United Kingdom · Sustainability · Mid-Level (2-5 years)

Non-financial Reporting Manager

Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, what you decide, how you're judged, how people get here and where they go next. Then the part no course gives you: twelve AI tutors who learn your work.

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Experience bandMid-Level (2-5 years)
Direct reportsNo direct reports
Reports toSenior Non-financial Reporting Manager
UK framework levelUsually a coordinator, or early in a professional job

Also advertised as Sustainability Reporting Specialist · ESG Reporting Analyst · Corporate Responsibility Data Lead

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in what real qualifications cover

Two short quizzes about you

1From this job to a course

The qualifications matched to this job

ABBE Level 4 Diploma in Non Domestic Green Deal Advice Awarding Body for the Built Environment · Level 4 · covers 2 of 4 standards

ABBE Level 3 Diploma in Domestic Green Deal Advice Awarding Body for the Built Environment · Level 3 · covers 2 of 4 standards

NCFE Level 4 Diploma: Data Analyst NCFE · Level 4 · covers 1 of 4 standards

NOCN Level 4 certificate for Data Analysts NOCN · Level 4 · covers 1 of 4 standards

Gateway Qualifications Level 4 Award in Foundations of Data Analytics with Artificial Intelligence - No Code Gateway Qualifications Limited · Level 4 · covers 1 of 4 standards

Qualifi Level 3 Extended Diploma in IT and Data Science Qualifi Ltd · Level 3 · covers 1 of 4 standards

Matched from the standards this job is measured against: a suggestion, not an official ruling.

The units you would start with

Prepare and issue non-domestic Green Deal Advice Reports ABBE Level 4 Diploma in Non Domestic Green Deal Advice

Prepare and issue domestic Green Deal Advice Reports ABBE Level 3 Diploma in Domestic Green Deal Advice

Data Management NCFE Level 4 Diploma: Data Analyst

Data Analytics Primer NOCN Level 4 certificate for Data Analysts

Data preparation, analysis and visualisation Gateway Qualifications Level 4 Award in Foundations of Data Analytics with Artificial Intelligence - No Code

Data and Descriptive Statistics in Data Science Qualifi Level 3 Extended Diploma in IT and Data Science

The future skills this job leans on

AI Fluency working with AI as a thinking partner

Data Fluency turning numbers into a decision

AI Governance Fluency using AI responsibly

Your Plan Illustration

Built for Non-financial Reporting Manager

6 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.

Prepare and issue non-domestic Green Deal Advice Reports Awarding Body for the Built Environment · covers 2 of 4 standards Level 4
Prepare and issue domestic Green Deal Advice Reports Awarding Body for the Built Environment · covers 2 of 4 standards Level 3
Data Management NCFE · covers 1 of 4 standards Level 4
Data Analytics Primer NOCN · covers 1 of 4 standards Level 4
Data preparation, analysis and visualisation Gateway Qualifications Limited · covers 1 of 4 standards Level 4
Data and Descriptive Statistics in Data Science Qualifi Ltd · covers 1 of 4 standards Level 3

These are the real units behind this job, in the order they rank for it. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

2AI and this work

Will AI change your work as a Non-financial Reporting Manager?

Nobody can say exactly how. Here is what this job is being asked for next, and where to start.

The new skill this role is being asked for

Critical AI Output Evaluation

Why each one is rising

The future skills this job leans on

AI Fluencyworking with AI as a thinking partner
Data Fluencyturning numbers into a decision
AI Governance Fluencyusing AI responsibly

We'll only ever tell you what we can actually back up. No hype, no scare tactics.

What happens when you start

Next, a free account. We build your Non-financial Reporting Manager plan as you set up, starting with the free AI Fluency module. No card.

Your first Future Fluency module is free. After that, your AI tutor is £70 a month.

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Keep this read. One email with what AI is changing in this job, the new skills it asks for and where to start free. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

3What this role really is

A Non-financial Reporting Manager checks that sustainability data is accurate and ready for scrutiny, and turns it into a clear report.

4What you'd actually use

The tools this job runs on, and how well you'd need to know each one.

Workiva Wdesk / OneTrust ESG / ServiceNow GRC Intermediate

You'll be spending a lot of time in one of these platforms, entering data, running pre-built reports, and performing initial data validation. You'll need to be comfortable navigating the system and understanding its functionalities.

Microsoft Excel (including Power Query) Advanced

This is your bread and butter. You'll use Excel for complex data cleansing, modelling, calculations (VLOOKUPs, PivotTables, array formulas), and ad-hoc analysis. Power Query will be your friend for pulling data from various sources.

