Climate Change Manager

Salary: if hired in Delhi – 3,042,400 INR, if in Lahore - 6,773,600 PKR, commensurate with relevant experience and skills

About the Job

Better Cotton is the world's largest cotton sustainability programme. Our mission: to help cotton communities survive and thrive, while protecting and restoring the environment. Through our network of field-level partners we have trained over 2.5 million farmers - from the smallest to the largest - in 23 countries in more sustainable farming practices. A quarter of the world's cotton is now grown under the Better Cotton Standard.

Climate change is a critical issue at a global level, and it also has profound impacts on the cotton sector in particular. Over the last two years, we have undertaken extensive research to understand how cotton production contributes to climate change, and how cotton farmers are likely to be impacted by the changing climate. We now have a strong understanding of our climate change impacts and priorities, and we have drafted an initial climate change approach which supports our 2030 Strategy. The three main focus areas of this approach are:

• Reducing the impact of climate change: Mitigating our contribution through emissions reductions + carbon sequestration
• Adapting to life in a changing climate: Equipping farmers and communities to be more resilient to the impacts of climate change
• Enabling a Just Transition: Ensuring that the shift towards climate-smart farming and resilient communities is socially inclusive

The Challenge

Looking ahead to 2030, we are targeting reducing GHG emissions from cotton production by half, big cuts in synthetic pesticide use, improve soil health across our network, improve farm income and support women's empowerment among farmers and farm workers.

Areas that play to your strengths

Reports to: Senior Manager: Global Impact within the Impact and Fundraising function.

Close collaboration with: Global and Country Programmes, Standards & Assurance team, global thematic leads for Regenerative Agriculture, Pesticides, Gender and Sustainable Livelihoods and Knowledge Management, as well as Programme, Monitoring & Evaluation, Communications, and Fundraising.

The Climate Change Manager will have the following responsibilities:

TECHNICAL EXPERTISE AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

• Ensure alignment of the Better Cotton climate approach with internal strategies, global agendas, donor, retailer, and brand requirements, and evolving scientific research.
• Lead internal and external working groups to enhance knowledge sharing and cross functional collaborations.
• Collaborate with external organisations, build complementary relationships and align with industry initiatives such as SBTi and industry aligned agricultural greenhouse gas metrics.
• Represent Better Cotton in working groups and cross-sector initiatives relevant to climate and textiles.
• Continuously monitor trends and developments in agriculture, climate and textiles. Provide feedback on key opportunities and implications to Better Cotton teams and functions.
• Collaborate closely with the Better Cotton Communications team and other departments to craft essential messages regarding our approach and provide thought leadership and share subject matter updates.
• Promote Better Cotton's climate approach and ambition as well as key climate innovations and activities through engaging in speaking events, conferences, or panels as relevant and suitable.
• Contribute technical input for the development of guidance and training materials related to climate concepts in the Better Cotton Standard.
• Collaborate with other internal teams to establish and refine impact indicators, baselines, and methodologies.
• Support with the interpretation of technical data related to climate

IMPACT DELIVERY AND INNOVATION

• Identify and pilot innovative solutions to meet 2030 targets, scaling cost-effective approaches with measurable impacts.
• Facilitate participatory design processes with stakeholders to align on opportunities and develop evidence-based solutions.
• Provide support to Better Cotton program teams in developing and implementing localised action plans to encourage the adoption of approaches to both mitigate, and adapt to, climate change
• Collaborate with the other thematic leads to establish synergies and optimise field level impact though country programs and novel projects
• Explore and promote global research efforts to contribute to the global knowledge base, including piloting trials of climate sensitive practices and transferring lessons to field activities.
• Support pilot testing of climate-sensitive implementation and assessment frameworks
• Manage cross-functional and multi-country climate projects, ensuring successful implementation and scaling of solutions.
• Understand the role of Climate in Farmer business models and economic considerations in the decision making of cotton farmers.

FUNDRAISING AND PARTNERSHIP BUILDING

• Provide technical input to support the fundraising team in developing proposals, managing donor pipelines, and securing partnerships to fund initiatives related to climate
• Support the fundraising team in building and maintain strong relationships with institutional donors, retailers, and brands to advance Better Cotton's fundraising goals related to climate
• Take the lead in identifying and establishing new global partnerships with critical NGOs, multistakeholder groups, government actors, and other stakeholders to advance climate initiatives. Also, manage existing partnerships.
• Assist country-level Better Cotton teams in identifying and cultivating effective regional partnerships.

We are looking for someone who has

• University degree, or equivalent higher education qualification, in a relevant field
• Demonstrated technical expertise in climate change mitigation and/or adoption in agriculture
• Proven work experience, ideally in technical advisory roles or managing programmes in a relevant field
• Excellent organisational skills – ability to handle multiple projects in parallel, prioritise, and meet deadlines.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively (in-person and through use of virtual tools) across different teams and cultures, strong relationship building skills and service-oriented attitude
• Track record in brokering new partnerships
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills – ability to communicate clearly and concisely, as well as the ability to assimilate and process information for wide-ranging audiences
• Proven ability to work autonomously with a high level of personal effectiveness and ability to adapt to changing priorities
• Aptitude to appraise arguments critically and logically, organise ideas in a clear and concise manner, and draw conclusions and formulate arguments in way that is effective, concise, precise and specific
• Financial skills, particularly building and managing budgets
• Excellent computer and IT skills, including: Word; PowerPoint; Excel, Outlook
• Fluent in English– ability to communicate clearly and concisely
• Experience working with smallholder farmers, particularly cotton farmers
• Experience developing and implementing a global approach or strategy for other organisations
• Knowledge of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and GHG footprinting of farmers
• Knowledge across the textile value chain
• Expertise in fundraising or business development
• Experience in farmer training and capacity building
• Experience with standards systems
• Competency in languages most relevant to Better Cotton countries, such as Portuguese, French, Hindi, Urdu, Mandarin and Turkish

What we offer

• Hybrid working – Two to four days/week in the offices Delhi or Lahore
• The opportunity to work from anywhere in the world for up to one month per year
• Flexible working, with core hours from 10 am to 4 pm local time
• Continuous learning and development
• 25 days paid annual leave, plus 8-9 Bank Holidays and a further 3 days off over Christmas
• Enhanced parental benefits
• A warm, positive working environment where everyone is valued
• The opportunity to make your mark and make a difference.

Working arrangements

The position is full-time (40 hours per week) and will be based either in London, Lahore or Delhi. Better Cotton offers flexible working, with core hours being 10 am – 4 pm. The position will include travel – likely 2-3 short-haul trips per year and 1-2 longer trips to a cotton-growing region (Africa, South Asia, Americas).

Apply now

Send us your CV (2 pages maximum) and a brief cover letter (1-page maximum) by or before 26.03.2025 via this link.

In your cover letter, please include an explanation of why your experience is specifically relevant to this role at Better Cotton. We want to see your personal style – what makes you tick and why you think your next opportunity is here with us.

About Better Cotton

Better Cotton is a global not-for-profit organisation supporting the production of more equitable and sustainable cotton at farm level. We exist to catalyse the cotton farming community with partners, governments and others to continuously drive positive impact by setting standards and facilitating the supply and demand of more sustainable cotton from farm to brand. In just 15 years we have aligned more than a fifth of the world's cotton with our standard and helped farmers and farming communities thrive. Join us in building a better, more sustainable future for cotton worldwide.

About our Values

The post holder will be expected to operate in line with our workplace values which are:

• Trustworthy (including honest, transparent, credible)
• Integrity (including responsible, authentic)
• Positive (including problem-solving, pragmatic)
• Engaging (including adaptable, inclusive, holistic)
• Daring (including courageous, innovative, game-changing)

Better Cotton is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to good practice and transparency in the management of natural, human, and financial resources.

We have a zero-tolerance approach to any attitudes or behaviours that put children or adults at risk of harm. Safeguarding incidents are acts of serious misconduct and are grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including, dismissal and referral to relevant authorities for criminal prosecution. Therefore, all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks.