About the role

We have an exciting and unique opportunity for a passionate environmental professional to join our Sustainability team as a Group Forest Manager.

The Sustainability team at Tesco works across the business and with external stakeholders to develop and implement our industry leading sustainability commitments to tackle some of the biggest environmental and human rights challenges facing the planet. Forests play a critical role in our global ecosystem. The world has already lost approximately half its forests and what remains is increasingly under threat. At the current rate, our forests are at risk of extinction by the end of this century. Preventing further deforestation and degradation is critical for mitigating climate change and protecting both biodiversity and the communities who live in forests or depend on them for their livelihoods.

Tesco is committed to being an industry leader in tackling deforestation and achieving zero-net deforestation in our sourcing of forest-risk commodities, including palm oil, soy, wood/paper products, cocoa and cattle products. This role will be responsible for leading Tesco’s work on ensuring we achieve this commitment. Given the globally traded nature of commodities, to achieve our commitment requires extensive engagement and effective collaboration with our supply chain partners and stakeholders such as NGOs and governments to achieve industry transformation. The candidate will be responsible for leading this work. Our zero-net deforestation target is a Tesco Group wide target and will require the candidate to work across both our retail businesses in the UK, Republic of Ireland and Central Europe and also our UK wholesale business, Booker.

You will be responsible for

1. Subject Matter Expert:

Being the key contact within the Tesco Group for all technical issues relating to our Forests Agenda (e.g. supporting colleagues and suppliers with policy requirements, respond to queries from external stakeholders such as NGOs, investors, customers, media etc.).

2. Policy development and implementation

Continuously reviewing the internal and external environment to develop and implement effective policies and strategies for making progress towards our zero-net deforestation targets.

3. Industry engagement and leadership.

Tesco is now a recognised leader on forest protection. The candidate will need to be at the forefront of advocating for effective and practical solutions to end deforestation in industry groups and forums (e.g. the candidate will be responsible for representing Tesco in the following groups: Palm Oil Transparency Coalition; Soy Transparency Coalition; CGF Forest Positive Coalition and related forums; UK Soy Manifesto; Retailer Cocoa Collaboration; Retail Palm Oil Group; Retail Soy Group; Round Table on Responsible Soy; Soft Commodities Forum Landscape Council; Eurocommerce EUDR Working Group)

4. Regulatory compliance: EUDR

Leading the delivery of our established workstreams to prepare the business for EUDR compliance by the end of 2025. Keeping abreast of developments around EUDR and potential UK equivalent (UKFRC)

5. Data management and reporting

Development and management of internal data management systems for tracking our progress towards zero-net deforestation and compliance to both internal and external reporting requirements (e.g. Tesco annual reports, RSPO, RTRS, CDP).

You will need

Relevant Master’s degree in sustainability.
Experience working in sustainability within a retail context
Experience working in sustainability within the supply chain/manufacturing
Experience working with related topics within an NGO/not-for-profit sector
Field experience relevant to our Forests Agenda (e.g. on-the-ground experience in key production countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia).
In depth knowledge of forestry regulation including EUDR.

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What’s in it for you

We’re all about the little helps. That’s why we make sure our Tesco colleague benefits package takes care of you – both in and out of work. Click Here to find out more!

Annual bonus scheme of up to 20% of base salary
Holiday starting at 25 days plus a personal day (plus Bank holidays)
Private medical insurance
26 weeks maternity and adoption leave (after 1 years’ service) at full pay, followed by 13 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Adoption Pay, we also offer 6 weeks fully paid paternity leave
Free 24/7 virtual GP service, Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for you and your family, free access to a range of experts to support your mental wellbeing

About us

You might know us as a supermarket, technology company or even for our award-winning mobile network. Truth is, we’re all of those things, and much more. Our colleagues work with one goal in mind, helping to make every day a little better for our customers, colleagues and communities all over the world. No two customers are the same, neither are our colleagues.

At Tesco, we champion a balance that lets you thrive both in and out of work. Spend 60% of your week collaborating with colleagues at our office locations or local sites and the rest remotely. Whether you're just kicking off your career, juggling passions, or navigating big life events, we're here to support you. We always welcome a conversation about flexible working, so talk to us throughout your application about how we can support.

We're proud to be an accredited Disability Confident Leader, where everyone’s welcome. That’s why we commit to providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you need support with your application, click here for more information. And if you're interested in joining our team but don't tick every box, don't let that hold you back from applying.

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Group Forest Manager