Microsoft PowerPoint / Google Slides Intermediate

You'll be preparing presentations for internal reviews, summarising data trends for stakeholders, and contributing to the final report's visual elements. You can tell a clear story with slides.

Power BI / Tableau Intermediate

You'll be using these tools to view existing dashboards, perform basic data filtering, and potentially build simpler visualisations to track KPIs like GHG intensity or water usage. You can connect multiple data sources and create calculated fields.

MS Teams / Slack / SharePoint / Confluence Advanced

These are your daily communication and documentation hubs. You'll use them for team collaboration, managing documentation, sharing data, and organising reporting processes. Keeping things tidy here is crucial.

SAP S/4HANA / Workday HCM (or similar ERP/HRIS) Basic

You'll need to be able to pull standard reports (e.g., headcount, travel expenses, energy consumption data) from these systems. You don't need to be an expert, but you should understand how to access and validate the data extracts.

5What you get to decide, and how that grows

Power in a job isn't your title. It's what you're allowed to decide. Here's how it grows as you move up.

The choice	Coming in	Where you are now	The step above
Data Validation & Correction	Identifies errors, escalates to supervisor for correction or guidance.	Independently identifies and corrects routine data errors within established guidelines; escalates complex or systemic issues to Senior Manager.	Defines data validation rules and processes; approves non-routine data adjustments; advises on systemic data quality improvements.
Methodology Application	Applies specified calculation methodologies under direct supervision.	Independently applies established reporting methodologies (e.g., GHG Protocol, GRI) for assigned domains; proposes minor methodology refinements to Senior Manager.	Designs and implements new calculation methodologies; ensures alignment with evolving standards; gains consensus on methodology changes.
Stakeholder Communication (Data Requests)	Drafts data requests for supervisor review before sending.	Independently communicates with internal data providers for routine requests; consults Senior Manager on sensitive or complex data asks.	Develops stakeholder communication strategy for data collection; mediates conflicts between data providers; represents the team in cross-functional meetings.
Reporting Narrative Content	Contributes specific data points or small sections to draft reports.	Drafts initial narrative sections for assigned data domains, ensuring factual accuracy and alignment with overall report messaging; seeks Senior Manager review.	Reviews and edits full report narratives; ensures consistency and compliance across all sections; advises on messaging strategy.

6How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.

Data Accuracy for Assigned Domains

The percentage of data points you're responsible for that pass internal and external validation checks without errors.

Target · >99.5% accuracy

If you own GHG Scope 1 & 2 data, we'd expect fewer than 5 errors in 1,000 data points reviewed by our assurance provider.

Timeliness of Data Collection & Reporting

How consistently you meet internal deadlines for data collection, validation, and submission for your specific reporting domains.

Target · 100% of internal deadlines met

All Q3 energy consumption data submitted to the GHG accounting platform by the 15th October deadline, ready for review.

Query Resolution Time

The average time it takes you to resolve data queries or validation issues raised by the Senior Manager or assurance providers.

Target · Average <48 hours for critical queries

A question about a sudden spike in water usage from the assurance team is investigated and answered with supporting evidence within 24 hours.

Completeness of Audit Trails

The percentage of key data points in your domain that have a clear, documented audit trail from source to report.

Target · >95% documented audit trails

For every major GHG emission factor used, you can immediately point to the source (e.g., DEFRA conversion factors, supplier data with date).

Stakeholder Collaboration & Data Provider Relationships

How effectively you build and maintain relationships with internal data providers, ensuring their cooperation and understanding of reporting needs.

Data providers respond promptly to your requests
they proactively share updates
positive feedback from colleagues during 360-degree reviews
you're seen as a helpful partner, not just a data collector.

Process Adherence & Improvement Suggestions

Your ability to follow established data collection and validation processes, and to spot opportunities to make them better.

You consistently use our templates and systems
you flag inefficiencies in current workflows
you propose practical, small-scale improvements to data collection forms or validation steps
your work is consistently 'assurance-ready'.

Clarity & Defensibility of Explanations

How well you can explain complex data points, methodologies, and any anomalies to non-technical audiences and external auditors.

Your written explanations are clear and concise
you can confidently answer questions about your data in review meetings
you can articulate why a certain methodology was chosen
you anticipate potential questions before they're asked.

Proactive Issue Identification

Your knack for spotting potential data gaps, inconsistencies, or emerging reporting challenges before they become major problems.

You flag a new regulatory requirement that might impact our data collection
you notice a discrepancy in data trends and investigate it without being asked
you identify a potential risk in a supplier's data submission.

