Interim Sustainability Business Controller

For an international manufacturing company, we are seeking an Interim Sustainability Business Controller to strengthen sustainability performance management, financial planning, investment governance, and ESG reporting across the organisation.

This is a hands-on interim role at the intersection of sustainability, finance, and business performance. The mandate is to bring greater financial discipline and transparency to sustainability initiatives, ensuring that ESG ambitions are translated into measurable performance, robust investment decisions, and actionable management insights.

Key responsibilities

• Drive sustainability performance management, monitoring ESG KPIs and progress against strategic sustainability targets
• Manage and enhance Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon accounting, including performance against SBTi commitments
• Support CSRD / ESRS-compliant ESG reporting, data governance, internal controls, and external assurance processes
• Integrate sustainability into budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, and performance management
• Develop, review, and challenge business cases for sustainability investments, ensuring both financial and strategic value
• Coordinate and monitor sustainability-related OPEX and CAPEX plans, providing transparency on investment, spend, and value realisation
• Partner with Business Units and OpCos to develop investment proposals, assess financial impact, and embed sustainability into business decision-making
• Track the financial and operational value generated by sustainability initiatives and identify opportunities for performance improvement
• Ensure high-quality ESG data, dashboards, analysis, and management reporting
• Establish and strengthen internal controls, processes, and data governance around sustainability information
• Translate sustainability performance and ESG data into clear, actionable insights for senior management
• Support wider organisational change by embedding sustainability considerations into financial and operational processes

Profile

• Approximately 5–8+ years’ experience within Sustainability Controlling, ESG Reporting, Finance/Business Controlling, or Corporate Sustainability
• Strong understanding of financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and performance management
• Proven experience with CSRD / ESRS reporting, ESG data governance, and sustainability reporting processes
• Experience with carbon accounting across Scope 1, 2 and 3, ideally including the GHG Protocol and SBTi target management
• Demonstrated experience in developing or evaluating business cases for sustainability investments
• Experience managing or tracking sustainability-related OPEX and CAPEX portfolios
• Strong business-partnering skills, with experience supporting Business Units or operating companies on investment and performance decisions
• Comfortable translating ESG and sustainability objectives into financial and operational metrics
• Strong analytical capability and experience with reporting and analytics tools such as SAP, Power BI, and Excel
• Experience operating within a multinational, matrix organisation
• Experience within animal nutrition, agriculture, manufacturing, or a related industrial environment is an advantage
• Experience supporting external assurance, audit, and internal control processes for ESG reporting
• Hands-on, structured, commercially minded, and delivery-focused
• Fluent in English

Practical details

• Interim assignment: 3–6 months
• 4 days per week
• Hybrid working model
• Immediate availability required