Sustainability Manager - Climate Lead

The core mandate is to make GE Aerospace's product climate claims credible. That means leading every Scope 3 category and its reporting across all business units, designing the data collection, calculation methodologies and audit trails behind them, and steering the operating rhythms that track changes to GHG Protocol, emerging regulation and industry practice. The role is described as a subject-matter expert position, so much of the value lies in being the person others turn to when a number, a boundary or a methodology needs defending. Beyond the inventory, the manager builds readiness for the EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation: product-level carbon lifecycle work, ecodesign and circularity obligations and Digital Product Passport data requirements. That pulls in a very cross-functional set of tasks, partnering with Engineering, Supply Chain and Product teams to embed design-for-disassembly, recycled content and material recovery into product development, and helping stand up a wider circularity programme. Finally, the role carries an external-facing dimension. The successful candidate represents GE Aerospace in task groups on climate disclosure, carbon accounting, lifecycle analysis and GHG reduction claims, and contributes content to the annual sustainability report, the CDP response and other disclosures while partnering with Government Relations on regulatory intersections such as CSRD and EU Taxonomy.

The most obvious gain is depth in Scope 3 carbon accounting at industrial scale. Few roles give you end-to-end ownership of every Scope 3 category across multiple businesses and products, complete with data-collection design and third-party audit experience: that is a rare and portable credential in the sustainability market. You would also build genuine technical fluency in product-level lifecycle work: Product Carbon Footprint assessments against ISO 14067, familiarity with ISO 14040/14044 LCA logic, and exposure to Environmental Product Declarations. The ESPR and Digital Product Passport angle adds advanced regulatory knowledge that most sustainability professionals have not yet acquired, and the circularity work with engineering teams teaches how ecodesign principles actually land in a manufacturing organisation. Soft-skill growth is likely significant too. Representing the company in external task groups, writing disclosure content and translating technical positions for both business and technical audiences are the kinds of experiences that accelerate someone toward a lead or director-level climate role.

The baseline requirements are a bachelor's degree (aerospace, mechanical, materials or environmental preferred) plus at least three years in aerospace product engineering or aviation-industry knowledge and five years in product or manufacturing engineering. That engineering grounding is what separates this from a generalist ESG manager post: GE Aerospace clearly wants someone who understands how an engine is built before they account for its carbon. On the sustainability side, a solid grasp of carbon inventory principles and Scope 3 GHG Protocol methodologies is essential, ideally reinforced by audit-readiness and remediation experience. An advanced degree in engineering or business administration is desired, and a demonstrated interest in global affairs helps given the regulatory-heavy scope. The softer profile matters as much as the technical one. The JD stresses project management, the ability to lead cross-functional teams, excellent communication in multicultural settings and the capacity to develop and defend clear technical positions. Prior work with LCA, Product Carbon Footprint calculations, EPDs or circular economy strategies is listed as a plus rather than a gate, so a strong aviation engineer with emerging sustainability depth could be very competitive.

Lead with the intersection. This role is unusual in demanding both engineering credibility and carbon-accounting rigour, so your application should make that dual profile visible within the first few lines rather than treating sustainability and aerospace experience as separate chapters. If you have ever quantified emissions or energy for a physical product or manufacturing process, put the methodology, the boundary and the result up front. Be specific about standards. Naming GHG Protocol, ISO 14067, ISO 14040/14044 or EPD work (and being ready to discuss how you applied them, not just that you know them) will resonate because the JD's desired characteristics read like a checklist of audit and methodology experience. Audit readiness and remediation experience deserves its own bullet if you have it. Finally, prepare for the regulatory and stakeholder dimension. Expect questions on how you would interpret an emerging requirement such as ESPR or CSRD for a product business, and on how you would build consensus with engineering, supply chain and government relations colleagues who may not share your climate vocabulary. Showing that you can translate between those worlds is arguably the strongest signal you can send.

The emphasis is heavily environmental and product-centric. Scope 3 emissions dominate, for an engine manufacturer, the bulk of lifecycle impact sits in use-phase fuel burn and in the supply chain, so this role is effectively at the centre of the company's decarbonization accounting. The transition plan and GHG inventory management are the backbone on which any credible reduction claim rests. The forward-looking focus is regulatory and design-driven. Preparing for ESPR means building product-level carbon lifecycle capability, ecodesign criteria and Digital Product Passport data, with durability, reparability and recyclability all in scope. The circularity programme (design for disassembly, recycled and recyclable content, material recovery) is where environmental ambition meets engineering practice, and the role is expected to help embed those principles into product development. Governance and disclosure are the third pillar. Contributions to the annual sustainability report, CDP and other disclosures, plus engagement with CSRD and EU Taxonomy intersections, mean the role sits squarely at the reporting and compliance edge of the ESG agenda rather than in philanthropy or community programmes.

The hardest part is likely the data problem. Scope 3 emissions are notoriously difficult to measure well (they depend on suppliers, customers and use-phase assumptions that GE Aerospace does not fully control) and doing this across all business units and products, in an audit-defensible way, is a substantial methodological and political undertaking. A second challenge is translation. The role must bridge engineering, supply chain, product, government relations and external task groups, each with different vocabularies and incentives. Convincing a product team that design-for-disassembly matters before regulation bites, or that a methodology change is worth the rework, requires patience and credibility rather than authority. Regulatory volatility adds a third layer. ESPR, CSRD, EU Taxonomy, DPP requirements and evolving GHG Protocol guidance are all moving targets, and the role is explicitly expected to monitor them and define response strategies. Managing that uncertainty while keeping disclosures consistent year over year, and while third-party auditors scrutinise the numbers, is where the pressure will concentrate.

A day here probably oscillates between analytical, collaborative and outward-facing work. Mornings might involve reviewing Scope 3 data streams, checking calculation assumptions with analysts, or working through audit queries and evidence trails. Because the role owns the operating rhythm for methodology and regulatory updates, part of the week is likely spent scanning new guidance and deciding what it means for GE Aerospace's inventory and disclosures. Much of the calendar will be meetings. Expect sessions with Engineering, Supply Chain and Product teams on circularity and ecodesign pilots, working groups on Product Carbon Footprint assessments, and preparation meetings with Government Relations ahead of new regulation. Periodic engagement with external task groups or stakeholders on climate disclosure and carbon accounting is part of the job as described. There is also a writing and reporting thread (drafting or reviewing content for the sustainability report, CDP and other disclosures) which tends to cluster around reporting cycles. During audit periods or regulatory milestones, the tempo would rise noticeably, while quieter stretches might allow deeper methodology work or circularity programme design.

The role sits inside a large, visible sustainability function at a company whose climate disclosures are externally scrutinised. That visibility is an advantage: successful delivery on Scope 3 and product carbon work tends to be noticed by leadership, finance and investor-relations audiences, which can accelerate progression toward a director-level climate or ESG reporting position. Skill-wise, the combination of deep GHG accounting, lifecycle assessment exposure, circularity and regulatory readiness is highly marketable. Someone who has genuinely owned all Scope 3 categories across multiple businesses, survived third-party audits and helped stand up a Digital Product Passport framework holds a profile that is scarce in the wider market, including in consulting and other heavy-industry sectors. Lateral movement is plausible too. The cross-functional nature of the work (engineering, supply chain, product, government relations, external task groups) creates natural bridges into product stewardship, regulatory affairs or supply chain sustainability roles, and the external representation element builds a professional network beyond the company.

Internally, the closest partners are likely the broader Sustainability Team and the reporting and disclosure colleagues who depend on Scope 3 data. Engineering, Supply Chain and Product teams are central to the circularity and ecodesign agenda, since embedding design-for-disassembly or recycled content only happens with their cooperation. Government Relations colleagues are named explicitly as partners on regulatory intersections, and finance, legal or audit functions would be involved whenever disclosures and assurance are on the table. Externally, the role engages with major stakeholders and represents GE Aerospace in task groups working on technical climate disclosures, carbon accounting, lifecycle analysis and GHG reduction claims. Those are peer and policy forums where the company's positions are tested against industry and NGO perspectives. Third-party auditors and certification bodies are a further key relationship, given the emphasis on audit-ready methodologies. Customers and value-chain partners are a quieter but important constituency. Aerospace customers increasingly ask for product carbon data, and suppliers feed Scope 3 numbers, so the manager could find themselves negotiating data expectations up and down the value chain as much as reporting upward internally.