Principal Consultant (Maternity Cover) - Agri-Food (Dairy Operational Lead)
Anthesis Group · UK (Hybrid)
Bridge roleThis employer isn't a food business, so the role won't decide what food gets bought. It builds the knowledge, credibility and contacts people use to move into a role that does.
Our estimate of how close this job is to decisions about what protein a business sources, specifies, buys and serves. How we score
Why this role matters
How close this job is to real sourcing and menu decisions.
This role sits inside one of the largest farm-level dairy sustainability data programmes in the world, coordinating assessments across more than 20 countries and thousands of farms a year. Animal welfare is explicitly listed among the sustainability frameworks this programme touches, alongside climate footprinting and regenerative agriculture, which means the data quality, consistency and governance this role oversees directly shapes how credible and rigorous those welfare assessments actually are across a huge dairy supply chain. You won't be setting the standards from this seat, but you will be the person ensuring the evidence behind them is sound, training partners who collect it, and sitting close enough to the client relationship to influence what gets measured and reported. For someone building toward a seat that does set those standards, this is a genuine technical and relational apprenticeship in how large-scale dairy sustainability programmes actually run, covering everything from climate footprint to land use to welfare evidence.
Where this role can take you
What this job teaches you, and the jobs it can lead to.
What you'd build
- Global dairy sustainability programme management
- On-farm assessment methodology knowledge
- Multi-stakeholder coordination across geographies
- Quality management and audit governance
- Senior stakeholder engagement
Where it can lead
- Dairy Sustainability Programme Director
- Head of Agri-Food Sustainability
- Senior Responsible Sourcing Manager
Roles like these set the sustainability and welfare criteria dairy supply chains are assessed against, shaping what standards farms are actually held to at scale.
About the role
Anthesis Group is seeking a Principal Consultant to cover maternity leave as Dairy Operational Lead within its Agrifood team, part of the Circularity & Value Chain Transformation (C&VCT) business line. The role leads day-to-day delivery of a large-scale farm-level sustainability data programme for a major global food industry client, coordinating activity across more than 20 countries and supporting thousands of farm assessments annually. It is a 12-month fixed-term contract, UK-based with hybrid working. Key responsibilities include leading operational delivery of the global dairy sustainability programme; coordinating a network of regional programme managers and delivery partners; building relationships with client stakeholders, delivery teams and external partners; influencing senior stakeholders to drive programme success; overseeing quality management, governance and reporting; supporting annual programme planning and farm sampling; leading training and capability-building for programme partners and client teams; reviewing programme data with technical teams to ensure data quality and consistency; monitoring programme risks and implementing corrective actions; supporting internal and external verification activities; and participating in quality assurance activities including occasional field visits, audits and partner calibration exercises. Essential requirements are strong dairy industry experience, a degree in Agriculture or a related discipline, experience managing dairy, agricultural sustainability, certification, assurance, audit or farm data collection programmes, a strong understanding of dairy production systems and on-farm assessment methodologies, proven ability to manage and influence senior stakeholders, excellent relationship-building and stakeholder engagement skills, experience coordinating complex multi-stakeholder projects across multiple geographies, strong programme and project management capabilities, excellent communication and organisational skills, ability to work within global, multidisciplinary teams, and strong analytical skills and attention to detail. Desirable requirements include knowledge of sustainability frameworks relevant to the dairy sector such as climate footprinting, regenerative agriculture and animal welfare; experience developing and delivering training programmes; experience with quality management systems (QMS), governance frameworks and risk management processes; advanced Excel skills and experience with digital data collection platforms and reporting tools; experience reviewing and analysing large datasets; and willingness to travel occasionally within the UK and internationally. Benefits include flexible working, 25 days holiday, two volunteering days, and a birthday day off.
We added this one ourselves, from the employer's own advert.
Key terms to include in your CV and cover letter
What this employer is asking for, in their words. Applications are often screened by software looking for exact phrases, so if these describe your experience, use their wording.
- dairy sector experience
- agricultural sustainability programme management
- certification and assurance programmes
- farm data collection
- on-farm assessment methodologies
- stakeholder engagement
- senior stakeholder management
- programme management
- project coordination multi-geography
- quality management systems (QMS)
- governance frameworks
- risk management
- audit experience
- training and capability building
- climate footprinting
- regenerative agriculture
- animal welfare frameworks
- data quality analysis
How to position yourself
The language that works with hiring managers for this kind of job.
Position your experience around programme delivery rigour, data quality assurance and stakeholder management at scale - the language of governance, verification and risk management will resonate most here. If you can speak to quality management systems (QMS), audit or certification programme experience and multi-country coordination, lead with that alongside any direct dairy or agricultural sector exposure.
You apply directly with the employer. We just link you to their advert, and we don't see anything you send them.