The Different Types of Social Impact Roles at Companies

November 17, 2022

Do you want to make a difference in the world? Are you looking for a job that will allow you to have a social impact? If so, then you're in luck! There are many different types of social impact roles offered at companies these days. In this blog post, we will discuss the different types of social impact roles that are available. So, if you're ready to make a difference, keep reading!

Sustainability Roles

 

While businesses are still focused on the dollars and cents, most corporations in the developed world are becoming more sustainable. They often have missions that include sustainability, along with programs, policies and initiatives related to it. Other companies are just beginning their journey and need help figuring out what strategies and priorities to set, as well as defining new projects, policies and processes around sustainability. Here are the different categories of sustainability jobs at these companies.

Sustainability Leadership & Strategy:

The leaders and strategy members of sustainability teams primary responsibility is to establish and oversee corporate sustainability strategy. This involves reducing a company’s ecological footprint, minimizing carbon emissions, and developing programs, products, processes and policies that promote energy conservation, water preservation, waste reduction and pollution prevention. A company's chief sustainability officer is responsible for managing its sustainability projects and working with all parts of the company to find ways to be more environmentally friendly. These initiatives might include a zero waste program or carbon neutrality. The CSO also reports on the progress of these programs to leaders (like the CEO), other employees, customers and partners.

Example roles include:

  • Chief Sustainability Officer
  • Sustainability Strategist
  • Sustainability Analyst

Sustainability Managers & Implementors:

Sustainability directors and managers are usually in charge of a tiny organization with either full-time employees or various part-time representatives from different companies. They keep an eye on those working on sustainability projects, and team up with all departments of a company regularly. They put initiatives first, follow through with progress reports, and share the status of those programs internally. Most positions for sustainability directors and managers are full time; however, a manager may be responsible for multiple programs or heading other non-sustainability ventures.

Sustainability program and project managers are vital to organizational success and typically have expertise in various technical CR aspects, including ESG initiatives, stakeholder engagement through reporting and disclosure. A successful sustainability program manager is often a versatile individual who can effortlessly blend together various technical, financial and interpersonal management skills while managing a cross-functional team. Project teams often rely on these positions for key assessments like: materiality, benchmarking, corporate report and disclosure preparation, performance reporting, strategy development, carbon accounting, decarbonization, facility optimization and water stewardship.

Example roles include:

  • Sustainability Director
  • Sustainability Team Leader
  • Project Manager
  • Sustainability Coordinator
  • Sustainability Analyst
  • Facility Manager

Sustainability Specialists:

Sustainability engineers play a vital role in countless industries by designing products and systems that adhere to specific sustainability standards, such as BREEAM or LEED. Depending on their field, they might work in construction, agriculture or manufacturing–among others. Some engineers focus on energy-efficient solutions for manufacturers, for instance helping to design low-energy light bulbs or electric vehicles.

Example roles include:

  • Environmental Engineer
  • Sustainability Engineer

Corporate Social Responsibility Roles:

Many companies have a separate team specifically dedicated to corporate social responsibility (CSR). These individuals may be in charge of developing and executing CSR initiatives across different departments of the company. They might work closely with sustainability teams on reducing their ecological footprint or making use of renewable energy sources. Additionally, they often focus on engaging with stakeholders, such as customers and employees, to share updates about the company's CSR progress or promote  best practices.

If you're interested in pursuing a career in CSR, it's important to have expertise in a wide variety of fields, including business administration, project management, communication and marketing.

Corporate Responsibility Director

The corporate responsibility director overseas the company's ethical values and ensuring they are met. They also work with different departments to adhere to CSR goals, communicate information about the company to outsiders, write press releases, develop PR strategies, and manage marketing campaigns that display the brand's mission and views.

Corporate Social Responsibility Manager

The CSR manager is chiefly responsible for keeping up with the latest trends and figuring out ways in which the company could play a role in helping society at large. This also involves coming up with policies that would help guide the business towards meeting its pre-determined corporate goals related to citizenship. Finally, it is essential that all stakeholders are kept abreast of the company’s sustainability practices and policies, as well as playing a part in upholding them. Spreading the news about the company's charitable work to others, which could include press engagement, events and marketing team collaboration. This might in turn lead to increased philanthropic donations.

Community Relations and Outreach Manager

In these jobs, which can be corporate responsibility or entry-level social work positions, you may be responsible for attracting beneficiaries of social programs, making community members aware of opportunities, or implementing programs. People with degrees in areas ranging from social work to communications may be a good fit here.

