--- title: Deputy Head CSR canonical: https://csrjobs.club/jobs/vedanta-aluminium-metal-limited-deputy-head-csr-p57j locale: en description: Vedanta Aluminium Metal Limited is hiring a Deputy Head CSR on CSR Jobs. Discover this in-house sustainability role and apply today. updated: 2026-10-10 company: Vedanta Aluminium Metal Limited country: India contract: Full time seniority: Senior missions: Stakeholders engagement, Corporate Carbon Footprint, ESG reporting, Compliance job_type: ESG/Sustainability Reporting Manager posted: 2026-10-10 valid_through: 2026-12-10 apply: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4477206477 source: CSR Jobs --- # Deputy Head CSR This person will own the corporate social responsibility agenda for Vedanta's aluminium business across multiple sites, setting strategy, managing flagship community programs, allocating budgets, and making sure every rupee and every partner delivers measurable, compliant impact. It's a hands-on leadership seat: governance, audits, due diligence, grievance mechanisms and multi-location teams all sit with you. What matters here is scale and credibility. Vedanta Aluminium is India's largest aluminium producer, and its second-place global ranking in the S&P Corporate Sustainability Assessment signals that CSR is not a side-of-desk activity but a core part of the licence to operate. This role shapes how mining and smelting operations coexist with the communities around them, and how that story holds up to ESG scrutiny. This suits someone who has run large CSR or community development portfolios in heavy industry, can negotiate with government and community leaders in the same afternoon, and is comfortable leading teams spread across states. Fifteen-plus years of public relations or humanities background would fit well. ## Job FAQs ### What are the main missions and responsibilities of this role? The core mission is to lead and scale Vedanta Aluminium's corporate social responsibility agenda across all its operating locations in India. Day to day, this means translating Schedule VII requirements and ESG priorities into flagship programs that deliver measurable outcomes, then overseeing their execution through structured monitoring of timelines, quality and visibility. The deputy head will own annual CSR planning and budget optimisation, making sure resources are allocated efficiently and aligned with both community needs and business strategy. A large part of the role is governance. That includes compliance with statutory CSR obligations, managing audits, conducting risk assessments, and running due diligence on implementing partners. Building strategic partnerships with government bodies and community stakeholders is also central, especially to drive convergence, scalability and effective grievance management. The person will likely be the senior point of contact when community issues escalate. On the leadership side, the role involves managing multi-location teams, ensuring alignment with the company's management incentive plan, building capabilities and planning succession. Cross-functional collaboration with operations, finance, legal and expansion teams is expected, so the CSR function stays integrated with business priorities rather than operating in a silo. ### Key learning opportunities for this job This position offers deep exposure to large-scale CSR strategy in one of India's most prominent industrial groups. The candidate will likely sharpen skills in program design, impact measurement and governance, working within the framework of Schedule VII and global ESG benchmarks like the S&P Corporate Sustainability Assessment. Learning how a top-ranked aluminium producer structures its community investment could be highly transferable to other heavy-industry or mining contexts. There is also significant leadership development. Managing multi-location teams, driving capability building and succession planning will strengthen people-management credentials at a senior level. Interaction with government bodies and community stakeholders will refine negotiation, public affairs and grievance-handling abilities, which are valuable for any future executive role in sustainability or corporate affairs. The role may involve exposure to audits, risk assessments and partner due diligence, providing a practical education in CSR compliance and impact finance. If the company invests in certifications or external training, the candidate could gain further credentials in sustainability reporting or social impact assessment. Overall, the learning curve is steep but rich for someone aiming to lead CSR at group level. ### How does the ideal candidate look like (experience, skills)? The ideal candidate likely holds a master's degree in humanities, public relations, social work or a related field, with at least fifteen years of experience in corporate CSR, community development or public affairs. They should have a proven track record of managing large-scale social programs, preferably in mining, metals, energy or another heavy-industry setting. Familiarity with Schedule VII of the Indian Companies Act and CSR compliance frameworks is almost certainly expected. On the skills side, strong business acumen and strategic orientation are critical. The person must be able to link community initiatives to business priorities and articulate impact in a language senior leaders understand. Excellent communication and negotiation skills are essential for dealing with government officials, community leaders and internal stakeholders. Experience in leading dispersed teams and building high-performing units is also important. Soft attributes matter too. The role demands resilience under pressure, a hands-on approach and the ability to drive outcomes without constant supervision. A collaborative mindset and change-management experience would help, given the company's emphasis on innovation and inclusion. Exposure to ESG reporting or impact assessment methodologies would be an added advantage. ### Advice to stand out and make a successful application To stand out, tailor your application specifically to Vedanta Aluminium's context. Highlight experience in heavy industry or mining communities, and quantify your impact in terms of budgets managed, number of locations covered, people led and outcomes achieved. Mention any direct exposure to Schedule VII compliance, CSR audits, partner due diligence and grievance mechanisms, as these are explicitly in the job description. If you have worked with government convergence projects, bring that to the fore. In your cover letter, avoid generic statements about passion for CSR. Instead, show that you understand Vedanta's positioning as a global sustainability leader in aluminium and can articulate how you would protect and improve that reputation. Reference the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment ranking and explain how your approach to community investment contributes to such benchmarks. Demonstrate business acumen by linking CSR outcomes to operational stability and social licence. For interviews, prepare concrete stories about