(USA) Director, Strategic Initiatives

Director, Strategic Initiatives ESG Strategy - People

Walmart seeks to lead on Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) practices, disclosures, and outcomes, building a stronger and more resilient business, creating shared value, and fostering trust. The Director, Strategic Initiatives ESG Strategy - People is responsible for leading Walmart's ESG strategy across a subset of ESG priority issues relating to people, including our associate workforce, well-being and growth, belonging, and supplier opportunity. You will advise colleagues on Walmart's shared value agenda (for example, policies, practices and performance targets); develop Walmart's foundational disclosures; assess Walmart's performance; and engage external stakeholders to understand expectations, influence standards and ratings, and share Walmart performance. This position reports to the Senior Director, ESG Strategy. Top candidates will have experience in shared value; human capital and belonging; be familiar with ESG reporting frameworks; and have experience engaging with institutional investors, thought leaders, and other internal/external stakeholders.

What You'll Do...

• Shape disclosures and report on a defined issue portfolio for investor and thought leader audiences. Craft and produce strong ESG disclosures, adhering to existing and emerging regulatory reporting standards. Develop ESG messaging and work with other members of the ESG team, Investor Relations, and Corporate Communications on the strategy to reach target audiences, including through ESG reporting, direct investor and other stakeholder engagement, and other channels.

• Advise colleagues on Walmart's shared value agenda for our people-related topics. Stay updated on the latest developments in an issue portfolio centered on human capital, belonging, and supplier opportunity (e.g., regulatory, legislative, competitor trends), and advise on Walmart's aspirations, policies, practices, targets, key metrics and performance improvement initiatives to enhance performance and reputation. Take a global perspective on emerging frameworks, policies, and practices. Maintain a robust network of peers and collaborators internally and externally to bring leading insights to your work. Develop annual issue strategies for your portfolio; collaborate with subject matter teams to set annual strategy and reporting plans; regularly engage with subject matter teams to discuss progress and adjust accordingly.

• Lead special projects to enhance ESG performance. Coordinate cross-functional, complex projects to achieve policy, practice, and disclosure outcomes and to enhance Walmart's understanding of issues and risks in the issue portfolio. Activities could include deep research and benchmarking, development of breakthrough policies or practices, etc.

• Engage/influence external stakeholders. Participate in external events to highlight Walmart's shared value strategy and best practices in your issue portfolio. Engage investors, NGOs, standard setters/raters, and depending on topic, suppliers, coalition leads etc. to obtain feedback on our ESG performance, shape industry standards, and influence external perception of our performance.

What You'll Bring

• Visionary thinking backed by strong strategic and analytical framing

• Innovation solutions to complex problems

• Strength in leading through influence and aligning various stakeholders, sometimes with diverging opinions

• Collaborative mindset with strong project management skills

• The ability to pick up on new concepts quickly, synthesize information, and generate insights

• Curiosity and engagement with AI tools to enhance research and benchmarking capabilities as well as drafting and refining written work product

• Influencing perspectives through strong oral and written communication

• Experience in and familiarity with one or more of Walmart's ESG priority issue areas in human capital, workforce well-being and growth, belonging, supplier opportunity etc.

• Familiarity with major institutional investors' and other stakeholders' expectations regarding ESG practices and disclosures

• Experience working with retail, merchandising, sourcing, and/or experience in sustainability programs

Minimum Qualifications...

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Social Science, Communications, or related field and 5 years' experience managing cross-functional projects for governmental or non-governmental organizations, consulting firms, or corporations OR 7 years' experience managing cross-functional projects for governmental or non-governmental organizations, consulting firms, or corporations.

Preferred Qualifications...

Developing and managing project budgets for governmental or non-governmental organizations, consulting firms, or corporations, Managing project teams in a matrix environment, Managing strategic initiatives, Master's degree in International Business or related field

Primary Location...

806 Excellence Dr, Bentonville, AR 72716, United States of America

Walmart and its subsidiaries are committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and has a no tolerance policy regarding the use of illegal drugs and alcohol on the job. This policy applies to all employees and aims to create a safe and productive work environment.