Community Affairs Manager

As a community affairs manager, your job is to represent the company and its interests in your local area. You'll be responsible for fostering good relationships with local government officials, charities, business groups, and other organizations that may be interested in supporting or partnering with your company.

Corporate Social Responsibility Analyst

Although most leadership roles prefer applicants with a humanities background, if you have a degree in an area like finance, economics or business and enjoy working with numbers, there are still opportunities available to you. Data collection and auditing is one such opportunity. The type of data sets analyzed by CSR analysts can depend on the industry they work in but may includes topics about energy usage, waste management, public opinion and sustainability among others.

Corporate Marketing and Public Relations

Although many social responsibility jobs require extensive experience or an advanced degree, some entry-level positions may only need excellent communication skills. If you're great with people and exploring job options as a newcomer to the field, marketing and public relations might be for you. Marketing and PR under the corporate citizenship umbrella concentrate on getting others excited about all the amazing programs and changes your company has made/is making, fostering transparency between stakeholders  and letting them know that their voices are being heard by those in power.

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Roles:

ESG roles involve working on issues related to environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and corporate governance. These roles typically require a deep knowledge of the relevant issues and industry practices, as well as excellent communication skills and project management experience.  This is a relatively new part of the social impact landscape and it's quickly becoming more apparent that Corporate Social Responsibility.

CSR and ESG have their similarities, but differ in a few key ways. They can be used together as strategies within your business -- some people might say that ESG is an advancement of CSR because it is more measurable. CSR builds awareness and highlights goals within the company through qualitative research. ESG gives off metrics that instill confidence in external stakeholders.

When it comes to the specific roles within ESG, they look quite similar to the CSR and Sustainability roles except with slightly different titles. However, there's one specific role we want to call out:

ESG Report Writer

This employee is responsible for crafting ESG reports that appeals to investors, stakeholders and the general public. This individual is typically GRI-certified and understands the importance of effective ESG communications.

There are lots of roles to play at a company, and it's all about finding the one that best suits your skills and interests. So if you're looking for a way to make a difference in the world, consider working in social impact at a company. There are plenty of rewarding opportunities waiting for you!

The Different Types of Social Impact Roles at Companies

Do you want to make a difference in the world? Are you looking for a job that will allow you to have a social impact? If so, then you're in luck! There are many different types of social impact roles offered at companies these days. In this blog post, we will discuss the different types of social impact roles that are available. So, if you're ready to make a difference, keep reading!

Sustainability Roles

 

While businesses are still focused on the dollars and cents, most corporations in the developed world are becoming more sustainable. They often have missions that include sustainability, along with programs, policies and initiatives related to it. Other companies are just beginning their journey and need help figuring out what strategies and priorities to set, as well as defining new projects, policies and processes around sustainability. Here are the different categories of sustainability jobs at these companies.

Sustainability Leadership & Strategy:

The leaders and strategy members of sustainability teams primary responsibility is to establish and oversee corporate sustainability strategy. This involves reducing a company’s ecological footprint, minimizing carbon emissions, and developing programs, products, processes and policies that promote energy conservation, water preservation, waste reduction and pollution prevention. A company's chief sustainability officer is responsible for managing its sustainability projects and working with all parts of the company to find ways to be more environmentally friendly. These initiatives might include a zero waste program or carbon neutrality. The CSO also reports on the progress of these programs to leaders (like the CEO), other employees, customers and partners.

Example roles include:

  • Chief Sustainability Officer
  • Sustainability Strategist
  • Sustainability Analyst

Sustainability Managers & Implementors:

Sustainability directors and managers are usually in charge of a tiny organization with either full-time employees or various part-time representatives from different companies. They keep an eye on those working on sustainability projects, and team up with all departments of a company regularly. They put initiatives first, follow through with progress reports, and share the status of those programs internally. Most positions for sustainability directors and managers are full time; however, a manager may be responsible for multiple programs or heading other non-sustainability ventures.

Sustainability program and project managers are vital to organizational success and typically have expertise in various technical CR aspects, including ESG initiatives, stakeholder engagement through reporting and disclosure. A successful sustainability program manager is often a versatile individual who can effortlessly blend together various technical, financial and interpersonal management skills while managing a cross-functional team. Project teams often rely on these positions for key assessments like: materiality, benchmarking, corporate report and disclosure preparation, performance reporting, strategy development, carbon accounting, decarbonization, facility optimization and water stewardship.