7Would you like it

Both sides. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy

Making a Tangible Impact on Sustainability

You'll feel a real sense of purpose knowing that the data you're collecting and verifying directly informs our corporate sustainability strategy and helps us measure real-world change.

Seeing our GHG emissions trend downwards in the final report, knowing your meticulous data collection contributed to that clear picture.

Solving Complex Data Puzzles

You get a kick out of untangling messy datasets, figuring out why numbers don't add up, and building robust calculations that stand up to scrutiny. It's like being a data detective.

Successfully reconciling conflicting energy consumption figures from two different systems after a week of digging and cross-referencing.

Building and Improving Robust Processes

You'll enjoy the challenge of taking a chaotic, manual process and turning it into something streamlined, efficient, and reliable, making everyone's lives easier in the long run.

Implementing a new, automated data validation step that catches common errors before they even reach your desk.

What frustrates people

Spending 60% of your time chasing data from operational managers who see your requests as a low-priority distraction from their 'real job'.
Inheriting and maintaining a monstrous, multi-tabbed Excel workbook with thousands of manual inputs, broken links, and zero documentation, because the business won't pay for proper software.
Having the CEO or a board member ask for a completely new metric or a change in narrative a week before the publication deadline, causing a frantic scramble to find and verify data.
Just as you've perfected your reporting process for one set of standards (e.g., GRI), a new regulation like the CSRD comes along and forces you to rebuild everything from scratch.
Constantly pushing back against the communications team's desire to only tell 'good news stories', while your job is to ensure a balanced, transparent, and defensible report.
Patiently re-explaining to senior leaders why you can't just 'get' the carbon footprint of every component from every supplier in your global value chain by next Tuesday.

What this role does not give you

A quiet, predictable 9-to-5 where every day is the same.
A role where you're solely focused on high-level strategy without getting your hands dirty with data.
Complete autonomy over budget or team-level hiring decisions (that's for the Senior Manager).
A guarantee that every piece of analysis you do will directly lead to a major business change (sometimes the data just informs, which is still important!).

8Who you work with

This role underpins our entire public sustainability narrative. Your work directly influences our ESG ratings, investor perception, and regulatory compliance. Get it right, and we build trust and attract capital. Get it wrong, and we face reputational damage and potential penalties. You're essentially the guardian of our non-financial truth.

Inside the business

Operations Managers (for energy, waste, water data)
HR Business Partners (for diversity & inclusion metrics)
Procurement Team (for supply chain data)
Investor Relations
Marketing & Communications
Internal Audit

Outside the business

External Assurance Providers (e.g., PwC, Deloitte)
ESG Ratings Agencies (e.g., MSCI, Sustainalytics)
Industry Peers (for benchmarking)
Regulators (e.g., FRC, SEC for TCFD disclosures)

9What you need before you start

Not a wish list. The things you would be expected to already have.

Demonstrable experience (2-5 years) in a data analysis, reporting, or audit-focused role, ideally within sustainability, finance, or a highly regulated industry.
Proven ability to manage and reconcile large, complex datasets from multiple sources, with a track record of ensuring data accuracy and integrity.
Solid understanding of at least one major sustainability reporting framework (e.g., GRI, SASB) and practical experience applying it.
Experience in documenting processes and creating clear audit trails for data, showing you understand the importance of verifiability.
A genuine interest in sustainability and a desire to contribute to transparent corporate reporting.

10What to practise next

Where the job is going, and what to do about it starting this week.

Advanced Data Pipeline Automation

Manual data collection and manipulation are huge time sinks. The future of reporting is about automating data flows from source systems directly into reporting platforms, minimising human error and speeding up cycles.

API Integrations for ESG Platforms · Data Warehousing Basics · Low-Code/No-Code Automation (e.g., Power Automate) · Data Governance for Automated Flows

This quarter: Work with IT to understand our current ERP/HRIS data export capabilities and identify potential automation points.
Next quarter: Explore Power Automate or a similar tool to automate one small, repetitive data collection task (e.g., sending reminders).
Month 3-6: Research case studies of companies that have successfully automated their ESG data pipelines and identify best practices.
Month 6-9: Map out a proposed automated data flow for one of your assigned data domains, identifying necessary integrations and tools.

Quick win: Identify one spreadsheet where you manually copy-paste data weekly. Research how to automate that specific transfer using Power Query or a simple script. Small wins build confidence.

Enhanced Data Visualisation for Storytelling

Reports are becoming more visual and interactive. Simply presenting tables isn't enough; you'll need to tell a compelling story with data through dynamic dashboards and engaging infographics, often for a wider audience.

