Manager - Special Projects & Sustainability

The core mission is to find and deliver industrial projects that create measurable financial and environmental value. Day to day, this means scanning for technologies in renewable energy, heat recovery, biogas and waste-to-wealth, then building data-driven business cases with full financial modelling, including NPV, IRR and payback analysis. Once a project is approved, the role shifts to execution: managing engineering consultants, contractors and plant teams through procurement, installation, commissioning and handover. You would be responsible for keeping the project within the frozen design, budget and timeline, and for escalating any deviation with proper evaluation. Longer term, the objective is to replicate successful projects across manufacturing locations and to verify that the actual savings and revenue match what was promised in the business case. The role also supports sustainability reporting by quantifying environmental benefits against baselines.

You would deepen your expertise in industrial energy systems, renewable energy technologies and circular economy solutions specific to the food and beverage sector. The hands-on involvement from feasibility to commissioning provides end-to-end project management experience that is hard to get in a purely analytical role. Financial modelling and investment evaluation skills would be sharpened, particularly in building defensible business cases for capital allocation. Exposure to senior management through investment proposals could also build your credibility and visibility within the organisation. Working within a large brewing company, you might learn about the specific sustainability challenges of fermentation processes and how to integrate resource efficiency into manufacturing. If the company offers training or mentorship, that could further accelerate your development.

The ideal candidate likely has an engineering degree in mechanical, chemical, electrical, energy or environmental fields, with 8 to 12 years of experience in industrial project execution or energy management. A postgraduate qualification in energy, sustainability or business could be an advantage. Technical skills should include a solid understanding of industrial utilities, energy systems and waste recovery processes. Advanced Excel and financial modelling are essential, while familiarity with Power BI, SQL or Python would set you apart. Experience in brewing, bioenergy or similar process industries is highly valued. Soft skills matter too: you need to be a strong communicator who can present to senior management, a rigorous analyst who challenges assumptions, and a disciplined project manager who can hold a design freeze. A collaborative approach to working with plant teams and external partners is critical.

Tailor your resume to highlight projects where you delivered measurable financial and environmental results, particularly those involving energy efficiency, waste recovery or renewable energy. Quantify outcomes with numbers such as payback periods, savings achieved or capacity installed. In your cover letter, show that you understand United Breweries' specific context: a large brewer with multiple plants, high energy and water use, and a parent company with sustainability commitments. Explain why you are drawn to the operational side of sustainability and how you can bridge engineering and finance. For interviews, prepare to discuss a project from feasibility to commissioning, including how you handled deviations, managed stakeholders and verified benefits. Be ready to walk through a financial model and defend your assumptions. Demonstrating familiarity with brewing by-products or bioenergy could set you apart.

The role's sustainability focus is primarily environmental and operational: reducing energy consumption and conventional energy costs, increasing the use of renewable energy such as solar, and recovering value from waste streams including spent grain, surplus yeast and effluent. These are direct contributors to lowering the carbon intensity of brewing operations. On the social side, the improvements could reduce local environmental impact from manufacturing sites, particularly around effluent and waste management, which matters for community relations and regulatory compliance. Governance enters through the disciplined investment process: business cases with documented assumptions, formal change control, and verified benefits realisation. United Breweries, as part of the Heineken group, likely has group-level sustainability commitments, and this role could be a key contributor to meeting those targets at the India operating level, especially on energy and circular economy metrics.

One challenge is the inherent uncertainty in technology scouting: promising technologies may not perform as advertised, and validating vendor claims requires deep technical scepticism and rigorous piloting. Another is balancing the aggressive payback expectations of a business with the real-world timelines of industrial project execution, where delays and cost overruns are common. The role also sits between multiple functions, so navigating competing priorities between plant operations, finance and engineering could be demanding. Enforcing a frozen design in a live manufacturing environment, where operators often want adjustments, requires discipline and strong change management. Finally, demonstrating verified benefits after commissioning is a high bar. If savings do not materialise, the credibility of the role and future proposals could suffer, so robust measurement and verification processes are essential.

A typical day might start with reviewing energy and production data from one or more plants to spot anomalies or improvement potential, followed by refining a financial model for a solar or biogas proposal. Mid-morning could involve a call with a technology provider to test their claims against your own assumptions, or a meeting with plant engineering to validate site conditions. Afternoons often shift to execution mode: reviewing contractor progress on an approved project, checking invoices against budget, or resolving a deviation request that needs technical and commercial evaluation before it can proceed. You might prepare a slide deck for the Director of Business Development summarising project status, risks and expected returns. The mix varies by project stage. Feasibility weeks are analysis-heavy; commissioning weeks are site-heavy, with travel to manufacturing locations and long days on performance testing and handover documentation.

Success in this role could lead to larger project portfolios, possibly heading a sustainability or energy function within the company or the broader Heineken group. The exposure to senior management and the commercial impact of your work create a strong platform for advancement. You might also move laterally into operations, engineering leadership or finance roles, given the cross-functional nature of the position. The skills in techno-economic analysis and project delivery are transferable across industries. High-visibility projects, especially those that deliver significant savings or revenue, could position you as a key contributor to the company's sustainability agenda, opening doors to strategic roles. The role also offers a chance to build a network with external technology providers and consultants, which can be valuable for future career moves.

Internally, you would work closely with plant operations teams, engineering, finance and procurement. Plant teams provide operational data and site access, finance helps validate the commercial assumptions, and procurement supports vendor selection and contracting. You would also interact regularly with the Director of Business Development, who sponsors the projects and approves recommendations. Externally, the role involves managing relationships with technology providers, equipment manufacturers, engineering consultants and contractors. These interactions range from initial scouting and benchmarking to detailed negotiations and performance guarantees. You might also engage with potential commercial partners who could buy by-products or off-take energy, and with regulatory bodies indirectly through compliance requirements handled by the plants. The ability to translate technical detail into financial language for senior management is a recurring theme.