Principal Consultant - Commodity Supply Chains
3Keel · Bladon, Woodstock
Bridge roleThis employer isn't a food business, so the role won't decide what food gets bought. It builds the knowledge, credibility and contacts people use to move into a role that does.
Our estimate of how close this job is to decisions about what protein a business sources, specifies, buys and serves. How we score
Why this role matters
How close this job is to real sourcing and menu decisions.
This role's day-to-day centres on deforestation-linked commodities, palm, soy, cocoa, coffee, timber, which matters for landscapes and land use but doesn't touch meat, dairy, egg or seafood sourcing decisions directly; the seafood sustainability angle is only listed as desirable, not core scope. What it does build is real: due-diligence frameworks, corporate sustainability reporting (EUDR, SBTi/FLAG), and trusted-advisor relationships with "some of the most responsible businesses in the world" at senior level, exactly the fluency and network that later lets someone credibly push sourcing-standard or supply-chain asks inside a food business. If you want a seat sooner where sourcing standards for meat, dairy, egg or seafood are the direct lever, this isn't it; if you're building toward one via consultancy credibility and client access, it's a strong staging post, especially if you can steer toward the seafood/marine work as a route in.
Where this role can take you
What this job teaches you, and the jobs it can lead to.
What you'd build
- Supply chain due diligence frameworks (EUDR, SBTi/FLAG)
- Corporate sustainability reporting expertise
- Client relationship management at senior level
- Business development and proposal writing
- Project and team leadership
Where it can lead
- Sustainability Director
- Head of Supply Chain Sustainability
- Responsible Sourcing Director
These senior sustainability and sourcing leadership roles can set supplier standards and category strategy across a business's full commodity portfolio, including meat, dairy and seafood where in scope.
About the role
3Keel, the sustainability consultancy now operating as the advisory wing of Fera Science Group, is hiring a Principal Consultant to grow its Commodity Supply Chain Business Unit. The role centres on forest risk commodities, palm, soy, cocoa, coffee, timber, advising corporate clients on sustainable supply chains. Responsibilities include supporting the business unit's growth strategy, raising 3Keel's external profile in the sustainable supply chain space, leading and guiding client projects, managing a portfolio of clients and larger key accounts with high autonomy, tracking new frameworks and policy developments (including EUDR, SBTi/FLAG, CSRDD and sustainable commodity sourcing certifications), managing and mentoring junior staff, and contributing to internal learning and development. Essential requirements include a self-starting, driven approach to complex sustainability problems; technical expertise in corporate metrics and methods for forest risk commodities; strong business understanding of raw material supply chains including corporate environmental reporting and sustainability programme development; strategy development skills to identify leverage points and trade-offs informing due diligence frameworks; ability to work cross-disciplinarily with varied client teams; considerable business development and proposal-writing experience with a track record of winning work; strong project management; clear communication of complex analysis to non-technical senior client managers; client relationship building across seniority levels; data literacy across qualitative and quantitative sources; and flexibility to work across other thematic areas. Desirable criteria include technical understanding of marine and seafood sustainability (resilience, sourcing strategies, risk assessments), line management experience, and a relevant degree or master's. The role is based in Oxford, Bristol, London or York, with hybrid/remote working, starting salary £60,000+. Benefits include 25 days' holiday (rising to 29) with buy/sell options, flexible working hours, training and development opportunities, company-matched pension, life assurance and a cycle2work scheme. There is no fixed application deadline; early applications are encouraged, and candidates are asked to apply with a CV and one-side covering letter.
This is an extract. Read the full advert on the employer's site.
Key terms to include in your CV and cover letter
What this employer is asking for, in their words. Applications are often screened by software looking for exact phrases, so if these describe your experience, use their wording.
- forest risk commodities
- EUDR
- SBTi
- FLAG
- CSRDD
- sustainable commodity sourcing certifications
- supply chain due diligence
- materiality assessment
- risk-based assessment
- business development
- proposal writing
- client relationship management
- project management
- line management
- data literacy
- corporate environmental reporting
- seafood sustainability
How to position yourself
The language that works with hiring managers for this kind of job.
Position your forest-risk commodity and supply-chain due-diligence experience (EUDR, SBTi/FLAG, CSRDD) as directly transferable to wider food and agricultural supply chains, since feed crops like soy sit at the intersection of deforestation risk and livestock sourcing. If you have any grounding in seafood or marine sustainability, foreground it given it's listed as desirable, and frame your consulting track record (client relationship building, proposal writing, project delivery) as the credibility base for later advising on meat, dairy or wider commodity-category strategy.
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