Dashboard Design Principles (UX/UI) · Interactive Reporting Features · Infographic Creation Tools · Accessibility in Data Visualisation

This month: Take an online course on advanced Power BI or Tableau dashboard design. Focus on user experience.
Next quarter: Redesign one of our existing internal dashboards to be more interactive and user-friendly, gathering feedback from colleagues.
Month 3-6: Experiment with creating a simple infographic to explain a complex sustainability metric.
Month 6-9: Present your improved dashboards or visualisations to a wider internal audience, explaining your design choices and the insights they reveal.

Quick win: Find one static chart in a previous report and try to recreate it as an interactive element in Power BI/Tableau. Even if it's just for internal use, it's great practice.

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up

Regularly engage with industry webinars and conferences on new sustainability reporting regulations (e.g., CSRD updates, IFRS S1/S2 developments).
Participate in internal training sessions on new data systems or reporting tools as they are rolled out.
Seek out opportunities to present your data analysis and insights to different internal teams to hone your communication skills.
Take online courses or workshops to deepen your expertise in advanced Excel functions, Power BI, or data visualisation techniques.
Network with peers in other organisations to understand their reporting challenges and best practices.

12The rising capability

The rising capability

Zavmo analysis

What's rising in its place

This is where the work is heading, and the higher pay with it. Get fluent here and the shift stops being a threat and starts being your edge.

Critical AI Output Evaluation

As AI tools become more integrated into data classification, analysis, and narrative generation, your value shifts from performing these tasks manually to critically evaluating the AI's output. You'll need to spot 'hallucinations' or biases.

Prompt Engineering for Data Validation
Bias Detection in AI-Generated Narratives
AI for Data Source Vetting
Ethical AI Use in Reporting

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

Sustainability Reporting Frameworks
GHG Accounting (The GHG Protocol)
Materiality & Double Materiality Assessment
Assurance Readiness & Internal Controls
Data Analysis & Interpretation

14The pathway

The pathway

How you actually get there, here

How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.

1
Sustainability Reporting Associate (L1)
1-2 years
Skills to master
- Mastering data collection from defined sources, performing initial data entry and basic validation, understanding one core reporting framework (e.g., GRI), and documenting work thoroughly.
You're ready to move on when
- Consistently delivers accurate data on time without significant supervision.
- Proactively identifies and flags minor data inconsistencies.
- Demonstrates a solid grasp of basic reporting principles and terminology.
- Can clearly explain their data collection process to others.
2
Data Analyst (non-sustainability focused)
2-3 years
Skills to master
- Advanced Excel skills, experience with data visualisation tools (Power BI/Tableau), strong data validation and reconciliation techniques, and a proven ability to work with large datasets. You'd need to show a clear passion for sustainability.
You're ready to move on when
- Can independently clean, analyse, and present complex datasets.
- Has built and maintained robust data models or dashboards.
- Effectively communicates data insights to non-technical audiences.
- Has actively sought out learning opportunities in sustainability/ESG reporting.
3
Junior Auditor / Compliance Specialist
2-4 years
Skills to master
- Understanding of internal controls, audit methodologies, risk assessment, and regulatory compliance. This background is great for assurance readiness. You'd need to pick up the specific sustainability frameworks.
You're ready to move on when
- Can meticulously follow audit trails and identify control weaknesses.
- Has experience with regulatory reporting and compliance requirements.
- Demonstrates strong attention to detail and a methodical approach to work.
- Shows a clear interest in applying audit principles to non-financial data.

15Where this role leads

The long view: This work can lead into shaping wider corporate reporting and strategy, or into managing a reporting function directly.

The ten Future Fluencies

Zavmo analysis

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

A qualification proves you can do the job as it's defined today. These ten are what decide whether you're still the obvious person for it in five years. They're the capabilities employers are now writing into senior roles faster than people are learning them. Zavmo weaves them through whatever you study, so you come out with both: the credential and the fluency.

The highlighted ones are the Fluencies your role leans on hardest, from how Non-financial Reporting Manager is actually changing.

How you would learn this

One to one, on the work you already do

A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.

A lesson from Prepare and issue non-domestic Green Deal Advice Reports, worked against Non-financial Reporting Manager.

Prepare and issue non-domestic Green Deal Advice Reports Level 4

Applied to your work in Non-financial Reporting Manager

1. To enable the learner to describe the prescribed format and content of a Non-domestic Green Deal Advice Report. 2. To enable the learner to identify approved software options and select appropriate software for different types of non-domestic assessments.

