting materials within the global textile supply system.

The Lead will manage a small team and play a critical role in fostering strong relationships with brand and retailer stakeholders by creating the enabling environment to deliver collaborative, pre-competitive engagement opportunities across our diverse stakeholders. They will be responsible for driving accountability for progress by encouraging brands to report into the Materials Benchmark and helping to strengthen our impact tools through ongoing feedback mechanisms. In addition, they will increase awareness of Textile Exchange's standards and certification to drive the adoption of preferred production systems.

To ensure a robust feedback loop is maintained, they will build awareness and convene stakeholders to support feedback loops on policies related to the Materials Matter Standard (MMS) and Content Claim Standard (CCS) launches, Trackit system scaling, and other key initiatives.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work for a mission-driven organization. The successful candidate will be a self-motivated individual with a proven track record in sustainability, demonstrated understanding of the climate and nature impacts of the apparel industry, and delivering multi-stakeholder initiatives and activities. They will have demonstrated their ability to remain flexible, proactive, resourceful, and efficient, with a high level of professionalism. Expert-level written and verbal communication skills, as well as the ability to plan; strong decision-making capacity and attention to detail are all needed. They are a confident communicator working easily with stakeholders from all parts of the global supply system.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
• Minimum of 6 years of experience in sustainability, stakeholder engagement or related field.
• Experience working in or with consumer brands or retailers.
• Excellent communication and relationship building skills across a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Ability to build and maintain partnerships with key stakeholders.
• Demonstrated interest in Textile Exchange’s vision, mission, and goals.
• Ability to work in a flexible, fast-paced remote environment, meet deadlines, and regularly share progress.
• Strong work ethic and self-motivation with the ability to work effectively remotely.
• Strong team player.
• Proficient in delivering projects to set deadlines, ensuring attention to detail.
• Honest, professional, responsible, and discreet, acting with the utmost confidence.
• Excellent communication, written, and grammatical skills in English (native or bilingual proficiency).
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word, and the ability to quickly learn new systems.
• Ability and willingness to travel to key events and/or conferences as needed.
• Passion for sustainability and a commitment to driving positive change in the fashion industry.

Requirements

• Masters in Sustainability or relevant field (preferred).
• Experience managing direct reports (preferred).
• Experience in sustainability teams within outdoor, contemporary brands or retailers (preferred).
• Experience with voluntary reporting and disclosure requirements related to evolving policy and regulations (preferred).
• Based in the USA (preferred).
• Familiarity with policy and regulatory requirements as it pertains to textiles (preferred).
• Experience in facilitating multi-stakeholder meetings (preferred).

Benefits

• Full-Time Position, 40 Hours a Week.
• Required travel: between 20-25%.
• Annual Salary Range: $115,000 - $150,000 USD.