We're hiring a Social Mission Director

Job Title: Social Mission Director
Reports to: CEO, Ben & Jerry’s
Salary Range: $135,600-$203,300
Location: South Burlington, VT or remote

Ben & Jerry's

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., started in 1978 in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont, USA, founded by childhood friends and dedicated activists Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. In 2000 Ben & Jerry’s became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever with the remainder of an independent Board of Directors to provide leadership focused on preserving and expanding Ben & Jerry's social mission, brand integrity, and product quality.

Ben & Jerry’s has an inspiring ambition to use its position as beloved ice cream company to advance progressive social change. This translates into a fast-paced environment married with an uncompromising grassroots and activist spirit. That is how we remain a true progressive values led organization with a connected 3-part mission that are reflected in our KPI’s:

1.    Social mission: We initiate innovative ways to improve the quality of life locally, nationally and internationally specifically on Climate Justice and Social Justice, Racial Justice, and Economic Justice
2.    Product mission: We make and distribute the finest quality natural ice cream and euphoric concoctions
3.    Economic mission: We operate our Company for sustainable, Profitable financial growth

Who You Are & What You’ll Do: 

Summary

The Global Social Mission Director serves as a senior leader for the Company’s Social Mission, which together with the Economic and Product Missions, form the three-part mission that drives Ben & Jerry’s. The Social Mission Director leads a dynamic team overseeing initiatives at global and regional levels to advance Ben & Jerry’s core values of human rights and dignity, social and economic justice, and environmental protection, restoration, and regeneration. The Social Mission team is headquartered in Vermont with team members working across ten other countries, leveraging the company’s influence in society to achieve progressive systemic change.

The Social Mission Director is accountable for all Social Mission subjects including company sustainability; carbon footprint reduction strategy & implementation to meet our science-based targets; sustainable packaging progress, activism campaigns in partnership with NGOs on issues such as racial equity, criminal legal system reform, refugee and asylum seeker rights, climate justice, and LGBTQ rights; supporting our Values Led Sourcing strategy covering programs for key ingredients such as dairy and cocoa,  partnerships with social enterprises and NGOs, achieving our supplier diversity goals; and overseeing organization-wide certifications like B-Corp and the annual reporting of the SEAR (Social and Environmental Assessment Report)

The Social Mission Director reports to the CEO and serves on the company’s senior leadership team. As Social Mission is woven throughout the company, the Social Mission Director liaises and collaborates across all functions. The position manages a core team of direct reports with extended team members based in Vermont, our European HQ located outside of London, and several additional global markets. The Social Mission Director works with the Ben & Jerry’s Board of Directors which has primary responsibility for protecting and enhancing Social Mission and brand integrity under the unique agreement of Unilever’s acquisition of Ben & Jerry’s in 2000. The Social Mission Director also collaborates regularly with Unilever’s sustainability leadership & teams within the Ice Cream division and across various functions to leverage and grow collective positive impact.

What You’ll Need To Succeed:

• Extensive experience managing comparable programs, including experience developing and implementing advocacy campaigns, as well as with driving sustainability initiatives related to greenhouse gas emissions, packaging, and ingredient sourcing. Deep content knowledge and passionate commitment to racial equity, social, economic, and climate justice.
• Proven ability to ensure Ben & Jerry’s mission, vision and values are integrated holistically into the business.
• Proven track record as a talent-catalyst and collaborative leader. Strong facilitation skills and managing teams through creating trust, psychological safety, and effective delegation & empowerment.
• Demonstrated track record leading teams with a rich mix of race, class, cultures, and languages and ability to manage experts on a team to bring out high levels of performance by nurturing empowerment and shared ownership.
• Experience working in a fast-paced & innovation-driven environment, international working culture and managing work across remote teams and time zones.
• Excellent project management and strategic facilitation skills; demonstrated resilience in managing complex and changing agendas.
• Ability to solve complex problems within multicultural organizations and demonstrated ability to work with and influence senior leaders, executives, and Boards of Directors.
• Strong understanding of the use of social media to build movements and support campaigns.
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic, complex and changing environment.
• Understanding of food industry, consumer products or other relevant businesses

Our People Profile

To support out 3-part mission, Ben & Jerry’s also has an outspoken people-mission. We look for people with these characteristics to strengthen our team:

• Purpose-driven: passion and drive to make a real impact with our social mission agenda
• Empathy: curious to collaborate with a variety of personalities and styles and to build excellent relationships with internal & external stakeholders
• Mastery: continuously learn and develop to remain an expert in your functional area
• Autonomy: dare to make choices and take ownership
• Activism: interested in bringing about political or social change
• Equity: recognizing power dynamics and how biases play out in interactions throughout society; this awareness and these skills are necessary so that throughout our business we engage respectfully and make decisions fairly