Manager, Corporate Sustainability Strategy

At Western Digital, our vision is to power global innovation and push the boundaries of technology to make what you thought was once impossible, possible.

At our core, Western Digital is a company of problem solvers. People achieve extraordinary things given the right technology. For decades, we’ve been doing just that. Our technology helped people put a man on the moon.

We are a key partner to some of the largest and highest growth organizations in the world. From energizing the most competitive gaming platforms, to enabling systems to make cities safer and cars smarter and more connected, to powering the data centers behind many of the world’s biggest companies and public cloud, Western Digital is fueling a brighter, smarter future.

Binge-watch any shows, use social media or shop online lately? You’ll find Western Digital supporting the storage infrastructure behind many of these platforms. And, that flash memory card that captures and preserves your most precious moments? That’s us, too.

We offer an expansive portfolio of technologies, storage devices and platforms for business and consumers alike. Our data-centric solutions are comprised of the Western Digital®, G-Technology™, SanDisk® and WD® brands.

Today’s exceptional challenges require your unique skills. It’s You & Western Digital. Together, we’re the next BIG thing in data. 

Overview:

The Manager, Corporate Sustainability Strategy (Manager) will be responsible for leading public disclosures and for driving forward company's sustainability strategy. This individual will manage public disclosures, customer inquiries and engagement, and guide and build supplier engagement and enablement tools. The Manager will be instrumental in building and facilitating cross-functional projects and councils across the company as well as establish trust, rapport and influence with customers and suppliers regarding Sustainability policies, practices, and initiatives.  

Disclosure and Reporting: the Manager will own sustainability reporting processes end-to-end, working backward to collate, analyze and characterize environmental, social, and governance data from enterprise partner organizations, conduct and translate materiality analyses into actionable strategies, and support enterprise environmental goals, targets, and KPIs. Reporting responsibilities include regulatory and voluntary reporting, including but not limited to the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), annual Sustainability Report, CDP disclosures, and other third-party ESG assessments.

Regulatory Monitoring: the Manager will work with the Director of Corporate Sustainability Strategy (CSS Director) and the Legal team to monitor Sustainability-related regulations, conduct and assist with gap assessments, design roadmaps for compliance, including coordinating and communicating with cross-functional teams for data and content collection.

Risk Assessment: With the CSS Director, Legal, and other stakeholders, the Manager will devise and embed sustainability-related risk assessments into existing risk management processes. Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to, climate risk assessments, regulatory risk assessment (see above), industry trends, and customer needs and demands. The Manager will also support Human Rights Impact Assessments and related coordination with Procurement, Legal, Operations and other partner teams.

Stakeholder Engagement: the Manager will lead Supplier Sustainability Engagement, working closely with teams across the company, such as Procurement, Operations, Product Engineering, Legal, Communications. To align our supplier engagement efforts with the needs of our customers and operations, the Senior Manager will support the CSS Director with customer engagement and supporting environmental initiatives.

Candidates must demonstrate strong communication and collaboration skills, experience serving as a strategic advisor on sustainability issues, and proficiency with relevant and applicable sustainability frameworks, disclosures, and industry trends. We’re looking for a smart, nimble, curious, and self-starting team member who understands how to influence without authority, is interested in professional and personal growth, and enjoys the challenges and opportunities of working cross-functionally and sometimes ambiguous circumstances.  

Preference is for employees in/near Milpitas, CA, however, remote work status will be considered for exceptional candidates in U.S. Pacific or Mountain time zones.

Qualifications

• Relevant degree preferred; however, relevant experience is most important
• 6-8 years relevant professional experience and proven success of delivering impactful results and continuous improvement; experience the tech sector, consulting, and/or a leadership role in a corporate or equivalent team is highly desirable
• Strong project management expertise with proven skills to lead cross-functional projects and drive them completion effectively and on-time
• Effective presentation and communication skills, including the ability to respond to live questions with poise and judgment
• Proficiency with sustainability standards and frameworks, including GRI, SASB, TCFD, CDP disclosures, and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol; familiarity with the EU CSRD is highly desirable
• All the standard expectations regarding personal and professional behavior, work quality, team player attitude, and desire to do the hard work to reduce impacts to the planet, improve our society and communities, and conduct business in an ethical manner.

Western Digital is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on their race, color, ancestry, religion (including religious dress and grooming standards), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), gender (including a person’s gender identity, gender expression, and gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth), age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status (including domestic partnership status), physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, protected medical and family care leave, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. We also prohibit harassment of any individual on any of the characteristics listed above. Our non-discrimination policy applies to all aspects of employment. We comply with the laws and regulations set forth in the "Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster. Our pay transparency policy is available here.

Western Digital thrives on the power and potential of diversity. As a global company, we believe the most effective way to embrace the diversity of our customers and communities is to mirror it from within. We believe the fusion of various perspectives results in the best outcomes for our employees, our company, our customers, and the world around us. We are committed to an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive through a sense of belonging, respect and contribution.

Western Digital is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and our hiring process. Please contact us at [email protected] to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.

Based on our experience, we anticipate that the application deadline will be 3/10/2025, although we reserve the right to close the application process sooner if we hire an applicant for this position before the application deadline. If we are not able to hire someone from this role before the application deadline, we will update this posting with a new anticipated application deadline.

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Compensation & Benefits Details

• An employee’s pay position within the salary range may be based on several factors including but not limited to (1) relevant education; qualifications; certifications; and experience; (2) skills, ability, knowledge of the job; (3) performance, contribution and results; (4) geographic location; (5) shift; (6) internal and external equity; and (7) business and organizational needs.
• The salary range is what we believe to be the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting.  We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and this range is only applicable for jobs to be performed in California, Colorado, New York or remote jobs that can be performed in California, Colorado and New York.  This range may be modified in the future.
• You will be eligible to participate in Western Digital’s Short-Term Incentive (STI) Plan, which provides incentive awards based on Company and individual performance.  Depending on your role and your performance, you may be eligible to participate in our annual Long-Term Incentive (LTI) program, which consists of restricted stock units (RSUs) or cash equivalents, pursuant to the terms of the LTI plan. Please note that not all roles are eligible to participate in the LTI program, and not all roles are eligible for equity under the LTI plan. RSU awards are also available to eligible new hires, subject to Western Digital’s Standard Terms and Conditions for Restricted Stock Unit Awards.
• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid vacation time; paid sick leave; medical/dental/vision insurance; life, accident and disability insurance; tax-advantaged flexible spending and health savings accounts; employee assistance program; other voluntary benefit programs such as supplemental life and AD&D, legal plan, pet insurance, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity; tuition reimbursement; transit; the Applause Program, employee stock purchase plan, and the Western Digital Savings 401(k) Plan.
• Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.