Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives - Corporate Sustainability – Business Acceleration Team (General Merchandising, Fashion, Consumables, Health & Wellness)

Walmart • Bentonville, AR

30d • $130,000 - $260,000

About The Position

Are you passionate about making sustainability a source of resilience and competitive advantage in the retail industry and leveraging business as a force for good? As Senior Director of Corporate Sustainability – Business Acceleration Team (General Merchandising, Fashion, Consumables, Health & Wellness) at Walmart, you’ll lead efforts to integrate sustainability practices into sourcing and merchandising strategies across a wide variety of categories. You’ll drive progress on Walmart’s ambitious sustainability goals (across our climate, nature, waste, and people in product value chains priorities), activate supplier engagement, build external partnerships, and deliver business value while helping to shape a more sustainable food future. As a member of the Senior leadership of the Sustainability team, this high-impact role will own long-term strategy development, embed sustainability into business planning, advance innovation through scalable pilots, manage key relationships with suppliers and stakeholders, and support ESG disclosures.

Requirements

• Strong business acumen and strategy development skills: able to define long-term strategy and implementation roadmaps to integrate sustainability practices into sourcing and merchandising strategies across General Merchandising, Fashion, Consumables, Health & Wellness categories.
• Proven ability to manage ambiguity, prioritize competing workstreams, and maintain momentum toward long-term objectives.
• Strong capabilities in strategy development, conceptual problem solving, business planning and analytics.
• Subject matter expertise in commodity sourcing (such as pulp, paper, timber, or more sustainable textile fibers) and product merchandising, with a strong understanding of sustainability practices across product value chains.
• Strategic communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex sustainability strategies to diverse audiences, including senior leadership. Able to influence without authority and build alignment across diverse internal and external stakeholders (including suppliers, NGOs, policy makers, standard setters, and industry coalitions).
• Results driven: Track record of leading complex, enterprise-wide initiatives; managing projects across merchandising, sourcing, finance and procurement to deliver significant results at pace in large, matrixed organizations (aligning key stakeholders, encouraging partnership, and overcoming barriers).
• Team leadership: Proven ability to build, lead, and develop high-performing teams in a fast-paced, innovation-driven environment.
• Familiarity with ESG reporting standards, industry benchmarks, and sustainability policy levers relevant to General Merchandising, Fashion, Consumables, Health & Wellness categories and Responsible Sourcing.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Environmental Science, Social Science, Communications, or related field and 6 years' experience managing cross-functional projects for governmental or non-governmental organizations, consulting firms, or corporations OR 10 years' experience managing cross-functional projects for governmental or non-governmental organizations, consulting firms, or corporations.

Nice To Haves

• Consulting
• Preparing and executing budgets
• Project Management
• Strategic Planning
• Sustainability - Environmental
• Sustainability - Social
• Working in a matrixed organization
• Masters: International Studies

Responsibilities

• Accelerate progress on sustainability goals and deliver business value by integrating sustainability practices into merchandising and sourcing strategies across General Merchandising, Fashion, Consumables, Health & Wellness categories for Walmart US, Sam’s Club and international markets.
• Develop and implement Business Unit-specific strategies and build programs to attain sustainability goals while creating business value (e.g via specifications, certifications, supplier capacity building, partnerships, industry consortia, policy advocacy, place-based pilots, tech innovation, new tech/systems, data/validation, etc.).
• Lead Long Rang Planning and Annual Operating Plans integration to align sourcing and merchandising business plans with long-term sustainability strategies.
• Activate and engage suppliers to achieve corporate goals: Differentiate our private brands on EDLP and sustainability standards; and galvanize regen approaches with National Brands & NGOs partners.
• Test innovative solutions from incubation to embedding into the business through pilots, scaling successful models across categories. For example, on initiatives such as Customer Energy Solutions, place-based projects, supply chains traceability, and advancing the more sustainable sourcing of key commodities such as Pulp, Paper, Timber (PPT) or more sustainable textile fibers.
• Influence the development of sustainability tools and metrics that ensure consistent measurement and accountability (both external aspirations and short-term internal leading indicators, aligned with business stakeholders, to drive progress on long-term goals).
• Provide ESG claims and reporting support, ensuring accuracy and transparency in disclosures.
• Manage relationships with key internal and external stakeholders: influence executive leadership and align various stakeholders, sometimes with diverging opinions, on targets, strategies and initiatives.
• Represent Walmart externally through speaking, engaging in forums, supporting ESG disclosures to demonstrate thought leadership, shape the field and accelerate progress in industry sustainability.
• Lead and develop a high-performing team by managing a team of sustainability professionals, providing coaching, feedback, and professional development opportunities. Set clear goals, establish accountability, and foster a culture of innovation, collaboration. Align team resources to high-impact opportunities, ensuring progress on both short-term deliverables and long-term strategic priorities.

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