Ethical Sourcing Operations and Governance Manager - Victoria, Hawthorn East

Coles is part of everyday life for millions in Australia, reflecting the communities we serve and the responsibility that comes with our scale. This responsibility extends beyond our own operations and team members to the people who contribute to our extended supply chains. Within People & Culture, the Ethical Sourcing team plays a critical role in managing human rights and modern slavery risks across our operations and supply chains. Working with business teams, suppliers and external stakeholders, we support the early identification, assessment and management of human rights risks and strengthen due diligence processes. 

About the opportunity 

Reporting to the Group Ethical Sourcing Manager, this is a senior role within the Ethical Sourcing management team. You will provide a whole-of-program view across retail ethical sourcing activities, connecting this work to the broader Human Rights program. Partnering closely with the Lead Specialist, the Operations and Governance Manager will help translate strategic priorities into coordinated and consistent execution, strengthen program governance and drive operational effectiveness across the specialist team. 

This is an opportunity to help shape the next phase of Coles’ Human Rights and Ethical Sourcing program as it continues to grow in scale, maturity and impact. We’re looking for a commercially astute leader with deep human rights expertise, strong strategic and analytical capability, and the ability to effectively influence at senior levels. You understand the realities of a large retail business and can navigate an evolving risk landscape, translating insights into practical actions that deliver meaningful, lasting outcomes. 

Responsibilities: 

• Provide oversight across ethical sourcing activities in retail, setting priorities and maintaining visibility across delivery, reporting obligations and program evolution. 

• Partner with the Lead Specialist to build a coordinated interface with retail business units, creating clear requests, ownership and escalation pathways while reducing duplication and improving stakeholder experience. This includes ensuring controls for onboarding, risk segmentation, audits, non-conformance management, derogations and escalations are applied consistently and proportionately, with performance insights used to address root causes and reduce recurrence. 

• Work closely with the program team to strengthen governance, data, systems and reporting, embedding consistent frameworks and processes across investigations, audits and retail delivery, while partnering to use performance insights to identify systemic issues, address root causes, reduce recurrence, monitor outcomes and refine approach as needed. 

• Stay close to the changing modern slavery, human rights, regulatory, media and supplier risk landscape, assessing how emerging developments intersect with retail innovation, changing customer expectations and shopping behaviours, and translating these insights into practical priorities for the business. 

• Lead, coach and develop the specialist team, strengthening accountability, cross-skilling and sustainable workload planning. Use data trends to improve program effectiveness, shape its next stage of maturity and maintain strong compliance and governance across the team. 

You'll have: 

• 10+ years' experience across ethical sourcing, human rights, modern slavery, social compliance or related governance and risk disciplines. 

• Significant experience in retail, FMCG or another fast-paced corporate environment, with a strong understanding of commercial drivers and the ability to balance risk and business priorities. 

• Strong systems thinking, analytical and critical thinking skills, able to connect diverse issues, identify interdependencies and distil data and emerging risks into clear recommendations, with strong follow-through to drive coordinated action and outcomes. 

• Deep expertise across supplier assurance, social audit programs, risk assessment, investigations, remediation, governance, reporting and data-driven decision-making. 

• Proven experience leading high-performing specialist teams, bringing clarity, accountability and a focus on continuous improvement. 

• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and communication skills, with the confidence and credibility to influence senior leaders, present issues clearly and represent the business internally and externally. 

• A polished and pragmatic leadership style, with the judgement to navigate ambiguity, respond to emerging issues and help shape the evolution of a mature Human Rights and Ethical Sourcing program. 

Qualifications: 

• A relevant tertiary qualification in human rights, law, business, sustainability, risk, supply chain, procurement or a related discipline. 

• Experience in food, agriculture or Australian fresh produce would be highly regarded.