Example roles include:

  • Sustainability Director
  • Sustainability Team Leader
  • Project Manager
  • Sustainability Coordinator
  • Sustainability Analyst
  • Facility Manager

Sustainability Specialists:

Sustainability engineers play a vital role in countless industries by designing products and systems that adhere to specific sustainability standards, such as BREEAM or LEED. Depending on their field, they might work in construction, agriculture or manufacturing–among others. Some engineers focus on energy-efficient solutions for manufacturers, for instance helping to design low-energy light bulbs or electric vehicles.

Example roles include:

  • Environmental Engineer
  • Sustainability Engineer

Corporate Social Responsibility Roles:

Many companies have a separate team specifically dedicated to corporate social responsibility (CSR). These individuals may be in charge of developing and executing CSR initiatives across different departments of the company. They might work closely with sustainability teams on reducing their ecological footprint or making use of renewable energy sources. Additionally, they often focus on engaging with stakeholders, such as customers and employees, to share updates about the company's CSR progress or promote  best practices.

If you're interested in pursuing a career in CSR, it's important to have expertise in a wide variety of fields, including business administration, project management, communication and marketing.

Corporate Responsibility Director

The corporate responsibility director overseas the company's ethical values and ensuring they are met. They also work with different departments to adhere to CSR goals, communicate information about the company to outsiders, write press releases, develop PR strategies, and manage marketing campaigns that display the brand's mission and views.

Corporate Social Responsibility Manager

The CSR manager is chiefly responsible for keeping up with the latest trends and figuring out ways in which the company could play a role in helping society at large. This also involves coming up with policies that would help guide the business towards meeting its pre-determined corporate goals related to citizenship. Finally, it is essential that all stakeholders are kept abreast of the company’s sustainability practices and policies, as well as playing a part in upholding them. Spreading the news about the company's charitable work to others, which could include press engagement, events and marketing team collaboration. This might in turn lead to increased philanthropic donations.

Community Relations and Outreach Manager

In these jobs, which can be corporate responsibility or entry-level social work positions, you may be responsible for attracting beneficiaries of social programs, making community members aware of opportunities, or implementing programs. People with degrees in areas ranging from social work to communications may be a good fit here.

Community Affairs Manager

As a community affairs manager, your job is to represent the company and its interests in your local area. You'll be responsible for fostering good relationships with local government officials, charities, business groups, and other organizations that may be interested in supporting or partnering with your company.

Corporate Social Responsibility Analyst

Although most leadership roles prefer applicants with a humanities background, if you have a degree in an area like finance, economics or business and enjoy working with numbers, there are still opportunities available to you. Data collection and auditing is one such opportunity. The type of data sets analyzed by CSR analysts can depend on the industry they work in but may includes topics about energy usage, waste management, public opinion and sustainability among others.

Corporate Marketing and Public Relations

Although many social responsibility jobs require extensive experience or an advanced degree, some entry-level positions may only need excellent communication skills. If you're great with people and exploring job options as a newcomer to the field, marketing and public relations might be for you. Marketing and PR under the corporate citizenship umbrella concentrate on getting others excited about all the amazing programs and changes your company has made/is making, fostering transparency between stakeholders  and letting them know that their voices are being heard by those in power.

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Roles:

ESG roles involve working on issues related to environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and corporate governance. These roles typically require a deep knowledge of the relevant issues and industry practices, as well as excellent communication skills and project management experience.  This is a relatively new part of the social impact landscape and it's quickly becoming more apparent that Corporate Social Responsibility.

CSR and ESG have their similarities, but differ in a few key ways. They can be used together as strategies within your business -- some people might say that ESG is an advancement of CSR because it is more measurable. CSR builds awareness and highlights goals within the company through qualitative research. ESG gives off metrics that instill confidence in external stakeholders.

When it comes to the specific roles within ESG, they look quite similar to the CSR and Sustainability roles except with slightly different titles. However, there's one specific role we want to call out:

ESG Report Writer

This employee is responsible for crafting ESG reports that appeals to investors, stakeholders and the general public. This individual is typically GRI-certified and understands the importance of effective ESG communications.

There are lots of roles to play at a company, and it's all about finding the one that best suits your skills and interests. So if you're looking for a way to make a difference in the world, consider working in social impact at a company. There are plenty of rewarding opportunities waiting for you!