Starting Date: ASAP

Contract type: Full-time and open-ended

Salary: 48,182 GBP commensurate with relevant experience and skills 

Location: London

Application closing date: 3rd June 2025

About the Job 

Are you purpose-driven and ready to shape the future of sustainable cotton supply chains? 

Join Better Cotton as a Standards Senior Coordinator, where you will coordinate, support and help innovate our standards, with a strong focus on our Chain of Custody Standard. In this role, you will support the standards team in all Chain of Custody Standard related work, work towards innovations to make our Chain of Custody Standard future proof and support the standards team with general standards related work. 

We are seeking an engaging, visionary yet pragmatic coordinator who values standards and enjoys complex tasks. If you have experience in stakeholder and project management, standard setting and revisions, and a passion for promoting effective and sustainable supply chains, we would love to hear from you. 

The Challenge

2 years after the release of our Chain of Custody Standard and roll-out of our traceability work, we are now focused on monitoring and enhancing the Chain of Custody Standard to uphold our values, address learnings from the first years of implementation and ensure it is fit for purpose as Better Cotton transitions to a certification scheme. In the mid-to long run, we are also looking into how to best innovate the standard to make Better Cotton future proof and respond to shifting market needs, upcoming and future legal requirements, ensure supply chain due diligence, and ensure Better Cotton remains a preferred sourcing choice of our members.  

As a Standards Senior Coordinator you will collaborate with the respective teams to oversee and enhance our Chain of Custody Standard. Your efforts will help build a strong foundation for Better Cotton operations worldwide. 

Areas that play to your strengths

(All the responsibilities we’ll trust you with) 

As a Standards Senior Coordinator, you will be responsible for: 

• Collaborating with the Claims and Assurance teams: Monitor feedback from Certification Bodies, Assurance, Member Engagement, and Claims teams during the roll-out of the updated Chain of Custody Standard. Assess the need for any future updates and changes to the standard. 

• Coordinating updates or revisions of the Chain of Custody Standard: Refine, adjust, and update existing requirements in adherence to ISEAL requirements for standard-setting and revisions. Ensure good project management, governance, consultations, and consensus finding. 

• Manage multistakeholder governance and working groups to review and oversee the standard 

• Supporting Chain of Custody standard queries: Respond to internal and external questions about the standards, including supporting external strategic communication. 

• Driving innovation projects:  Work on projects to future-proof the standard and generate ideas for innovations (e.g., regarding by-products, circularity, collaboration with peer standards, supply chain due diligence, and social and environmental requirements). 

• Leading internal quality management: Support the Standards sub-team by overseeing internal quality management, knowledge management, communications, IT, and other related tasks. 

Who we are looking for

Essential:  

• Experience with supply chain certification programmes and/or traceability: preferably in the textile industry 

• Understanding of legal requirements and market needs in supply chains: Especially in cotton or a comparable commodity. 

• Proven understanding and/or experience with Voluntary Standard Systems. 

• Experience and/or knowledge in standard setting or revision procedures: Including ISEAL processes and requirements. 

• Effective multi-stakeholder management and coordination skills: Ability to facilitate alignment and consensus among diverse opinions and stakeholders. 

• Strong project management skills: Capable of coordinating complex projects and managing deadlines and competing priorities effectively. 

• Analytical skills combined with holistic thinking: Ability to design pragmatic solutions while considering the big picture. 

• Excellent verbal and written communication abilities: Proficient in both internal and external messaging in English, capable of drafting documents and communication pieces targeted at different audiences. 

• Experience working in multicultural and international settings. 

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite. 

Desirable: 

• Experience with Chain of Custody Standards setting 

• Knowledge and experience of sustainability challenges and opportunities in the cotton supply chain or any other agricultural commodity: From farm to consumer. 

• Higher university degree in a relevant field. 

• Proficiency in additional languages relevant to Better Cotton’s work: For example, French, Portuguese, Turkish, Russian, Mandarin, Hindi, Urdu. 

What we offer

- Competitive salary

- Hybrid working – One day a week in the central London office

- The opportunity to work from anywhere in the world for up to one month per year

- Flexible working, with core hours from 10 am to 4 pm local time

- Continuous learning and development

- Pension scheme

- 25 days paid annual leave, plus 8-9 Bank Holidays and a further 3 discretionary days off over Christmas/year end period 

- Enhanced parental benefits

- A warm, positive working environment where everyone is valued

- The opportunity to make your mark and make a difference.

Working arrangements

The position is full-time (40 hours per week) and will be based in London. Better Cotton offers flexible working, with core hours being 10 am – 4 pm.   

Apply now

Send us your CV (2 pages maximum) and a brief cover letter (1-page maximum) by or before 03.06.2025. 

In your cover letter, please include an explanation of why your experience is specifically relevant to this role at Better Cotton. We want to see your personal style – what makes you tick and why you think your next opportunity is here with us. 

Our hiring process

Initial Screening: 

If you are selected, you will be contacted for an initial screening, which may involve a brief phone interview or video call. The purpose is to learn more about you, confirm basic qualifications, and discuss the role and organisation. 

Interviews: 

If you are confirmed after the initial screening, you will be invited for interviews. The interview process at Better Cotton may include one or more rounds of interviews with various stakeholders, such as the hiring manager, team members, and potentially senior management. 

Assessment and Testing:  

Depending on the role, you might be required to complete assessments, technical tests, or skills evaluations to gauge your competency and suitability for the position. 

Reference Checks:  

Once you progress further in the process, reference checks are conducted to validate your work history, skills, and qualifications, and for some roles, your education and criminal history. 

Offer Stage: 

After completing interviews, assessments, and reference checks, the hiring team evaluates your performance and fit for the role. If you are selected and your references are relevant and satisfactory, you will receive a formal job offer letter outlining the terms of employment, compensation, benefits, and any other relevant details. 

About Better Cotton

Better Cotton is a global not-for-profit organisation supporting the production of more equitable and sustainable cotton at farm level. We exist to catalyse the cotton farming community with partners, governments and others to continuously drive positive impact by setting standards and facilitating the supply and demand of more sustainable cotton from farm to brand. In just 15 years we have aligned more than a fifth of the world’s cotton with our standard and helped farmers and farming communities thrive. Join us in building a better, more sustainable future for cotton worldwide. 

About our Values

The post holder will be expected to operate in line with our workplace values which are:  

• Trustworthy (including honest, transparent, credible) 
• As having Integrity (including responsible, authentic) 
• Positive (including problem-solving, pragmatic) 
• Engaging (including adaptable, inclusive, holistic) 
• Daring (including courageous, innovative, game-changing)  

Being you @ Better Cotton

Better Cotton is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to good practice and transparency in the management of natural, human, and financial resources. 

We have a zero-tolerance approach to any attitudes or behaviours that put children or adults at risk of harm. Safeguarding incidents are acts of serious misconduct and are grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including, dismissal and referral to relevant authorities for criminal prosecution. Therefore, all offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks.