North America Product Sustainability Senior Manager

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At Graphic Packaging International, we produce the paper cup that held your coffee this morning, the basket that transported those bottles of craft beer you enjoyed last weekend, and the microwave tray that heated your gourmet meal last night. We're one of the largest manufacturers of paperboard and paper-based packaging for some of the world's most recognized brands of food, beverage, foodservice, household, personal care and pet products. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, we are collaborative, diverse, innovative individuals who create inspired packaging while giving back to our communities. 

With over 25,000 employees working in more than 130 locations worldwide, we strive to be environmentally responsible in our industry and in the communities where we operate. We are committed to workplace diversity and offer compensation and benefits programs that are among the industry's best to reward the talented people who make our company successful.

If this sounds like something you would like to be a part of, we'd love to hear from you.

A World of Difference. Made Possible.

The North America Product Sustainability Senior Manager is responsible for supporting Product Sustainability initiatives in the Americas region and Graphic Packaging's corporate sustainability strategy to create competitive advantage for our packaging solutions and generate business results.  S/he will work closely with the Americas commercial teams, the Europe Product Sustainability Manager, regional sustainability resources, and the corporate sustainability team to ensure plans for product development, commercial launch, and organic sales growth are connected, cohesive, and supported by credible sustainability messaging.  S/he will serve as a sustainability resource to the sales and innovation teams - supporting customer initiatives, consulting on customer sustainability matters, and engaging with customers and other external stakeholder groups.

A results-oriented, collaborative, and diplomatic problem solver, the North America Product Sustainability Senior Manager thrives in a fast-paced and rapidly changing environment. S/he monitors evolving policy and regulations, voluntary industry initiatives, competitive threats, and customer/consumer packaging preferences, making recommendations, and driving projects to continually strengthen our product position.  S/he is a skilled communicator who develops strong relationships and concisely conveys complex data, insights, and Product Sustainability attributes to a wide variety of internal and external stakeholder audiences.  This position requires the ability to work independently and the initiative and drive to achieve goals and business results.  Job duties will primarily be executed at the tactical level, with some strategic input and formulation.

The responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Partner with Americas commercial teams and EU Product Sustainability manager to define, develop, and lead strategic initiatives to expand and/or defend GPI Product Sustainability and market positions and develop required data to support Product Sustainability claims.

• Partner with the product innovation team to further integrate design for the environment principles in the innovation process (including raw material selection and qualification), improve the environmental profile of GPI packaging solutions, and develop data-based sustainability proof points in advance of product commercialization.
• Focal point for environmental assessments/modeling of GPI packaging products and competing materials, including life-cycle assessments, circularity analyses, and other product evaluations.  Leverage results from assessments to inform packaging design and material selection to provide competitive advantage.  Develop KPIs, dashboards and visual communication tools for Product Sustainability performance evaluation.

• Subject matter expert for Americas sales teams and customers on GPI Product Sustainability questions and corporate sustainability program.  Support commercial teams with customer sustainability conversations and provide sustainability consulting advice to customers as applicable to advance shared sustainability goals.
• Partner with the Sustainability Communications Manager to develop and conduct training to increase Americas commercial team knowledge and comfort in communicating corporate and Product Sustainability performance with customers and support addressing customer requests for Product Sustainability information.

• Monitor external environment to identify emerging Product Sustainability trends, regulations, or voluntary initiatives that present potential opportunities or threats to GPI.  Understand and translate potential impact of upcoming legislation or external stakeholder pressures on product sales and work with internal teams to advance initiatives to capitalize on opportunities or address threats as appropriate.

• Engage with NA industry groups, NGOs, etc. and participate on committees/work teams to advance GPI Product Sustainability positions in support of defending current product applications and planned new products.  
• Engage with external product labeling organizations (e.g. H2R, SPC) and advise product teams on suitable package labeling GPI can use to certify and promote its products (e.g. compostable, recyclable, etc.)
• Support production and publication of annual sustainability report and other external Product Sustainability communications (e.g. social media posts, product literature, and customer messaging and presentations, etc.) to proactively promote paper-based packaging and create competitive advantage.

• Benchmark sustainability performance for competitor products as input for positioning Graphic Packaging products and for new product development strategy.

• Manage contractor relationships as appropriate.
• Other duties and tasks as assigned.

The following is required for this role:

• Must have a passion for sustainability and a continuous learning mindset.
• Degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Packaging Engineer, or other Sustainability-related degree, Product Design, Product Management, Materials Science, or similar field.
• 5-8 years' experience in Product Sustainability or packaging technology roles with increasing responsibility
• Flexible self-starter with strong work ethic, positive outlook, and collaboration skills
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, manage competing priorities, make decisions, operate independently and with discretion, and work effectively under pressure to achieve program goals.
• Ability to grasp complex, interconnected workstreams, define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and project management skills, including the ability to manage scope and contain risks.
• Comfortable collaborating and partnering across business functions and global regions and engaging with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to influence key stakeholders, present to executive teams, and tailor messaging to audience needs.
• Familiar with design and use of life-cycle assessment analyses for evaluating and communicating Product Sustainability performance.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and SharePoint
• Able to travel (~20% time)

The following is preferred for this role:

• Knowledge of packaging sector sustainability issues and evolving regulations that impact fiber-based packaging.
• Product design experience
• Experience conducting life-cycle assessment analyses for evaluating and communicating Product Sustainability performance.
• Familiarity with using product circularity assessment frameworks.
• Experience with Greenhouse Gas (GHG) accounting methodology (specifically, Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 GHG accounting) and application to product carbon footprint analyses
• Experience with analytical and dashboarding software such as Alteryx, Microsoft Power BI, or other graphics/dashboard tools

Salary Min:   $117,900.00

Salary Mid:   $157,200.00

Salary Max:  $196,500.00

Graphic Packaging is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All candidates will be evaluated on the basis of their qualifications for the job in question. We do not base our employment decision on an employee's or applicant's race, color, religion, age, gender or sex (including pregnancy), national origin, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic identity, genetic information, disability, veteran/military status or any other basis prohibited by local, state, or federal law. Click here to view the Poster, EEO is the Law.