VP Global Sustainability & EHS

About Ipsen:

Ipsen is a mid-sized global biopharmaceutical company with a focus on transformative medicines in three therapeutic areas: Oncology, Rare Disease and Neuroscience. Supported by nearly 100 years of development experience, with global hubs in the U.S., France and the U.K, we tackle areas of high unmet medical need through research and innovation.

Our passionate teams in more than 40 countries are focused on what matters and endeavor every day to bring medicines to patients in 88 countries. We build a workplace that champions human-centric leadership and fosters a culture of collaboration, excellence and impact. At Ipsen, every individual is empowered to be their true selves, grow and thrive alongside the company’s success. Join us on our journey towards sustainable growth, creating real impact on patients and society!

For more information, visit us at https://www.ipsen.com/ and follow our latest news on LinkedIn and Instagram.

VP Sustainability & EHS
Ipsen | Corporate Affairs | Paris, France (global role) | Hybrid

The role
We are looking for a VP Sustainability to define and deliver its global sustainability strategy, fully embedded in the corporate strategy. The role brings together CSR, sustainability, environment and EHS. It has a strong focus on social impact, including health equity, responsible business and strategic societal partnerships. It also carries executive oversight of Ipsen’s environmental and EHS agenda.

Reporting to the Executive Vice President & Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, you will be a trusted advisor to senior leadership and governance bodies. You will make sure Ipsen’s commitments translate into measurable patient, societal, environmental and business outcomes. You will lead a multidisciplinary global Sustainability & EHS organisation of around eight direct reports.

What you will do

• Strategy: Set Ipsen’s global sustainability and responsible-business vision and roadmap, run materiality and stakeholder engagement, and embed sustainability into strategy, innovation, operations, capital allocation, risk management and the supply chain.
• CSR and health equity: Lead the global CSR and social-impact strategy. Shape the health-equity agenda with Market Access, Medical Affairs, R&D and Commercial. Build multi-year partnerships with public-health bodies, academia and community organisations, and measure outcomes rather than activity.
• Human rights and value chain: Lead the human-rights strategy and due-diligence framework. Drive responsible sourcing and supplier engagement with Procurement, HR, Legal, Compliance, Technical Operations and Supply Chain.
• Environment, climate and EHS: Provide executive oversight of EHS, including a strong safety culture. Oversee decarbonisation, water, waste, biodiversity and pharmaceuticals in the environment, and progress toward science-based targets and Ipsen’s 2045 net-zero ambition, including Scope 3. Ensure ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 compliance.
• Reporting and disclosure: Own the CSRD reporting process. Oversee ESG ratings, EU Taxonomy, CDP and data governance, and ensure readiness for evolving regulation.
• Governance: Advise the Executive Committee and governance bodies on ESG impacts, risks and trade-offs. Contribute a societal perspective on topics such as AI, data use and bioethics.
• External leadership: Act as Ipsen’s senior ambassador with investors, ESG analysts, regulators, NGOs, patient groups and industry associations.
• People: Lead and develop technical experts and future sustainability and EHS leaders, and build enterprise-wide ownership of sustainability.

About you

• Extensive senior leadership in sustainability, CSR, social impact or responsible business within a complex global organisation
• Broad sustainability expertise, with distinctive depth in CSR, health equity, human rights and/or social impact
• A track record of delivering enterprise strategies with measurable societal, environmental and business outcomes
• Experience advising Executive Committees or Boards on material ESG issues
• Strong understanding of sustainability governance, regulation and reporting
• Ability to lead and deliver through environmental, EHS, reporting and social-impact specialists
• Executive presence, change leadership, business acumen and evidence-based communication
• Pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare or other highly regulated sector experience preferred
• Exposure to philanthropy, public health, international development or health-system strengthening is advantageous
• Fluent English
• A relevant university degree or equivalent experience. An advanced qualification or certification in sustainability, CSR, public health, ESG, EHS or a related field is an advantage.

Based in Paris with hybrid working in line with Ipsen’s policy. Global travel is required to engage sites, leadership teams and partners.

Why work here?

At Ipsen, each employee makes a real impact. Our teams are passionate about what they do because they care about making a difference in patients’ lives. We invest in our employees to support life-changing projects that create positive impact for patients and society.