Tell us what you need
Share your leave cover challenge in a short conversation.
Interim sustainability manager & leave cover
Leave coming up? Get an interim expert who has covered one before. Shortlist in 48 hours.
Whether a colleague is going on parental leave or has just left and the deadlines stay where they are, get an expert who has done it before.
- Free 30-minute call
- Expert shortlist within 48 hours
- No commitment
Dazzle made finding an expert sustainability freelancer to provide maternity leave coverage seamless.
Jessica LenhartSustainability Director, USPA Global Licensing
What do you need help with?
Whether you’re facing a parental leave, a sudden departure or a role that needs covering for a few months, our experts can help.
Parental leave cover
A senior expert covers the role for the whole leave, so your deadlines still land on time.
Illness or sudden departure
Bridge the gap within days, while you decide on the long-term hire.
Interim sustainability manager
Runs the roadmap, leads the meetings and keeps stakeholders on board until your colleague is back.
Handover and onboarding
Where possible your expert starts before the leave, and hands everything back documented when your colleague returns.
How Dazzle works
Expert interim and leave cover support. Without the hassle.
01
Tell us what you need
Share your leave cover challenge in a short conversation.
02
Meet your expert
Receive a shortlist of carefully selected interim sustainability specialists within 48 hours. Meet your preferred expert before committing.
03
Get started
Choose your expert and start, often within 48 hours, with flexible support.
You meet your expert before you commit. No match on your shortlist? You pay nothing.
Experts who’ve done this before.
Work directly with experienced interim sustainability specialists, including experts who have covered a maternity leave before.
9 years of experience
Nalise
Senior climate consultantSenior interim support in the Netskope ESG team since May 2025.
P
17+ years of experience
Patricia
ESG project managerCovered a maternity leave at USPA Global Licensing, matched within two weeks.
Former Quantis and ERM consultant
Elke
Senior climate consultant15+ years of experience. Seven months maternity cover in the Rituals R&D packaging team.
Why teams choose Dazzle over a consultancy.
87% of our clients come back for a second project.
The expert you chose does the work.
No partner pitch and no junior team. The senior specialist you interviewed works inside your team.
No conflict with your assurance.
Dazzle is not an audit firm, so your expert can advise freely while your report is assured elsewhere.
Covered if your expert is out.
Away for two weeks or more? We propose a replacement, or you pause. Your choice.
The knowledge stays with you.
Every engagement ends with documented work and a proper handover.
Frequently asked questions
Hire an interim sustainability manager
We help organisations connect to top sustainability freelance talent by matching them based on their needs, challenges and ambitions.
What is an interim sustainability manager?
Sustainability, otherwise referred to as ESG, has become more and more important in business. ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance. This is intended to cover the different aspects of being a sustainable business. Another common term is the triple bottom line: people, planet and profit.
An interim sustainability manager is a professional who can step in for in-house employees (for example, during maternity leave or an unexpected turnaround) or can be helpful for an organisation that is going through a change, is expanding its sustainability strategy, or when it is necessary to get specific skills or a specific experience level on board.
An interim sustainability manager can start immediately and brings experience, confident leadership and the ability to implement the changes needed.
What does an interim sustainability manager do?
Interim sustainability managers help organisations navigate the change they’re going through. The exact activities will largely depend on the circumstances within the team. In essence, interim sustainability managers have the experience and skills to take over from the previous in-house managers. Alternatively, they can lead a team that might lack the necessary skills or experience. Interim sustainability managers bridge the gap that the company has identified, whether that is due to maternity leave, a turnaround or other circumstances that lead to this need for support.
This work is often done by experienced sustainability professionals. With Dazzle, we give you access to the best freelance sustainability talent. In this overview, we will talk you through:
- The skills and qualifications of interim sustainability managers
- How they can support your organisation in times of need
- What your collaboration with a freelancer could look like
Who can call themselves an interim sustainability manager?
The interim sustainability managers on our platform have a background in sustainability strategy or ESG reporting in large organisations, as a freelancer or even at Big Four consultancies. Many of them have since moved to the freelance community, either to have more freedom or to be able to serve more organisations with their sustainability skills. Interim sustainability managers typically have at least 10 years of working experience.