managing difficult community grievances, optimising budgets without sacrificing impact, and leading multi-location teams. Be ready to discuss how you would handle tension between business expansion and community expectations. Show that you are hands-on, resilient and comfortable negotiating with senior officials. Familiarity with Odisha or similar industrial regions will be an advantage, so research local context if you lack it. ### What aspects of the company's sustainability is this role likely to focus on? This role is squarely on the social side of ESG, but it connects to the environmental and governance pillars in concrete ways. Vedanta Aluminium's CSR programs under Schedule VII likely span education, healthcare, skill development, water access and livelihood generation in the communities surrounding its smelters, refinery and power plants. The deputy head will be responsible for ensuring these programs are not just well-intentioned but measurable, audited and aligned with the company's broader sustainability commitments. Because Vedanta Aluminium ranks second globally in the S&P Corporate Sustainability Assessment for aluminium, the CSR function feeds directly into that score. The role will probably contribute evidence and narratives for ESG disclosures, particularly around community investment, human rights, resettlement and local sourcing. It may also involve environmental components such as water stewardship or afforestation tied to community programs. There is a strong governance angle too. Partner due diligence, impact assessments and grievance mechanisms are all part of the mandate, meaning this person helps protect the company's social licence while advancing its decarbonisation and responsible-production narrative. ### What are the main challenges someone in this role might face? One likely challenge is balancing the competing expectations of the community, the government and the business. Vedanta Aluminium operates in regions where mining and smelting can create social and environmental tensions, so the CSR function often sits at the fault line. The deputy head will need to manage grievances firmly but empathetically, while ensuring programs are not seen as mere compliance exercises. Maintaining trust across diverse communities with different needs is inherently difficult. Another challenge is scale and geography. Running CSR across multiple states means inconsistent local capacities, varying government relationships and logistical complexity. Ensuring quality and visibility across all locations requires strong monitoring systems and a strong team, which may not always be in place. Budget optimisation under scrutiny adds pressure, especially when impact is hard to quantify quickly. Governance and audit demands are also significant. Partner due diligence, risk management and statutory compliance leave little room for error, and any lapse can damage the company's strong sustainability reputation. Finally, the role requires influencing senior internal stakeholders who may prioritise operational targets over community outcomes, so diplomacy and business acumen are constantly tested. ### How could a typical day look like for someone in this position? A typical day might start with a quick review of project dashboards from several locations, checking spend against the annual CSR budget and flagging anything slipping behind schedule. Mid-morning could be a call with plant CSR leads to troubleshoot a community grievance or prepare for an upcoming social audit, followed by internal meetings with finance, legal or operations to align a new initiative with expansion plans. Afternoon hours are often reserved for external meetings, perhaps with district officials, NGO partners or community representatives, where negotiation and relationship-building take centre stage. There is likely significant variability. Weeks leading up to an audit, a major program launch or a board review will look very different from routine weeks, and travel to smelter and refinery sites is probably a regular feature. The role blends strategic thinking with operational firefighting, so no two days are identical. Senior leadership meetings, budget reviews and cross-functional catch-ups will punctuate the calendar, meaning the person needs to switch comfortably between field realities and boardroom language. Expect the pace to be demanding but varied, with visibility across the entire aluminium business. ### What are the opportunities for professional growth and development in this role? Given the seniority of the role, growth could come in several directions. A strong performer might move into a group-level CSR or sustainability leadership position within Vedanta Limited, especially given the company's size and diversified operations. The deputy head title suggests a deliberate succession pipeline, so internal promotion to a full head-of-CSR role within the aluminium business or a larger vertical is a plausible path. Lateral moves into ESG, corporate affairs, or business development are also possible, since the role builds deep understanding of stakeholder management and governance. The visibility of working for a top-ranked sustainability performer could open doors externally as well, particularly in other mining, metals or infrastructure companies seeking experienced CSR leaders. High-visibility projects, such as scaling flagship programs or leading a major audit turnaround, could serve as career-defining achievements. The role also offers a platform to build a strong professional network across government, NGOs and industry peers, which is invaluable for long-term advancement in the sustainability field. ### The main stakeholders you might be interacting with The most immediate stakeholders are the multi-location CSR teams that this role leads, likely spread across Odisha, Chhattisgarh and other operating states. The deputy head will interact daily with program managers, field officers and monitoring teams, providing direction, solving problems and ensuring accountability. Internally, close collaboration with plant heads, operations leadership, finance, legal and the ESG or sustainability function will be essential, especially when aligning CSR with expansion plans or audit requirements. Externally, the role engages heavily with government bodies at district and state levels, including administrative officials and statutory authorities overseeing CSR compliance. Community representatives, village leaders and local institutions are key stakeholders, particularly for grievance management and program design. NGO and implementation partners, foundations and impact assessment agencies will also be regular contacts, requiring a balance of partnership and oversight. Senior leadership within Vedanta, including the group CSR function and business heads, will look to this person for strategic updates and assurance on risk. The stakeholder map is broad and politically sensitive, so strong relationship management and negotiation skills are non-negotiable. --- Source: https://csrjobs.club/jobs/vedanta-aluminium-metal-limited-deputy-head-csr-p57j