Director, Strategic Initiatives - ESG

Walmart • Bentonville, AR

7d • $110,000 - $220,000

About The Position

The Director, Strategic Initiatives – ESG Strategy is responsible for leading Walmart’s ESG strategy across a subset of ESG priority issues, including advising colleagues on Walmart’s shared value agenda (for example, policies, practices and performance targets); developing Walmart’s foundational disclosures; assessing Walmart’s performance; and engaging external stakeholders to understand expectations, influence standards and ratings, and share Walmart performance. This position reports to the Senior Director, ESG Strategy. Top candidates will have experience in shared value; waste, circularity, and other Walmart priority ESG issues; be familiar with ESG reporting frameworks; and have experience engaging with institutional investors, thought leaders, and other internal/external stakeholders.

Requirements

• Visionary thinking backed by strong strategic and analytical framing.
• Innovation solutions to complex problems.
• Strength in leading through influence and aligning various stakeholders, sometimes with diverging opinions.
• Collaborative mindset with strong project management skills wit The ability to pick up on new concepts quickly, synthesize information, and generate insights.
• Curiosity and engagement with AI tools to enhance research and benchmarking capabilities as well as drafting and refining written work product.
• Influencing perspectives through strong oral and written communication.
• Experience in and familiarity with one or more of Walmart’s ESG priority issue areas in zero waste, packaging optimization, public policy, etc.
• Familiarity with major institutional investors’ and other stakeholders’ expectations regarding ESG practices and disclosures.
• Experience working with retail operations, merchandising, sourcing, and/or experience in sustainability programs.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Social Science, Communications, or related field and 5 years’ experience managing cross-functional projects for governmental or non-governmental organizations, consulting firms, or corporations OR 7 years’ experience managing cross-functional projects for governmental or non-governmental organizations, consulting firms, or corporations.

Nice To Haves

• Developing and managing project budgets for governmental or non-governmental organizations, consulting firms, or corporations
• Managing project teams in a matrix environment
• Managing strategic initiatives
• Master's degree in International Business or related field

Responsibilities

• Shape disclosures and report on a defined issue portfolio for investor and thought leader audiences.
• Craft and produce strong ESG disclosures, adhering to existing and emerging regulatory reporting standards.
• Develop ESG messaging and work with other members of the ESG team, Investor Relations, and Corporate Communications on the strategy to reach target audiences, including through ESG reporting, direct investor and other stakeholder engagement, and other channels.
• Advise colleagues on Walmart’s shared value agenda.
• Stay updated on the latest developments in your issue portfolio (e.g., regulatory, legislative, competitor trends), and advise on Walmart’s aspirations, policies, practices, targets, key metrics and performance improvement initiatives to enhance performance and reputation.
• Take a global perspective on emerging frameworks, policies, and practices.
• Maintain a robust network of peers and collaborators internally and externally to bring leading insights to your work.
• Develop annual issue strategies for your portfolio; collaborate with subject matter teams to set annual strategy and reporting plans; regularly engage with subject matter teams to discuss progress and adjust accordingly.
• Lead special projects to enhance ESG performance.
• Coordinate cross-functional, complex projects to achieve policy, practice, and disclosure outcomes and to enhance Walmart’s understanding of issues and risks in the issue portfolio. Activities could include deep research and benchmarking, development of breakthrough policies or practices, etc.
• Engage/influence external stakeholders.
• Participate in external events to highlight Walmart’s shared value strategy and best practices in your issue portfolio.
• Engage investors, NGOs, standard setters/raters, and depending on topic, suppliers, coalition leads etc. to obtain feedback on our ESG performance, shape industry standards, and influence external perception of our performance.

Benefits

• At Walmart, we offer competitive pay as well as performance-based bonus awards and other great benefits for a happier mind, body, and wallet.
• Health benefits include medical, vision and dental coverage.
• Financial benefits include 401(k), stock purchase and company-paid life insurance.
• Paid time off benefits include PTO (including sick leave), parental leave, family care leave, bereavement, jury duty, and voting.
• Other benefits include short-term and long-term disability, company discounts, Military Leave Pay, adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, and more.
• You will also receive PTO and/or PPTO that can be used for vacation, sick leave, holidays, or other purposes.
• Live Better U is a Walmart-paid education benefit program for full-time and part-time associates in Walmart and Sam's Club facilities. Programs range from high school completion to bachelor's degrees, including English Language Learning and short-form certificates. Tuition, books, and fees are completely paid for by Walmart.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees