Senior Director, Compliance & Sustainability (Apparel Industry)

About the role This is a senior leadership role responsible for leading the Group's global Compliance & Sustainability agenda across all brands, regions, and operations. The role oversees compliance, responsible sourcing, ESG, sustainability, product stewardship, and supply chain due diligence programs, ensuring alignment with customer expectations, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices. Working closely with business leaders and customers, the incumbent will drive responsible sourcing, traceability, human rights compliance, chemical management, product sustainability, and environmental initiatives across the supply chain, while strengthening governance, mitigating risk, supporting business growth, and enhancing customer confidence. The role serves as a strategic partner to executive leadership, influencing business decisions and fostering a culture of integrity, accountability, and sustainable business performance. Scope of Responsibilities Compliance, Risk & Responsible Sourcing Develop and execute the Group's global compliance, responsible sourcing, and supply chain governance strategy, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives, customer expectations, and evolving regulatory requirements. Provide executive leadership for compliance governance, ethical trade, human rights, labor standards, supplier compliance, due diligence, and risk management programs across the global supply chain. Monitor emerging legislation, customer requirements, geopolitical developments, and industry trends, translating them into business strategies that protect the Company and strengthen competitive advantage. Lead supplier and factory compliance performance through audits, risk assessments, corrective action plans, capability building, and continuous improvement initiatives. Sustainability, ESG & Product Stewardship Develop and execute the Company's sustainability and ESG strategy, driving measurable improvements in environmental performance, climate initiatives, responsible resource management, circularity, and social impact across operations and the supply chain. Lead sustainability transformation across the value chain by establishing goals, performance metrics, and improvement roadmaps that support long-term ESG objectives. Oversee sustainability, ESG, product stewardship, chemical management, testing, certification, and environmental compliance programs, including RSL/MRSL management, PFAS compliance, certified material verification, carbon emissions reporting, and emerging sustainability regulations across the value chain. Drive supply chain transparency, traceability, responsible material sourcing, and environmental stewardship initiatives to enhance resilience, sustainability performance, and customer confidence. Customer, Stakeholder & Organizational Leadership Partner with commercial, sourcing, operations, quality, legal, HR, and country leadership teams to embed compliance and sustainability considerations into business strategy, decision-making, and growth initiatives. Lead customer-facing compliance and sustainability engagements, including executive reviews, strategic discussions, audits, investigations, and capability presentations. Build and maintain strong relationships with customers, suppliers, certification bodies, industry associations, regulators, and other key stakeholders. Provide regular executive reporting and strategic recommendations to the CEO and senior leadership team on compliance, sustainability, regulatory developments, and emerging risks. Build and lead a high-performing global Compliance & Sustainability organization while fostering a culture of integrity, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement. Requirements Degree holder in Business, Sustainability, Environmental Science, Supply Chain Management, or related disciplines. A minimum of 15 years of relevant experience in compliance, ESG, sustainability or related field in apparel/ manufacturing/ sourcing industry. Strong understanding of global ESG frameworks, standards, and reporting guidelines, such as GRI, SASB, TCFD or UN Global Compact. Proven leadership in global compliance, responsible sourcing, and supply chain due diligence, including customer requirements, factory audit programs (BSCI, SMETA, SLCP, Higg), traceability, forced labor compliance, and supplier improvement initiatives. Demonstrated experience interacting with international customers and senior stakeholders. Strong leadership, communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills