This is a hands-on supply-chain accountability role at Nanjing Chia Tai Tianqing, the pharmaceutical group behind a fast-growing portfolio of cardiovascular, oncology and surgical treatments. The person will own supplier CSR audits against RBA and EcoVadis standards, track corrective action plans to closure, and run the group’s charity and community programmes.
For a pharma company with thousands of suppliers and a 6,000-person workforce, credible social and environmental due diligence is not a side project: it protects patient trust and market access. This role is where labour, human rights and EHS risks in the supply chain meet the company’s licence to operate.
This suits someone who has spent years inside audit frameworks like EcoVadis or RBA, is comfortable pushing suppliers to fix problems, and can move between a factory floor and a community volunteering event without missing a beat.
Job FAQs
What are the main missions and responsibilities of this role?
The core mission of this CSR audit engineer is to build and run a credible supplier social responsibility system for a major Chinese pharmaceutical group. Day to day, that means maintaining the Supplier Code of Conduct, scheduling and conducting RBA or CSR audits, either on-site or remotely, and identifying high-risk areas such as labour practices, human rights, EHS and business ethics. The role also owns the corrective action process, so a large part of the job is pushing suppliers to fix findings and then verifying that the fixes actually happened.
On top of the supply-chain work, the position leads the group's CSR and charity programmes, which could include environmental initiatives, employee care and community engagement. Another key responsibility is managing EcoVadis assessments, which likely involves gathering evidence, coordinating internal contributors and responding to the rating agency's questions. Because the company operates multiple plants and has a large supplier base, the role is expected to handle audits independently when scheduling conflicts arise.
The overarching goal is to raise the group's compliance and sustainability performance across its extended network, reducing risk while meeting client and regulatory expectations. It is a role that blends technical auditing, stakeholder influence and programme management rather than pure strategy or reporting.
Key learning opportunities for this job
This role offers deep exposure to EcoVadis assessment methodology and RBA audit frameworks, which are highly transferable credentials in the global supply-chain sustainability field. The person will likely become fluent in interpreting EcoVadis criteria, preparing evidence packs and improving scores, a skill set that is in demand across manufacturing and consumer-goods companies.
Because the job covers HR and EHS audit dimensions, the candidate can expect to build a broad understanding of labour standards, occupational health and safety regulations, and ethical sourcing requirements. Working across multiple plants and suppliers will provide practical experience in audit planning, interviewing, report writing and corrective action management. The CSR and charity programme side adds project management and stakeholder engagement skills.
Mentorship may come from senior audit or compliance colleagues, and there could be opportunities to attend external auditor training or certification courses if the company invests in upskilling. The international dimension, English is required for client and audit documents, also means the person will practise professional English in a sustainability context.
How does the ideal candidate look like (experience, skills)?
The ideal candidate likely has at least six years of direct CSR or social responsibility audit experience, with hands-on knowledge of RBA or similar frameworks and a solid grasp of EcoVadis standards. A bachelor's degree is expected, and familiarity with both HR and EHS audit modules is explicitly required, so a background in human resources, environmental health and safety, or social compliance auditing would fit well.
Beyond technical audit skills, the role demands strong cross-departmental communication and the ability to push projects forward independently. The job description highlights stress tolerance and self-drive, suggesting the person must be comfortable working with minimal supervision and managing multiple audits under deadline pressure. Good English reading and writing skills are essential for dealing with clients and audit documents, and fluent spoken English would be an advantage.
Because the role involves travel to different plants and supplier sites, flexibility and a willingness to be on the road are important. A candidate who has worked in pharmaceutical, chemical or other regulated manufacturing supply chains could adapt faster, given the compliance-heavy environment. Certifications such as SA8000 auditor training or EcoVadis-specific training might be valued, though the posting does not require them explicitly.
Advice to stand out and make a successful application
To stand out, a candidate should lead with concrete evidence of having run CSR or RBA audits independently, ideally with examples of supplier corrective actions that were successfully closed. Because the job explicitly names EcoVadis, it is worth quantifying your experience with that platform, for example, the number of assessments managed or score improvements achieved. Mentioning familiarity with both HR and EHS audit modules will directly address the stated requirement.
The cover letter should connect to Nanjing Chia Tai Tianqing's context: a large pharmaceutical group with multiple plants and a complex supplier network. Showing that you understand the compliance pressures of pharma supply chains, including client audit expectations and regulatory scrutiny, will demonstrate that you are not just a generic auditor. Highlighting English proficiency through examples of dealing with international clients or audit documents would also strengthen the application.
In interviews, prepare to discuss how you handle resistant suppliers, prioritise audits when resources are tight, and manage travel alongside programme work. The job description emphasises stress tolerance and self-drive, so behavioural examples that show independence and resilience will matter. Asking thoughtful questions about the company's EcoVadis goals or the maturity of its supplier code of conduct could signal genuine interest and strategic thinking.
What aspects of the company's sustainability is this role likely to focus on?
