Senior Director, Assurance and Traceability

Senior Director, Assurance and Traceability 

Reports to: Chief Standards and Strategy Officer 

Direct reports: 3 

Remote – North America, UK, or EU

About Us  

Textile Exchange is a global non-profit driving positive impact on climate change across the fashion and textile industry. It guides a growing community of brands, manufacturers, and farmers towards more purposeful production from the very start of the supply chain.
By 2030, its goal is to guide the industry to achieve a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions within fiber and raw material production.

Its focus is holistic and interconnected, accelerating the adoption of practices that improve the state of our water, soil health, and biodiversity too. For real change to happen, everyone needs a clear path to positive impact. That’s why Textile Exchange believes that approachable, step-by-step instruction paired with collective action can change the system to make preferred materials and fibers an accessible default, mobilizing leaders through attainable strategies, proven solutions, and a driven community.
 

At Textile Exchange, materials matter. To learn more, visit TextileExchange.org.
 

Working at Textile Exchange  

We work remotely with a team located in 20+ countries. We are a diverse group committed to harnessing the strengths of the global textile industry to accelerate change toward climate and other key environmental goals. We work collaboratively on important environmental issues around the world by working and interacting with farming groups, processors, brands, retailers, and environmental experts in the textile and fashion industries around the world. We offer an opportunity to join a cutting-edge global environmental nonprofit and to help strengthen the impact of our organization.  

Position Summary

The Assurance and Traceability, Senior Director will have accountability for two pillars of the Textile Exchange standards system: our assurance system and digital tools. The Sr Director will shape the future of these pillars of the standards system through their knowledge and leadership. They will lead teams responsible for certification body oversight, monitoring, data collection and management, and digital tool/platform development. This leadership role will offer an opportunity to continue improving one of the industry’s largest sustainability standards systems during a pivotal transition to a new standard: the Materials Matter Standard. The role demands a forward-thinker with the right knowledge and experience to navigate multiple outcomes amidst changes being implemented across a range of contexts. Successful candidates have robust knowledge of certification systems, especially those that include third-party certification, traceability, and advanced digital platforms. They will have robust knowledge of assurance models with a knack for communicating to various audiences with confidence.

Key Responsibilities

· Accountable for robust assurance and traceability as part of an integrated standards system that is credible, scalable, and future-ready.

· Accountable for digital tools and systems that effectively advance the standards system by supporting transparency, regulatory alignment, market confidence, and measurable impact across complex global supply chains.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

· Own the ongoing evolution of assurance and traceability within the standards system, ensuring that policies, processes, data, and governance function together in an integrated way.

· Oversee the Assurance team, responsible for certification body management, monitoring and assessment, and all other certification activities.

· Oversee the Traceability and Supply Chain Data teams, responsible for development and management of digital tools supporting Textile Exchange standards.

· Proactively evolve the relevant models and systems to strengthen the integrity of the standards system, balancing credibility, usability, cost, and innovation amid regulatory change, technological advancement, and shifting market expectations, ensuring long-term strategic success.

· Develop strategies to strengthen proactive monitoring and response to complaints or inquiries related to certification body performance or user conformity across the system

· In partnership with the standards leadership team, define and advance Textile Exchange’s strategic approach to traceability, including interoperability, scalability, and alignment with emerging regulatory and market expectations.

· Ensure appropriate risk management within certification activities, including appropriate organizational transparency, responsiveness, and confidence.

· Guide prioritization decisions where trade-offs exist between rigor, scalability, cost, and adoption.

· Represent Textile Exchange externally as a thought leader on assurance and traceability, with certification bodies, the ISEAL community, peer standards bodies, users, and strategic partners.

Minimum Qualifications

· 10+ years of experience in sustainability related standards and certification schemes

· Deep knowledge of a range of assurance models, with experience navigating implementation across diverse contexts

· Deep knowledge of traceability and information management systems

· Experience in strategy development and ownership of system-level outcomes

· Commitment to contributing to a positive organizational culture

· Strong communication skills, including comfort navigating between technical and high-level audiences

· Experience engaging in cross-initiative alignment efforts, including across regulatory and voluntary contexts

· Experience leading complex systems through significant growth and dynamic contexts

· Experience in risk and performance management within the context of certification

· Experience with chain of custody and traceability models

· Experience with data modeling and data management systems

Preferred Qualifications

· Experience with an ISEAL member initiative

· Experience managing remote, international teams

· Experience within the apparel, textile, or agriculture sectors

Employment Package 

·  Full-Time Position, 40 Hours a Week

·  Required travel: Up to 35%

·  Annual Salary Range: $160,000 - $200,000 USD