Sustainability Reporting Lead

The core of this role is operationalising sustainability reporting across a sprawling global matrix. Day to day, that means coordinating ESG data collection from regions and functions, chasing inputs to deadline, checking quality and consistency, and feeding the results into group-level KPI reporting and disclosures. You would also support the rollout of the new global reporting tool and keep the reporting calendar running smoothly. Beyond the routine cycle, you would act as the bridge between evolving regulations and the business. That involves translating CSRD-style requirements into practical, understandable asks for colleagues who may not speak the language of assurance, and collaborating with external auditors and consultants as the assurance process matures. Longer term, the mission is to move Perfetti Van Melle from a well-designed framework to a genuinely embedded, reliable and audit-ready reporting function that stands up to 2028 requirements and beyond. Success looks like a process the whole organisation can trust without the reporting lead having to hold it together by hand.

This is a rare chance to build a reporting function largely from the execution side, having inherited a framework that is designed but not yet fully proven. You would gain deep, hands-on exposure to ESG assurance and audit processes, working alongside external auditors and consultants, which is expertise that remains scarce and highly marketable. Because Perfetti Van Melle operates across 150+ countries and a matrix of regions and functions, you would sharpen serious international stakeholder management and change-adoption skills, particularly around supporting colleagues through unfamiliar reporting obligations. Tool implementation experience, likely with a dedicated ESG reporting platform, adds a technical string to your bow. You would also develop fluency in translating emerging regulation into operational practice, a skill set that sits at the intersection of finance, sustainability and compliance and travels well into larger corporate or advisory roles.

The posting points to a master's degree in accounting, finance, sustainability or a related field, plus five or more years in sustainability reporting within a global corporate matrix. That combination suggests someone equally comfortable with the numbers and the narrative, rather than a purely technical accountant or a purely communications-oriented sustainability professional. The softer profile matters just as much. The role explicitly rewards people who succeed through collaboration rather than hierarchy, so the ideal candidate is a natural relationship-builder who can engage colleagues across cultures and guide them through change. Being structured and organised is essential, since multiple workstreams, priorities and deadlines run in parallel. A strong candidate would also be proactive, spotting data-quality risks early and taking ownership before problems escalate, and a clear communicator who can turn dense regulatory language into practical actions. Prior experience establishing, implementing or improving reporting processes, ideally with some assurance exposure, would be a clear differentiator.

Lead with process. This role is about execution and embedding, not framework design, so your application should foreground concrete examples where you built or fixed a reporting cycle: how you organised data collection across entities, how you improved quality or timeliness, and what changed as a result. Quantify where you can, whether that is number of entities covered or reduction in errors. Demonstrate that you understand the CSRD and assurance environment specifically, since the role is framed around translating emerging regulation into practice and preparing for 2028. Referencing how you have worked with auditors, external consultants or assurance providers will speak directly to the stated responsibilities. Mention any ESG reporting tool implementation you have supported. Because the role sits in a Netherlands-based group function with a global mandate, signal your comfort working across cultures and time zones, and your ability to influence colleagues without formal authority. Connecting your motivation to Perfetti Van Melle's family-oriented culture and its privately owned, long-term outlook could help you stand out from candidates who only cite regulatory pressure.

The obvious focus is reporting itself, so the role centres on the environmental and social metrics that underpin Perfetti Van Melle's disclosures, covering the data that flows into scope, packaging, sourcing and people-related indicators. You would sit close to the governance side of ESG, ensuring the company can evidence what it claims. For a confectionery business with brands like Mentos and Chupa Chups sold in over 150 countries, sustainable sourcing and packaging are likely material themes, given the agricultural inputs and plastic footprint typical of the sector. The reporting lens is how those commitments get measured, assured and disclosed rather than how they are set or operated, which sits with the sustainability and functional teams you would support. Because the role coordinates finance, sustainability and functional leaders, it touches the connective tissue between financial and non-financial reporting. That positioning means the insight you build into where the group's biggest ESG exposures lie becomes a platform for more strategic sustainability work over time.

The clearest challenge is influence without authority in a global matrix. You depend on colleagues in regions and functions to supply data, but you are not their line manager, so success hinges on persuasion, clear expectations and persistence. When reporting obligations are new or unfamiliar to those colleagues, resistance or confusion is a realistic obstacle. Data quality and consistency across 150+ markets is another structural difficulty. Definitions may be interpreted differently, reporting tool adoption may lag, and deadlines can collide with local priorities. Ensuring accuracy while also hitting the reporting cadence requires disciplined prioritisation and early risk-spotting. There is also the moving target of evolving regulation. Requirements from 2028 onwards will continue to shift, and translating them into practical asks before they are fully settled demands judgement and calm under ambiguity. Working with external auditors adds an assurance dynamic that can feel demanding when processes are still maturing.

A typical day likely blends coordination and analysis. You might start by reviewing data submissions or open items in the reporting tool, then follow up with regional or functional contacts to close gaps and confirm definitions. Time spent checking consistency and preparing or updating KPI schedules is a steady undercurrent. The human side fills much of the calendar. Expect meetings with finance, sustainability and functional leads to align on requirements and deadlines, plus working sessions with external auditors or consultants during assurance periods. There would also be project work around the reporting tool rollout and process improvements. Variability comes with the reporting calendar. During peak reporting or assurance cycles, days may be dominated by data chasing, validation and deadline pressure, while quieter periods allow more focus on embedding processes, updating guidance and improving the reporting rhythm. Hybrid working means some of this happens remotely, but the role clearly leans on in-office collaboration.

Since this role sits at the execution frontier of a reporting function preparing for 2028 requirements, the visibility is unusually high. You would become the person the organisation relies on for reliable ESG data, which naturally positions you for broader sustainability or finance leadership roles as the function matures. Skill development is built in: assurance expertise, ESG tool implementation, regulatory translation and global stakeholder management all deepen with the workload. A group-level position at a company with 150+ market reach also exposes you to a level of complexity that strengthens your external marketability considerably. Within Perfetti Van Melle, success could open paths towards leading the reporting function outright, moving into wider ESG strategy, or stepping into finance roles that increasingly overlap with non-financial reporting. Elsewhere, the combination of practical reporting and assurance experience is in strong demand across corporate and advisory markets.

The most immediate relationships are within the Group Reporting team, where you would sit, and with finance and sustainability colleagues who share responsibility for the disclosure agenda. These day-to-day interactions centre on aligning on requirements, solving data issues and keeping the reporting calendar on track. Given the global matrix, a large share of your time would involve regional and functional contacts who supply ESG data. The nature of these interactions is supportive and instructional, helping colleagues understand what is needed and by when, and guiding them through unfamiliar obligations with a collaborative rather than hierarchical tone. Externally, you would work with auditors and consultants on assurance activities and regulatory interpretation. Internally, you may also engage senior leaders and functional heads, particularly where reporting compliance, data quality or process effectiveness needs attention and where your ability to influence across cultures becomes decisive.