Siegfried Jacob Metallwerke GmbH & Co. KG logo

Referent Compliance & ESG

Siegfried Jacob Metallwerke GmbH & Co. KG • Germany • Added on Oct 9, 2026
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This role anchors both regulatory integrity and corporate responsibility at a major metal recycler, acting as the primary internal advisor on legal standards and emerging sustainability frameworks. Operating closely with leadership and operational teams, you will turn complex environmental laws, cross-border waste shipment rules, and governance requirements into pragmatic everyday business practices.

Recycling is foundational to the circular economy, yet operating in heavy industry demands rigorous transparency. Here, your work directly ensures responsible resource management by navigating frameworks such as EcoVadis, VSME, and stringent European waste regulations, proving that operational circularity matches strict corporate governance and buyer expectations.

This suits someone who pairs a solid grounding in law, compliance, or sustainability with a hands-on, problem-solving mindset and wants real operational influence rather than abstract desk administration.

Job FAQs

What are the main missions and responsibilities of this role?

The primary mission centers on acting as the key authority for regulatory compliance and ESG performance across all business units. On a day-to-day level, this involves assessing incoming legal and regulatory requirements, advising operational departments on risk mitigation, and overseeing compliance approvals and internal governance policies. Strategically, the role is tasked with steering environmental and waste law topics, including specific cross-border waste shipment directives. Furthermore, you will manage structured sustainability assessments and customer-driven questionnaires, such as EcoVadis evaluations and VSME standards, while preparing the company for relevant certifications and audits.

Key learning opportunities for this job

A professional in this position will gain deep operational insight into the circular economy and metals value chain, learning firsthand how environmental regulations interact with commercial recycling operations. Navigating the intersection of waste governance, international trade law, and corporate sustainability reporting will substantially broaden your regulatory expertise. Additionally, exposure through the in-house Jacob Metal Academy and direct advisory work with executive management provides strong avenues to sharpen executive communication, corporate risk assessment, and non-financial reporting competencies.

How does the ideal candidate look like (experience, skills)?

The ideal candidate brings a background in commercial law, compliance, sustainability, or quality management, backed by relevant professional experience handling regulatory or ESG obligations in an industrial setting. A fully completed legal state examination is not required, provided there is solid legal and regulatory literacy. Beyond technical foundations, success in this role demands strong analytical capability, pragmatic business acumen, and communicative dexterity. The business values a decisive self-starter who prefers practical implementation over pure theoretical bureaucracy.

Advice to stand out and make a successful application

Highlight practical instances where you translated complex legal or ESG standards into viable business procedures. Rather than focusing solely on academic knowledge, show how your interventions protected business operations or facilitated external audits and client approvals. Given the industrial and family-owned context of Siegfried Jacob Metallwerke, articulate how your working style aligns with pragmatism and lean decision-making. Familiarity with circular economy dynamics, waste transit laws, or platforms like EcoVadis will serve as a strong differentiator.

What aspects of the company's sustainability is this role likely to focus on?

The sustainability focus will bridge environmental stewardship and strict corporate governance. Given the company's business model in metal recycling, environmental compliance, resource conservation, and traceable circular material flows are central priorities. On the reporting side, you will focus heavily on client-facing sustainability transparency, managing platforms like EcoVadis and voluntary SME standards (VSME). Governance issues, fair business practices, and regulatory environmental monitoring form the bedrock of the role's ESG mandate.

What are the main challenges someone in this role might face?

One significant hurdle lies in balancing heavy regulatory complexity, such as evolving EU waste shipment frameworks and ESG directives, with the swift commercial tempo of an active metal trading and recycling plant. Another challenge will be fostering internal alignment, ensuring that operational and commercial teams adopt compliance guidelines without feeling constrained by bureaucratic inertia. Translating intricate statutory texts into workable field processes will require patience and diplomacy.

How could a typical day look like for someone in this position?

A regular day could start with reviewing new legislative updates on environmental and waste transport law, followed by an internal advisory session with logistics or processing managers regarding compliance documentation. In the afternoon, your focus might shift to coordinating non-financial data for an ongoing EcoVadis assessment or customer sustainability survey. You may close the day liaising with public authorities or preparing documentation for an upcoming external audit alongside company executives.

What are the opportunities for professional growth and development in this role?

Because this position operates in close coordination with senior management in a lean organizational structure, high visibility is guaranteed from day one. You can establish yourself as the indispensable internal authority on governance and sustainability strategy. As ESG reporting expectations expand across European supply chains, your remit could grow into heading a broader integrated compliance and sustainability management department, accompanied by leadership development tracks via internal academies.

The main stakeholders you might be interacting with

Internally, you will collaborate closely with the executive leadership team, production and site managers, quality management leads, and commercial trading specialists who require swift compliance clearances. Externally, you will represent the company in interactions with regulatory authorities, environmental oversight agencies, certification auditors, and key B2B customers assessing the company's supply chain ESG performance.

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