Senior Sustainability Data & Operations Manager

Our Sustainability and Compliance team leads strategic initiatives across Zalando's pan-European network to minimize environmental impact and drive circular economy practices. We navigate complex regulatory landscapes to ensure our business models remain compliant, efficient, and aligned with our commitment to sustainable fashion e-commerce. As Senior Sustainability Data & Operations Manager (all genders), you will go beyond routine compliance execution. You are the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulatory authority in the loop. You will work alongside a dedicated data analyst and our engineering teams, acting as the crucial "Human-in-the-Loop" (HITL) quality gate for our automated reports, defending our data integrity in external audits, leading strategic Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) tendering, and establishing the complex operational processes required to claim eco-modulation bonuses.

• Own EPR compliance quality end-to-end. Hold accountability for the accuracy of our Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) submissions. Act as the expert end-user within our data platforms (e.g. Databricks) to catch edge cases, audit data quality, and provide precise feedback to our data analysts for continuous pipeline improvement.
• Manage PRO relationships and contracts. Own strategic relationships with PROs across 25+ markets; contract renewals, RFP processes, tendering cycles.
• Lead audit management. Prepare for and represent Zalando in sustainability reporting audits. Manage findings and ensure documentation is always defensible.
• Operationalize Eco-modulation Claims. Identify eco-modulation criteria across our markets and establish the operational processes and data requirements needed to claim these bonuses. Partner with data analysts to capture these attributes in our automated pipelines and execute claims to secure financial savings.
• Translate Regulation into Data Specs. Define the exact data specifications and acceptance criteria required for EPR reporting, ensuring our data analysts can execute against clear, unambiguous regulatory logic.
• Support Regulatory Positioning. Provide expert operational feedback on EU legislation in close coordination with internal stakeholders, supplying the technical foundation required for Zalando's public affairs and lobbying efforts.

• You have deep, hands-on EU sustainability regulatory experience. You've managed EPR compliance across multiple European markets. You understand how PRO fee structures work, how waste categories vary by jurisdiction, and what auditors look for.
• You possess strong technical data literacy. You've bridged complex compliance logic into specifications that engineers or analysts could execute; and you're comfortable working with data platforms (Databricks, BI tools) as an expert reviewer, not as a developer.
• You are a strategic process builder. You know how to translate theoretical regulatory requirements (like eco-modulation criteria) into rigorous operational processes and exact data specifications.
• You have a track record of identifying compliance cost-reduction opportunities. Eco-modulation, contract optimization, or process efficiency. You treat compliance not just as obligation management but as a financial lever.
• You manage PRO and regulatory relationships with confidence. Contract renewals, RFP processes, audit proceedings, public affairs. You're credible and effective in all of them.
• You're analytically rigorous and self-directed. You build structure in ambiguous environments, manage competing priorities across a complex stakeholder landscape, and thrive with domain ownership rather than a defined playbook.
• You communicate with precision: requirements documents, position papers, audit responses. You write clearly under technical and legal scrutiny.