Senior Manager, Social Impact & Sustainability

Company overview

CAVA is built around the idea that eating well and feeling good should be easy every day. Inspired by a Mediterranean tradition refined over thousands of years, the company emphasizes authenticity, curiosity, and a commitment to excellence. Its culture is anchored in five values: leading with generosity, staying curious, moving with agility, bringing positivity to work, and pursuing shared ambition.

Role summary

The Senior Manager, Social Impact & Sustainability will be central to shaping and advancing CAVA’s social impact and sustainability agenda. This position supports the company’s impact goals through strategy, programs, partnerships, and initiatives, and reports to the Senior Director, Sourcing & Sustainability. The role partners closely with teams across Marketing, Communications, Operations Services, Supply Chain & Manufacturing, and People & Culture. Success means building and delivering effective impact strategies, increasing awareness of CAVA’s impact, managing strong partnerships and programs, and serving the needs of both internal and external stakeholders.

Environmental sustainability, climate, and circularity

This role leads the company’s sustainable packaging and environmental sustainability strategy, including packaging optimization, emissions-reduction work, monitoring new regulations, reviewing business impacts, and supporting compliance with relevant state and federal rules.

It also collaborates with Supply Chain, Sourcing, Manufacturing, Culinary, Operations, and outside suppliers to bring sustainable packaging and circularity principles into sourcing decisions while advancing packaging reduction, recyclability, and related goals. The role owns enterprise-wide Extended Producer Responsibility reporting and related initiatives.

Additional responsibilities include designing and managing food waste reduction and diversion programs, developing methods to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions and other sustainability metrics, leading annual regulatory reporting and disclosures, analyzing environmental data for improvement opportunities, and promoting renewable energy efforts across CAVA locations.

ESG reporting and communications

The Senior Manager will gather, analyze, and report sustainability and social impact data, working with the Communications team to ensure ESG messaging is clear, accurate, and transparent. The role supports the preparation and release of CAVA’s annual impact report and other Environmental, Social, and Governance reporting obligations.

This position also supports recognition efforts by helping identify and secure sustainability and social impact credentials, awards, and acknowledgements. It monitors emerging issues and trends and evaluates the effectiveness of impact communications in partnership with Marketing and Social Media teams.

Social impact and philanthropic giving

The role leads the creation and execution of CAVA’s social impact strategy with emphasis on community engagement, food security, and reducing food waste. It involves building, maintaining, and strengthening relationships with national and local community organizations that align with CAVA’s mission and impact story.

Responsibilities also include coordinating employee volunteer efforts and other social impact activities, developing the company’s corporate giving strategy, and creating policies and guidelines for financial and in-kind donations as well as local and national fundraising efforts. The role evaluates funding opportunities, manages charitable giving programs, and tracks the results of philanthropic investments.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate brings at least 7 years of experience in sustainability or CSR program development and communications. They should be a strategic thinker with strong judgment and problem-solving ability, an effective storyteller with excellent communication skills, and someone who can translate complex ideas into messages that resonate with different audiences.

Strong project management skills are important, along with the ability to juggle multiple priorities in a fast-moving environment. The role requires proven experience building sustainability and/or social impact programs, working well with internal and external partners, and strong analytical capability to collect, organize, analyze, and share large amounts of information.

Familiarity with Extended Producer Responsibility laws, sustainable packaging, greenhouse gas accounting, renewable energy systems, and sustainability frameworks is expected, and prior GHG inventory measurement experience is preferred. Experience in food/agriculture, sustainable packaging, food waste, or food security is also preferred. The candidate should be passionate, dependable, and known for kindness, honesty, and integrity, and be comfortable using MS Office plus PR, social media, and employee communications tools.

A bachelor’s degree in sustainability, communications, PR, journalism, marketing, or a related discipline is required.

Physical requirements

The position requires the ability to remain stationary while using a computer or other office equipment, notice and assess details accurately, communicate information clearly, and occasionally move or carry items up to 50 pounds for certain roles. The job may also require frequent movement around restaurant, food production support, or office environments, along with maintaining a constant state of alertness and working safely.

Benefits and other information

CAVA offers a competitive salary with bonus and long-term incentives for qualifying positions, Early Wage Access, unlimited PTO, paid parental leave, and paid opportunities to support the community. Benefits also include health, dental, vision, telemedicine, pet insurance, 401(k) enrollment with company contribution, and company-paid STD, LTD, Life, and AD&D coverage for salaried positions.

Additional perks include free CAVA food, a casual work environment, and the chance to join a fast-growing brand early in its expansion. Benefits are available to all exempt and non-exempt employees and begin on the first day of the month after 30 days of service. New hires can enroll through a link sent to their personal email address after hiring.

Visa sponsorship is not available. The stated pay range is an all-cash range. This description is not exhaustive and responsibilities may change without notice. CAVA is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants without regard to protected characteristics under federal, state, or local law.