Vice President, Sustainability

At Rivian, we define Sustainability as the operational pursuit of our mission to preserve the natural world for generations to come, including environmental, social, and governance goals.  

The Global Office of Sustainability works in partnership with leaders and organizations across our business to facilitate the identification and achievement of company-wide Sustainability goals and thus accelerate Rivian's achievement of its mission and commitments. Thanks to the authentic commitment to Sustainability that permeates our company, the Global Office of Sustainability supports our colleagues through unique core competencies like data and reporting, responsible sourcing and human rights, carbon measurement and decarbonization, but also leverages the vast and diverse skills and knowledge of present across Rivian. Additionally, the Global Office of Sustainability is responsible to implement and execute on key projects, working collaboratively to implement and drive results. This ethos of partnership and service leadership is essential and the force multiplier for our collective progress toward our Forever mission.

The Global Office of Sustainability is currently seeking a Vice President, Sustainability, to join its leadership team, reporting to the Chief Sustainability Officer, with a specific focus on the environmental and social impact of our complex business across all life cycle stages – sourcing, production, logistics, use phase, and end of life – and across key business milestones, including, for example, product design, energy transformation, battery development, operations, and the people who make it all possible. Managing a team of sustainability subject matter experts, the Vice President will bring a breadth and depth of experience in corporate Sustainability and ESG, including sustainability and ESG goal-setting and reporting, content knowledge on relevant environmental and social topics, facility with governance and stakeholder management, ability to absorb complex industry-relevant information, and most importantly, the skills to motivate a team to thrive and implement in a fast-paced, dynamic, and ambiguous results-driven environment. Finally, given Rivian's commitment to the Climate Pledge and Net Zero, particular familiarity with carbon measurement and decarbonization are essential.  

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide executive leadership and strategic expertise on critical Sustainability topic areas for Rivian, with special emphasis on carbon management, responsible sourcing, and human rights.
• Partner with peer leaders and teams across Rivian's business functions on all Sustainability matters, and manage Sustainability governance processes.
• Drive the execution of Sustainability goals, including Rivian's Net Zero commitment by 2040, by informing objectives and milestones to achieve short and long-term objectives.
• Oversee non-financial accounting and assurance for all Sustainability goals, including GHG/carbon accounting, with support from Sustainability team direct reports, in partnership with relevant Finance, Audit and other internal teams (in alignment with GRI, TCFD, SASB, etc.), and with assistance from third-party consultants. 
• Continually strengthen and deploy a responsible sourcing strategy, with special attention to mining, in close partnership with our Supply Chain and Procurement organizations as well as, when appropriate, priority suppliers.
• Ensure sourcing and other business practices protect and advance human rights.
• Develop and maintain close working relationships with, in particular, our Design for Sustainability, Renewable Energy, People, and Operations teams.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and thought leader internally and, in collaboration with communications and policy colleagues, externally where appropriate, represent Rivian externally on a range of complex sustainability topics (including for example engaging with industry organizations like SBTi, CDP, RE100, World Economic Forum, ESG rating and ranking agencies, and other key organizations as needed).
• Build and maintain strong, strategic relationships with external stakeholders and proactively identify opportunities to collaborate on shared Sustainability priorities. 
• Assess and understand current and future Sustainability challenges and opportunities within our industry, translates them into actionable improvements in collaboration with internal teams and external stakeholders.
• Provide expertise and review of content and data related to regulatory and/or policy requests, ESG bond requirements, and related business unit needs. 
• Evaluate, recommend and support onboarding of data management solutions including tools and processes to track, monitor, and evaluate progress and performance against Sustainability goals and commitments. 
• Present and prepare presentations on Sustainability to internal and external stakeholders, including the Planet & Policy committee of the Board.
• Support Sustainability reporting and other communications opportunities.
• Leverage knowledge and experience with sustainable finance to recommend opportunities to access additional resources for Sustainability goals and other initiatives.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• 15+ years of experience in a sustainability, ESG, and/or climate/climate-focused role.
• 8+ years of experience growing teams and designing organizations to maximize long-term impact
• Bachelor's degree and Master's degree preferred in a relevant field, including Sustainability Management, Environmental Studies, Sustainable Finance, Business Administration, etc. 
• Subject matter expertise in Sustainability and ESG, including climate/climate risk, sustainability, frameworks (e.g. SBTi, TCFD, CDP, Net-Zero, etc.) 
• Demonstrated success in applying ESG, Sustainability, and/or climate risk management in alignment with company strategy and business needs and cross-functional program implementation
• Strategic and entrepreneurial mindset with strong analytical and problem-solving skills. 
• Ability to navigate a complex and matrixed organization in a high-growth phase.
• Expertise and leadership in designing and implementing systems for monitoring and managing climate, sustainability and risk metrics. 
• Strong project management and organizational skills to operate in a fast-paced and dynamic environment and effectively set and meet deadlines
• Outstanding interpersonal and verbal and written communication skills. 
• Collaborative approach and ability to work cross-functionally with stakeholders at all levels of the organization 
• Operate well under pressure with a high degree of composure and professionalism. 

Department: Sustainability

Location: Remote, New Jersey