Director, Sustainability Disclosure and Ratings (Hiring Immediately)

Western Digital is hiring a Director for Sustainability Disclosure and Ratings in Juneau, AK. The role involves managing ESG disclosure strategies, ensuring compliance with sustainability standards, and preparing reports for third-party ratings agencies. Candidates should have expertise in sustainability frameworks and strong technical writing skills. Responsibilities include ESG reporting, data management, and stakeholder engagement to enhance employee involvement in sustainability initiatives.
Company Description

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 and capture the first-ever picture of a black hole.

We offer an expansive portfolio of technologies, HDDs, and platforms for business, creative professionals, and consumers alike under our Western Digital, WD, WD_BLACK, and SanDisk Professional brands.

We are a key partner to some of the largest and highest-growth organizations in the world. From enabling systems to make cities safer and more connected, to powering the data centers behind many of the world’s biggest companies and hyperscale cloud providers, to meeting the massive and ever-growing data storage needs of the AI era, Western Digital is fueling a brighter, smarter future.

Today’s exceptional challenges require your unique skills. Together, we can build the future of data storage.

Job Description

We are seeking a Director for Sustainability Disclosures and Ratings to join our dynamic sustainability team. This individual will be responsible for managing and driving our ESG disclosure strategy, ensuring compliance with international sustainability standards, preparing disclosures and narratives for third-party ESG ratings agencies and leading the content creation showcasing WD leadership through vehicles such as position paper, white papers and blogs. The role also involves active internal stakeholder engagement and building content to improve employee engagement on sustainability related work and topics. The role is also responsible for Assurance processes associated with disclosures, both internal and external. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of key sustainability frameworks such as GRI, ESRS, TCFD, CSRD, and others, combined with technical writing capabilities and critical thinking skills to interpret complex data and craft clear, insightful narratives. This role requires an individual who can not only manage the nuances of sustainability reporting but also actively challenge data, ensuring accuracy and credibility in all submissions.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

ESG Reporting and Disclosure:

Prepare, analyze, and submit ESG performance and disclosures to voluntary ratings platforms, including CDP, S&P CSA, MSCI, and other third-party ESG rating agencies.

Lead the preparation and submission of annual sustainability reports, aligning with key reporting frameworks such as GRI, TCFD, CSRD, ESRS, SASB, and others and aligning the internal WD functions all the way to executive leadership team and Board expectations

Collaborate with cross-functional teams to collect and validate data, ensuring all required metrics and information are accurate and up to date.

ESG Data Management and Analysis:

Review and analyze data from various sources across the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) pillars to ensure it is complete and reliable.

Identify areas for improvement or gaps in data collection and work with internal teams to address them.

Analyze ESG data in the context of broader sustainability goals and help to translate this information into actionable insights for reporting and continuous improvement.

Collaborate with internal and external audit and assurance practices and processes to enhance the quality and fidelity of our disclosures

Narrative Development:

Craft compelling and transparent narratives for sustainability reports, ensuring alignment with best practices and disclosure requirements of key frameworks (GRI, TCFD, CSRD, etc.).

Collaborate with sustainability leaders and other stakeholders to interpret and articulate ESG initiatives, progress, and results, ensuring clarity and accuracy in all written materials.

Provide clear, concise, and strategic commentary on ESG performance, highlighting key achievements, challenges, and future goals.

Stakeholder Engagement:

Act as a primary point of contact for ESG ratings agencies, ensuring timely and accurate submission of performance data and responding to any follow-up queries.

Support internal and external communications related to ESG disclosures, ensuring consistent messaging across all channels.

Compliance and Standards related reporting readiness:

Stay informed on the latest developments in sustainability standards, frameworks, and regulatory requirements, ensuring the company’s disclosures comply with all relevant laws and guidelines (e.g., CSRD, TCFD).

Drive internal preparedness and readiness towards meeting such standards

Provide guidance and thought leadership on best practices for ESG reporting and disclosure, helping to ensure our approach is industry-leading and transparent.

Look ahead and prepare reporting and disclosure work that enables WD’s readiness to comply to future regulations / obligations

Continuous Improvement:

Lead efforts to continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of ESG disclosures, including implementing new tools or processes for data collection, analysis, and reporting.

Conduct thorough reviews of ESG ratings feedback and develop action plans to address areas of improvement, enhancing overall performance in future rating cycles.

Stakeholder engagement:

Develop and execute internal stakeholder engagement strategies that align with ESG priorities and corporate sustainability goals.

Represent the company in standards/ multi-stakeholder collaborations , fostering alignment and shared impact across sectors.

Qualifications

REQUIRED

Bachelor’s degree in Sustainability, Environmental Science or a related field. Advanced certifications or qualifications in sustainability (e.g., Standards, ESG certifications) are a plus

12+ years of experience in sustainability reporting, ESG disclosures, or a related field.

Expert level involvement in the Annual Sustainability report preparation/publication process, in a large corporation

Proven expertise in key ESG frameworks (GRI, ESRS, TCFD, CSRD, SASB, etc.), including a strong understanding of their requirements and application in reporting.

Experience with voluntary ESG rating platforms such as CDP, MSCI, S&P CSA, and others, with a proven track record in preparing and submitting reports.

SKILLS

Strong ability to relate sustainability narratives and data points and weave compelling stories to bring light to the body of work

Ability to develop clear, accurate, and comprehensive narratives based on complex data.

Detail-oriented with the ability to critically assess and challenge data to ensure integrity and transparency in all reports.

Knowledge of ESG ratings methodologies and how to construct responses and identify gaps relative to rating agency rubrics.

Demonstrated experience with and commitment to mentoring, developing, inspiring, and managing a high-performance and collaborative international team

Experience building strong relationships within a team to facilitate a collaborative, trusting, and supportive environment

Demonstrated ability to instill trust and develop and maintain strong working relationships with internal stakeholders across multiple functional units and external vendors, suppliers, and strategic partners

Natural affinity to be reflective, to learn from challenges and demonstrate resilience

Familiarity with sustainability reporting software or tools (e.g., Metrio, IBM Envizi, Power BI, etc.).

Ability to stay up to date with changing regulations and ESG trends in the global marketplace.

Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple reporting deadlines and ensure timely submissions.

Additional Information

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 (