The sustainability focus of this role is squarely on the social and governance side of ESG, with a strong supply-chain lens. The company is a large pharmaceutical manufacturer with thousands of suppliers, so supplier social responsibility (labour conditions, human rights, health and safety, and business ethics) is likely the core of the job. EcoVadis is explicitly named, meaning the company probably uses that platform to benchmark its own or its suppliers' sustainability performance for clients and partners.
Environmental aspects could appear through EHS audits and the charity programmes the role coordinates, such as environmental protection activities. But this is not a carbon-accounting or climate-strategy role. The sustainability work here is about verifying that the extended supply chain behaves responsibly, managing reputational risk, and responding to customer requirements for ethical sourcing.
There may also be a community investment angle, since the job includes planning group CSR and charitable activities around employee care and community participation. For a pharma company whose products reach millions of patients, that social licence dimension is especially relevant.
What are the main challenges someone in this role might face?
One of the biggest challenges will be driving corrective actions across a large and diverse supplier base, especially when suppliers are small, resource-constrained or resistant to change. The role requires the ability to push without direct authority, and the job description explicitly mentions strong cross-departmental communication and project independence. In a company with 6,000 employees and multiple plants, internal coordination alone could be demanding.
Another challenge is the breadth of the audit scope. Covering HR, EHS, labour, human rights and business ethics means the person must be a generalist auditor with enough technical depth to spot real risks. EcoVadis standards add another layer of documentation and evidence requirements, and keeping up with evolving client expectations could be time-consuming. The need to travel between plants and supplier sites adds logistical pressure.
Finally, the CSR and charity programming element may compete for time with audit deadlines, requiring strong prioritisation. The job description mentions stress tolerance and self-drive, which suggests the environment can be fast-paced and that the person will need to manage conflicting priorities while maintaining audit quality.
How could a typical day look like for someone in this position?
A typical day for this CSR audit engineer likely starts early, because the role supports multiple plants and supplier sites. Mornings may involve reviewing audit checklists, preparing for an on-site or remote RBA audit, or following up on open corrective action plans from previous assessments. Since the job covers both internal CSR and supplier audits, the person could spend time coordinating with procurement, HR and EHS teams to gather evidence on labour practices or environmental permits.
Afternoons might shift toward EcoVadis-related work: compiling documentation, responding to assessor queries, or coaching internal departments on how to meet scoring criteria. When not travelling, the role probably includes planning community or employee-care activities under the group CSR umbrella, which requires cross-departmental coordination with communications and HR.
There is likely no completely predictable day because audit schedules, supplier readiness and leadership requests can shift priorities. Travel to supplier sites or other plants is built into the job, so some days will be fully dedicated to field audits and interviews with workers or management representatives.
What are the opportunities for professional growth and development in this role?
In the short term, this role offers the chance to become a recognised expert in supplier CSR auditing and EcoVadis management within a large pharmaceutical group. Successfully closing audits and improving scores could lead to expanded responsibility over the supply-chain sustainability programme, possibly across more business units or geographies. The company's scale (around 6,000 employees and multiple plants) suggests there is room to grow into a managerial or regional lead position.
A lateral move into broader ESG or sustainability management could also be possible, especially if the company matures its sustainability strategy beyond supply-chain compliance. The experience gained in stakeholder engagement, corrective action management and CSR programming is transferable to roles in sustainability reporting, ethics and compliance, or procurement governance.
Externally, the EcoVadis and RBA credentials are portable and valued by multinationals that require supplier audits. Someone in this role could later move into consulting, auditing firms or a global brand's responsible-sourcing team. High-visibility projects, such as leading a major supplier remediation or a group-wide CSR campaign, could accelerate that trajectory.
The main stakeholders you might be interacting with
The most immediate stakeholders are suppliers and their factory management teams, since the role involves auditing their labour, EHS and ethics practices and driving corrective actions. This relationship can be both collaborative and firm: the auditor must be credible enough to challenge findings while also helping suppliers understand what good practice looks like.
Internally, the CSR audit engineer will work closely with procurement and supply-chain teams, who own the commercial supplier relationships, as well as HR and EHS departments, because the audit scope covers HR and EHS topics. Legal, quality and operations teams may also be involved when findings touch on compliance or production continuity. Senior leadership could be a stakeholder when audit results affect customer contracts or the company's EcoVadis score.
Externally, the role likely interacts with EcoVadis assessors or client audit teams, especially where customers require supply-chain transparency. For the CSR and charity programme side, community partners, NGOs or local government bodies might be involved. The ability to influence without direct authority is probably essential, since the role must push multiple departments and external partners toward compliance goals.
CSR Jobs newsletter
Never miss the next opportunity
Get a curated selection of new CSR, ESG, and sustainability roles in your inbox. No daily noise, just useful opportunities.
You are subscribed
Want more relevant opportunities?
Share your LinkedIn profile so we can better understand the roles that may fit you. This step is optional.
You are all set!
Thanks for joining the CSR Jobs newsletter. Keep an eye on your inbox for sustainability opportunities.
Something went wrong. Please try again.
Cookies
CSR Jobs uses analytics and marketing cookies. You can decline without affecting your browsing.