The freelancers on our platform have gone through our assessment process, where we evaluate their skills through an interview and a case study. Afterwards, the Dazzle freelancers complete a skills inventory which feeds our matchmaking algorithm.
Qualifications and skills of interim sustainability managers
Interim sustainability managers will have worked with many organisations throughout the years. It’s not unusual to have completed ESG reports, sustainability gap analyses and implementation projects in the past. That means that an experienced interim manager is able to hit the ground running very fast, without a long onboarding period compared to a full-time employee. On our platform, we have a wide range of freelancers, to be able to match your organisation, budget and ambition level.
Our recommendation would always be to work with senior professionals in the case of interim management.
Seniors
Senior sustainability freelancers (with 7+ years of experience as a sustainability professional) can support you completely, from becoming compliant to moving beyond basic requirements. They can act as Chief Sustainability Officers as a service to lead the sustainability efforts from the ESG strategy formation all the way up to publishing your annual sustainability report.
Why would you work with interim sustainability managers?
An interim sustainability manager is a safe and cost-effective choice when your business is facing a change, a leave of absence, or other situations when you need to level up your sustainability strategy. An interim manager can also step in and support the existing team in a specific sustainability project or initiative.
If you have a vacancy you are unable to fill, you can engage an interim sustainability manager at short notice with rapid results, and implement changes while you recruit a permanent employee.
When is it the right choice to consider an interim sustainability manager?
- In the event of a transformation
- To carry out a sustainability gap analysis
- When implementing a change in sustainability strategy
- To implement structures and processes
- In case of uncertainty or a lack of leadership
- If there is a need for support in specific sustainability projects
- In the event of a vacancy, maternity leave or sick leave
Time pressure and urgency
Recruiting employees for a full-time position in your sustainability team can be a time-consuming process. With Dazzle, you can get started in as little as 48 hours. Simply book a discovery call, complete the scoping form and we’ll match you to the best possible freelancer. When reports are due, deadlines are lurking around the corner and data collection is delaying your progress, working with an interim sustainability manager can fast-track your actions and help you bridge the gap in your team.
Understaffed ESG department
The beauty and challenge of sustainability is that it is an extremely broad topic, with more and more sub-topics. Especially in organisations that don’t have a fully staffed ESG department, it’s almost impossible to expertly cover every single specialty. Sustainability freelancers are a convenient solution to bridge the skills gap that inevitably exists within your organisation and get expert advice or implementation support in peak times.
Skill gaps and topic-specific expertise
Some extremely complex legislation might be coming your way, which could fall outside the comfort zone of your core sustainability team. We also regularly see sustainability being covered by HR, Marketing or Operations departments. Senior sustainability advisors in particular can deliver much-needed specialist expertise, for example for complex biodiversity scans, LCAs or reporting requirements.
Local expertise
If the ESG department has no expertise in a local market but needs to comply with local regulations, it’s difficult to find a sustainability advisor to support those cross-border activities. Experienced local sustainability freelancers can supply guidance on local legislation and reporting requirements, but also culturally sensitive advice on engaging employees in your sustainability efforts.
Benefits of working with an interim sustainability manager
Flexibility
Instead of hiring someone full-time, working with freelancers allows you to get support only for the hours you really need.
Cost-effective
Dazzle can match you with a freelancer who fits within your budget. However, it is important to consider that interim sustainability managers are often senior professionals.
Specific expertise
Working directly with the individual ensures the level of expertise and experience needed to deliver successfully. Compare CVs and work with interim managers who match your criteria. You can also rest assured that all Dazzle freelancers have successfully completed our screening process, meaning you’ll be working with only the best sustainability freelancers.
Which roles can an interim sustainability manager fill?
Depending on the complexity of the assignment and the size of the company, an interim sustainability manager can also take on roles such as:
- Sustainability Director
- Sustainability Coordinator
- Head of Sustainability
- Chief Sustainability Officer
- Sustainability Project Manager
- Sustainability Controller
- Head of ESG
And more!
Your interim expert is closer than you think.
Tell us what you need. Get matched with an experienced specialist within 48 hours, with no obligation to proceed.
