Sustainability Operations Manager

Role Purpose

• The Sustainability Operations Manager - Nigeria is responsible for the day-to-day management, execution, and tracking of all sustainability programmes and projects across commodities and sourcing areas in Nigeria.
• The role holder's job is to make sure the agreed work plans actually get delivered - on time, within budget, with progress visible every week, and with issues resolved at country level before they escalate.
• The ideal candidate is a hands-on operations or project management professional who is smart at execution: someone who takes a defined target, mobilises the right people, tracks progress rigorously, removes blockers, and gets things done.

Key Responsibilities
Project & Work Plan Management:

• Own the execution of the Nigeria sustainability work plan across all commodities (cocoa, cashew, palm kernel, soya, sesame) and all workstreams (mapping, certification, CLMRS, farmer programmes, new commodity rollout).
• Break annual and half-year plans into clear weekly and monthly milestones per workstream and per team, with named owners, deadlines, and deliverables.
• Run all workstreams in parallel, ensuring each team is progressing against its own targets every week - no workstream stalls while waiting for another.
• Anticipate delays and blockers early, resolve them at country level, and escalate to the Group Sustainability Supply Chain Manager with a clear problem statement and proposed solution.
• •Maintain a single, up-to-date view of the status of every project, programme, and partner commitment in Nigeria at any point in time.

Progress Monitoring & Tracking:

• Track weekly field milestones across all commodities (farmer registration, training, GPS / polygon mapping, certification activities, CLMRS rollout), keeping at least 90% of milestones on schedule.
• Maintain and continuously update trackers for all workstreams, and submit a consolidated weekly progress report every Monday covering progress, deviations, and corrective actions.
• Ensure all field data and programme records are complete, organised, and audit-ready at all times, working with the M&E / data lead.
• Flag underperformance against milestones immediately with a recovery plan.

Team Coordination & Delivery Management:

• Coordinate the in-country pillar/technical leads and field supervisors day to day, translating strategy into clear task assignments and deadlines.
• Get delivery through others: know who the go-to person is for each pillar (certification, EUDR, CLMRS, data / M&E, community programmes) and hold them accountable for their targets.
• Ensure every team member has defined, tracked KPIs, and support monthly performance reviews with objective, evidence-based input on delivery.
• Support onboarding, field planning, and logistics for team activities, including field visit schedules, movement plans, and cost-efficient routing.

Budget Tracking & Cost Control:

• Track budget utilisation across all Nigeria sustainability programmes against the approved annual budget, maintaining continuous visibility of spend per workstream.
• Prepare and submit the following month's budget and submit a monthly variance report with explanations and corrective actions.
• Verify all per diem, allowance, and field cost claims are policy-compliant, pre-approved, and supported by documentation before payment.
• Drive cost optimisation continuously - challenge transport, logistics, and activity costs, and propose cheaper ways to deliver the same results (cost per farmer, cost per MT).

Procurement & Cross-Functional Coordination:

• Act as the primary link between the sustainability team and procurement teams across all commodities.
• Work with procurement to introduce sustainability activities into sourcing areas through the procurement route.
• Coordinate with finance, admin, and site teams to ensure field operations, payments, and logistics run without delays.
• Coordinate access to relevant internal reports and dashboards (e.g. farm and expense dashboards) to inform planning and cost control.

Compliance & Field Standards Support:

• Ensure field teams follow agreed protocols for farmer registration, training delivery, mapping, monitoring, and documentation.
• Support the timely execution of compliance-related activities (certification audits, CLMRS rollout, E&S action plan items) as scheduled in the work plan, coordinating the responsible technical leads.
• Ensure 100% on-time submission of scheduled internal and external reports.

Regional Support:

• Provide operational support to new country programmes as required - travel, field coordination, tracking, and reporting support - under the direction of the Group Sustainability Supply Chain Manager.

Key Performance Indicators

• At least 90% of weekly milestones across all workstreams delivered on schedule; consolidated progress report submitted every Monday without fail.
• 100% of projects tracked with up-to-date status, owners, and deadlines at all times.
• Budget variance held within plus or minus 5% with monthly variance reporting; year-on-year improvement in cost per farmer and cost per MT.
• 100% of field data and claims verified before sign-off or payment; zero unapproved claims.
• Zero missed reporting deadlines (internal, partner, donor, TA).
• Partner and TA coordination issues resolved at country level; escalations only with problem statement and proposed solution.
• Functional working relationship with procurement teams across all commodities, evidenced by joint activities in sourcing areas.

Requirements
Qualifications & Experience:

• Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain, Agriculture, Engineering, Project Management, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in operations, procurement, field operations, supply chain, or project management - ideally in agricultural commodities, FMCG, agro-processing, or field-based programmes in Nigeria.
• Proven track record of delivering projects or operational targets on time and within budget, and of managing multiple parallel workstreams.
• Strong experience with planning, tracking, and reporting tools - excellent Excel skills (trackers, budgets, variance analysis) are essential.
• Experience in budget management, cost control, and expense verification.
• Experience working with or within procurement teams and sourcing operations is a strong advantage.
• Knowledge of sustainability, certification, or donor-funded programmes is an advantage but not a requirement
• Willingness to be based in Akure and to travel extensively to rural sourcing areas across Nigeria, with occasional regional travel.

Competencies & Personal Attributes:

• Execution Focus - gets things done; converts plans into delivered results without needing to be chased; comfortable being measured on delivery, not effort.
• Organisation & Tracking Discipline - rigorous with trackers, milestones, deadlines, and follow-ups; nothing falls through the cracks.
• Problem Solving & Resourcefulness - anticipates blockers, finds practical solutions at country level, and escalates with solutions rather than problems.
• Coordination & Follow-Through - works effectively through others, holds people to deadlines, and keeps multiple teams moving in parallel.
• Cost Consciousness - treats company resources as their own; constantly looks for cheaper, faster ways to deliver the same results.
• Integrity & Attention to Detail - rigorous with data, documentation, verification, and compliance; zero tolerance for unverified claims.
• Coachability & Willingness to Learn - open to learning sustainability concepts on the job; takes direction well and applies it quickly.
• Collaboration - builds practical working relationships across procurement, finance, field teams, and external partners.

Application Closing Date
16th August, 2026.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:

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