Overview

Director of Sustainability Jobs in Gauteng, South Africa at Sataya

Title: Director of Sustainability

Company: Sataya

Location: Gauteng, South Africa

Director of Sustainability

ESG | Conservation & Sustainability | Up to GBP 50k Per Annum | Multi-Country Travel and Hospitality Group

Key Details

  • Location: South Africa
  • Compensation: Up to GBP 50k Per Annum
  • Reports to: Executive Leadership Team
  • Requirements: Minimum ten years' experience in sustainability, ESG, conservation or impact leadership, ideally within a multi-country business
  • Type: On-site
  • Relocation: Required

Overview

Satāya is representing a purpose-led, multi-country experiential travel group with an established reputation for combining luxury hospitality with genuine conservation and community impact. The business operates a portfolio of lodges, camps and travel experiences across several regions, and treats impact as core to how it operates rather than as an add-on.

The group works closely with an affiliated non-profit partner on its conservation and community work, and this is a newly sharpened, strategically significant role, created to bring coherence, rigour and measurable accountability to impact work that currently spans multiple regions, operating entities and stakeholder groups.

Director of Sustainability will sit close to the executive team and will be responsible for shaping and embedding a Group-wide impact strategy, building the frameworks and governance needed to report on it credibly, and ensuring it translates into real operational practice and guest experience across the business. This is primarily a strategic leadership and influencing role, with some direct operational oversight, and will suit someone equally comfortable setting long-term direction and getting into the detail of data, governance and delivery.

Scope of Role

1) Strategic Impact Leadership

  • Develop and continually refine the Group's impact strategy, aligning it with long-term business objectives and conservation commitments.
  • Translate strategic ambitions into practical frameworks, standards and delivery plans that regional teams can act on.
  • Ensure impact priorities, operational execution and commercial sustainability remain aligned.
  • Support the executive team in positioning the business as a genuine leader in sustainable, purpose-led travel.

2) Governance, ESG & Reporting

  • Design and maintain Group-wide impact frameworks, methodologies and governance systems, including clear KPIs and reporting structures for conservation, community and ESG performance.
  • Oversee governance and strategic allocation of impact-related funding.
  • Provide strategic oversight of ESG reporting systems, working closely with data and regional teams to strengthen data quality, integrity and audit readiness.
  • Produce executive-level impact reporting, insights and performance analysis, and flag corrective action where progress is off track.

3) Operational Enablement & Regional Implementation

  • Drive adoption of Group impact standards across operating regions, working with regional leadership on effective implementation and accountability.
  • Develop practical tools and guidance that support execution on the ground, and help embed impact principles into operational standards and guest experience.

4) Stakeholder Engagement, Partnerships & Fundraising

  • Build and maintain strong relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, including donors and conservation partners.
  • Lead strategic coordination with the affiliated non-profit partner to ensure alignment, accountability and effective delivery of shared programmes.
  • Drive fundraising, donor engagement and partnership development in support of impact priorities, including identifying opportunities to grow guest donations without compromising the guest experience.
  • Represent the business in relevant industry forums and stakeholder engagements.

5) Brand, Culture & Communication

  • Strengthen internal and external communication of the Group's impact vision, priorities and achievements, working closely with the marketing function to keep storytelling authentic and grounded in delivery.
  • Build organisational understanding of impact priorities and help embed impact thinking into leadership behaviours and culture.

6) Financial & Funding Oversight

  • Provide strategic oversight of the Group's impact funding mechanism, supporting budgeting and prioritisation of impact investment.
  • Work with Finance to ensure strong governance and sustainability of impact initiatives.

Ideal Candidate Profile

  • A relevant tertiary qualification in sustainability, environmental science, conservation, development studies, ESG or a related field.
  • At least ten years' experience in sustainability, ESG, conservation or impact leadership, ideally including exposure to multi-country or regional operating environments.
  • A proven track record of building impact strategies, ESG frameworks and credible reporting systems from the ground up.
  • Strong stakeholder engagement and partnership management experience, including comfort operating at executive level without direct line authority.
  • Experience within conservation, hospitality, tourism or community development would be a strong advantage.
  • Exposure to fundraising, donor engagement or purpose-led organisations is beneficial.
  • A genuine, well-evidenced passion for conservation and community impact, balanced with commercial pragmatism and a bias towards measurable outcomes.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex impact concepts into clear, credible narratives for different audiences.

Why Our Client

  • A business where impact is genuinely embedded in strategy and operations, not treated as a marketing overlay.
  • A newly elevated role with direct visibility to the executive team and real influence over Group direction.
  • A long-standing, credible reputation built over decades in sustainable, experiential travel.
  • A close working partnership with an established non-profit partner, offering real scope for impact at scale.
  • The opportunity to build frameworks and systems from a position of genuine executive support, rather than working around organisational inertia.

This represents a confidential search conducted on behalf of our client. To protect the privacy of the brand and its high-profile clientele, specific company details will be shared exclusively with shortlisted candidates. If you have not received a response within two weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful at this time.

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