Senior Research Manager, Tire Industry Project (TIP)

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a global, CEO-led organization of over 200 leading businesses working together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world. We help make our member companies more successful and sustainable by focusing on the maximum positive impact on shareholders, the environment, and societies.

Our member companies come from all business sectors and all major economies, representing combined revenues of over USD $8.5 trillion and 19 million employees. Our global network of almost 70 national business councils gives our members unparalleled reach across the globe. WBCSD is uniquely positioned to work with member companies along and across value chains to deliver impactful business solutions to the most challenging sustainability issues.

Formed in 2005, the Tire Industry Project (TIP) is a voluntary, CEO-driven initiative operating under the umbrella of WBCSD with a mission to anticipate, understand, and address global environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues relevant to the tire industry and its value chain. TIP acts by commissioning independent research of the highest standards, collaborating on sectoral solutions, and engaging with external stakeholders. TIP currently brings together 10 leading tire companies (Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear, Hankook, Kumho, Michelin, Pirelli, Sumitomo, Toyo and Yokohama) that represent more than 60% of the world’s tire manufacturing capacity, and is co-chaired by Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear and Michelin.

 

Job overview

We are seeking an enthusiastic and driven Senior Research Manager who will coordinate research-oriented activities of the TIP Research Working Groups (WGs) related to assessing and mitigating the potential human health and environmental impacts associated with in-phase and potentially other stages of the tire life cycle. The Senior Research Manager will lead and manage independently the execution of a multi-year research program involving diverse organizations (consultants, academics, experts) related to assigned Research WGs – including scope, schedule, budget and resources, risks, and quality.

 

Responsibilities and duties

• Lead the assigned WGs, ensures objectives are achieved, timelines and budget are managed, and issues and risks are flagged, and deliverables optimized.


• Ability to understand research related to tire wear emissions, risk assessment, and environmental impact of materials and chemicals.


• Play a key role in building relevant research projects and identifying key partners for execution.


• Connect and challenges the WGs’ members to develop a rigorous study design, builds criteria to identify partners, sets clear objectives, and project milestones, and helps to understand and to communicate study conclusions.


• Facilitate WG reporting for management reviews at various levels (tactical and strategic) of the hierarchy.


• Supports the WG team and TIP consultants to communicate external knowledge, key results, and conclusions and can adapt the message to various (internal and external, science community and general public) audiences.


• Ensuring - with the WG Co-Leaders - that project milestones are aligned and clear, that appropriate decisions are taken, the project stays on track, and that deadlines are respected


• Overseeing activities and progress of the organizations and individuals involved in the research project (consultants, academics, experts, etc.), and maximizing the quality of deliverables.

  Qualifications, skills, and experience

The candidate should be able to demonstrate the following:

• A PhD or MD in environmental science, chemical engineering, or related discipline


• At least 8 years of experience in leading research projects. Specialization in the manufacturing (tire) industry is highly desirable.


• Track record and demonstrated experience in project, resource and budget management, effective facilitation of different perspectives and interests towards a common objective.


• Proven track record of strong listening, communication, and engagement, and ability to synthesize complex topics, articulate challenges, build trust, and engage stakeholders of various ranks and cultural backgrounds.


• Planning and organizing skills: considerable experience in managing own projects independently, setting and managing priorities efficiently, effectively utilizing available resources.


• Self-starter with a can-do attitude who is comfortable navigating uncharted territories and establishing structure and processes.


• Problem-solving ability to synthesize input efficiently, and identify and proactively address problems.

The position is full-time and based in Geneva or Amsterdam and will also require international travel. WBCSD is a purpose driven, forward-thinking and action-oriented organization, characterized by diversity of gender, nationalities and work experiences.  The Work Environment WBCSD offers a competitive, modern, and flexible working arrangement: 

• Geneva-based organization with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, London, New York and Singapore 


• Competitive compensation and benefits 


• State-of-the-art facilities and IT-enabled working tools 


• Dynamic working atmosphere 


• Open culture encouraging interaction and sharing of ideas and opinions


• Sustainable commuting incentives