Industry Engagement Lead

Remote

Reports to: Industry Engagement Director

Direct reports: 1

Remote – North America

About Us

Textile Exchange is a global non-profit driving positive impact on climate change across the fashion and textile industry. It guides a growing community of brands, manufacturers, and farmers towards more purposeful production from the very start of the supply chain.

By 2030, its goal is to guide the industry to achieve a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions within fiber and raw material production. Its focus is holistic and interconnected, accelerating the adoption of practices that improve the state of our water, soil health, and biodiversity too.

For real change to happen, everyone needs a clear path to positive impact. That’s why Textile Exchange believes that approachable, step-by-step instruction paired with collective action can change the system to make preferred materials and fibers an accessible default, mobilizing leaders through attainable strategies, proven solutions, and a driven community.

At Textile Exchange, materials matter. To learn more, visit TextileExchange.org.

Working at Textile Exchange

We work remotely with a team located in 20+ countries. We are a diverse group committed to harnessing the strengths of the global textile industry to accelerate change toward climate and other key environmental goals. We work collaboratively on important environmental issues around the world by working and interacting with farming groups, processors, brands, retailers, and environmental experts in the textile and fashion industries around the world. We offer an opportunity to join a cutting-edge global environmental nonprofit and to help strengthen the impact of our organization.

Position Summary

We are looking for an Industry Engagement Lead to work within the Industry Engagement Team focused on supporting and guiding brands and retailers with the transition to preferred production systems. This team sits within the Engagement and Partnership Department.

The Lead will work within the Engagement and Partnership department and alongside our Climate and Nature and Standards System teams. This role involves direct responsibility for engaging with brands and retailers to meaningfully drive the adoption of best practices, track progress, and increase the adoption of preferred production systems and their resulting materials within the global supply system.

The Lead will manage a small team and play a critical role in fostering strong relationships with brand and retailer stakeholders by creating the enabling environment to deliver collaborative, pre-competitive engagement opportunities across our diverse stakeholders. They will be responsible for driving accountability for progress by encouraging brands to report into the Materials Benchmark and helping to strengthen our impact tools through ongoing feedback mechanisms. in addition, they will support the adoption and increase awareness of Textile Exchange standards and certification. To ensure a robust feedback loop is maintained, they will build awareness and convene stakeholders to support feedback loops on policies related to the Materials Matter Standard (MMS) and Content Claim Standard (CCS) launches, Trackit system scaling, and other key initiatives.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work for a mission-driven organization. The successful candidate will be a self-motivated individual with a proven track record in sustainability, demonstrated understanding of the climate and nature impacts of the apparel industry, and delivering multi-stakeholder initiatives and activities. They will have demonstrated their ability to remain flexible, proactive, resourceful, and efficient, with a high level of professionalism.

Expert-level written and verbal communication skills, as well as the ability to plan; strong decision-making capacity and attention to detail are all needed. They are a confident communicator, who works easily with stakeholders from all parts of the global supply system.

Primary Duties And Responsibilities

External Stakeholder Engagement:

Develop and execute the engagement strategy to support brands with the transition to preferred production systems and drive collective action to accelerate this transition.
Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with existing brand & retailer stakeholders, fostering collaboration with Textile Exchange. Serve as a representative of the standards system (claims, traceability, and standards) for the brand and retailer community so that they feel supported.
Support the organization in organizing and hosting events that foster collaboration and collective action among stakeholders.
Represent and speak at Textile Exchange at industry conferences, workshops, and meetings.
Support the rollout of Textile Exchange tools, reports and research and raise awareness of how Textile Exchange tools contribute to positive climate and nature impacts.

Driving Accountability:

Responsible for developing and executing the strategy for supporting brands to drive progress in alignment with Textile Exchange’s Pathway to Preferred Production Systems – reporting into the Materials Benchmark, sourcing through verified production systems and working collectively to drive systems transformation.
Collaborate with the data and tech team to support the collection of brand and retailer volume and impact data for the Material Benchmark reports and ad hoc data requirements as needed.
Work closely with the Data Reporting and Impact Data teams to establish a clear feedback loop with stakeholders on our evolving Reporting and Impact tools, contributing to the development of the value proposition of reporting.
Provide regular updates to stakeholders on our reporting tools, impact tools and related research (i.e. LCA studies), creating opportunities for brands to sponsor and engage with Textile Exchange studies and research.

Internal Engagement:

Collaborate with the Climate and Nature team and Industry Activation teams to define and develop meaningful activations (working groups, regional events, advisory groups) that will support the transition to preferred production systems.
Collaborate with internal teams to develop strong feedback loop mechanisms between stakeholders and all internal teams, ensuring continuous improvement.
Keep abreast of industry and regulatory developments, requirements and related to the textile and apparel sector.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
Minimum of 6 years of experience in sustainability, stakeholder engagement or related field.
Experience working in or with consumer brands or retailers.
Excellent communication and relationship building skills across a diverse range of stakeholders.
Ability to build and maintain partnerships with key stakeholders.
Demonstrated interest in Textile Exchange’s vision, mission, and goals.
Ability to work in a flexible, fast-paced remote environment, meet deadlines, and regularly share progress.
Strong work ethic and self-motivation with the ability to work effectively remotely.
Strong team player.
Proficient in delivering projects to set deadlines, ensuring attention to detail.
Honest, professional, responsible, and discreet, acting with the utmost confidence.
Excellent communication, written, and grammatical skills in English (native or bilingual proficiency).
Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word, and the ability to quickly learn new systems.
Ability and willingness to travel to key events and/or conferences as needed.
Passion for sustainability and a commitment to driving positive change in the fashion industry.

Preferred Qualifications

Masters in Sustainability or relevant
Experience managing direct reports.
Experience insustainability teams within outdoor, contemporary brands or retailers.
Experience with voluntary reporting and disclosurerequirements related to evolving policy and regulations.
Based in the USA
Familiarity with policy and regulatory requirements as it pertains to text
Experience in facilitating multi-stakeholder meetings.

Employment Package

Full-Time Position, 40 Hours a Week
Required travel: between 20-25%
Annual Salary Range: $115,000 - $150,000 USD