How the thinking builds

1 Remember
2 Understand
3 Apply
4 Analyse
5 Evaluate
6 Create

An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time.

See Your Progress Grow Illustration

Non-financial Reporting Manager

Sustainability Reporting Frameworks
GHG Accounting (The GHG Protocol)
Materiality & Double Materiality Assessment
Assurance Readiness & Internal Controls
Data Analysis & Interpretation

This is your Mind Palace on learn.zavmo.ai. Every skill above comes from this role's own record, not an example borrowed from another job. A node lights up when you evidence it, and what you build stays yours between jobs. That is the part a course cannot do.

16The detail, folded away

Everything else the record holds

The career branches in full, how AI is already showing up in the day-to-day, and the questions people ask about this job. Here when you want them, out of the way while you decide.

Where it leads next, rung by rung

Where it leads

The career path, and where it branches

Non-financial Reporting Manager is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

Senior Non-financial Reporting Manager (L3)
3-5 years in current role

You'll move from owning specific data streams to leading the end-to-end reporting process for a major framework (e.g., GRI or SASB). You'll also start mentoring junior analysts.
- Reporting Strategy Development Contributing to the strategic direction of our reporting, including framework selection and materiality assessment design.
- Advanced Assurance Management Being the primary point of contact for external assurance providers and managing their review process.
- Process Optimisation Designing and implementing significant improvements to our overall non-financial reporting process and internal control environment.

Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Imagine cutting down the tedious, repetitive parts of your job so you can focus on the really interesting stuff – the analysis, the strategy, the problem-solving. That's exactly what AI can do for you in non-financial reporting.

The truth is, a huge chunk of sustainability reporting is about gathering, classifying, and validating mountains of data. AI isn't here to replace you; it's here to be your super-efficient assistant, automating the grunt work and freeing you up to be more strategic and impactful. We're already seeing our team members use these tools to dramatically speed up their workflow.

Scope 3 Auto-Classifier

Use AI to scan procurement data, invoices, and expense reports. It'll automatically categorise spend into the 15 GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories, giving you a robust first-pass calculation in minutes instead of days. No more manual tagging of thousands of transactions.

Materiality Theme Spotter

Apply Natural Language Processing (NLP) to analyse thousands of pages of stakeholder feedback, media reports, and peer disclosures. This tool can instantly identify and rank emerging ESG themes for your materiality assessment, helping you focus on what truly matters without reading every single document yourself.

Regulatory Radar

Deploy an AI agent to continuously monitor regulatory bodies like EFRAG or the SEC, along with key news sources, for updates on ESG disclosure requirements. It'll provide daily or weekly summaries of what's changed and, crucially, what it means for our company, keeping you ahead of the curve.

First-Draft Narrative Generator

Once your data is verified, feed the tables and your key messages into a generative AI model. It can produce a coherent first draft of the narrative sections of your sustainability report, giving you a solid starting point that you can then refine and add your expert human touch to. Think of the time saved on staring at a blank page!

Common questions

How do you become a Non-financial Reporting Manager?

Common routes in include Sustainability Reporting Associate (1-2 years), Data Analyst (non-sustainability focused) (2-3 years) and Junior Auditor / Compliance Specialist (2-4 years). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Non-financial Reporting Manager progress to?

This role can lead on to Senior Non-financial Reporting Manager (3-5 years in current role), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Non-financial Reporting Manager?

Increasingly, Critical AI Output Evaluation. These are the skills our record of this role lists as growing.

You're not behind. You're right on time. The shift is only just beginning. Your role won't look the same in two years. Be the one who leads the change, not the one it happens to. Start my free AI Fluency module What happens next: a free account, then we build your plan as you set up. No card. Build your plan, see your roadmap and meet the twelve tutors matched to you. All free. When you're ready to start learning, it's £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.

Non-financial Reporting Manager

Where should we send it?

Two short quizzes about you

Will AI change your work as a Non-financial Reporting Manager?

What's rising in its place

Critical AI Output Evaluation

Skills this role draws on

Technical

How you actually get there, here

Sustainability Reporting Associate (L1)

Data Analyst (non-sustainability focused)

Junior Auditor / Compliance Specialist

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

Roles this leads to

One to one, on the work you already do

Everything else the record holds

The career path, and where it branches

Senior Non-financial Reporting Manager (L3)

Where AI is starting to help

Scope 3 Auto-Classifier

Materiality Theme Spotter

Regulatory Radar

First-Draft Narrative Generator

Common questions

Want a read on where you stand?