Location: Remote

Job Type: Independent Contractor (1099), project-based

Related Experience: Approximately 4–7 years of relevant professional experience, including consulting experience

About The Uplift Agency

The Uplift Agency (Uplift) is a sustainability, social impact and ESG consulting firm working to make business better for people and our planet. We help organizations navigate evolving sustainability expectations and turn complex challenges into practical, actionable work. Our clients are mid- and large-size private companies at various stages of sustainability maturity, operating both domestically and internationally.

Uplift is seeking an experienced EPR & Packaging Regulatory Consultant to join our growing Circularity Team and support client projects focused on packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). This is a project-based consulting opportunity for someone who brings specialized regulatory knowledge, hands-on experience, strong analytical skills, and the ability to help clients translate regulatory information into practical readiness activities.

The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise with strong consulting and client engagement skills. They are proactive, detail-oriented, comfortable working independently, and able to translate complex regulatory guidance into clear, actionable guidance. They also take initiative in monitoring related regulatory developments and identifying implications for Uplift’s clients and services.

Responsibilities

EPR & Packaging Regulatory Expertise

• Bring working knowledge of packaging EPR requirements across the US, Canada and Europe, including differences among jurisdictions and how requirements evolve.
• Research and summarize published regulatory requirements, guidance, and updates, with a focus on their potential operational implications for clients.
• Apply prior experience supporting companies with PPWR readiness activities, such as requirements mapping, gap assessments, data needs identification, and implementation planning.
• Identify questions requiring legal interpretation or confirmation of applicability and coordinate with client legal counsel as needed.
• Support Uplift’s EPR and PPWR readiness work while maintaining clear boundaries between regulatory research and operational support, and legal advice.

Packaging Data & Implementation

• Identify packaging data requirements for applicable EPR programs and PPWR-related client assessments, including packaging materials, weights, formats, and other relevant attributes.
• Map existing data sources across product, packaging, procurement, manufacturing, supply chain, and other relevant business functions.
• Develop and improve data collection templates, requests, and instructions to support efficient information gathering from internal teams and suppliers.
• Analyze packaging datasets, assess data completeness and accuracy, reconcile inconsistencies, flag anomalies, and document assumptions and limitations.
• Map internal packaging classifications to relevant regulatory reporting categories and identify opportunities to improve data quality and consistency across jurisdictions.
• Develop and maintain data trackers, quality assurance tools, supporting documentation, and other resources that enable reliable reporting and repeatable processes.
• Identify data gaps and work with clients to determine practical approaches to resolving them and strengthening ongoing data management.

Client Engagement & Enablement

• Work directly with clients to understand their current processes, data availability, organizational responsibilities, and implementation needs.
• Guide client teams through data collection, gap assessment, and readiness activities, making complex regulatory information accessible to non-specialist audiences.
• Facilitate working sessions and collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders, including sustainability, packaging, procurement, supply chain, operations, and legal teams.
• Work with client legal counsel as needed to clarify legal questions, confirm relevant legal inputs, and ensure operational readiness activities align with counsel’s advice.
• Help clients build internal understanding, ownership, and repeatable processes for managing packaging EPR and PPWR-related activities.

Regulatory Monitoring & Knowledge Management

• Proactively monitor developments in packaging EPR and PPWR, including legislative and regulatory changes, implementation guidance, reporting requirements, and relevant developments from regulatory authorities and Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs).
• Maintain current trackers, reference materials, and summaries of regulatory developments, noting potential implications for client work and areas that may require further review.
• Assess the potential implications of regulatory developments for Uplift’s clients, existing projects, and service offerings.
• Flag emerging requirements, uncertainties, and questions for Uplift and client teams, escalating legal interpretation and applicability questions to the appropriate counsel.
• Contribute practical insights and updated resources that strengthen Uplift’s ability to support EPR and PPWR readiness projects.

Project Delivery & Collaboration

• Manage assigned workstreams independently, delivering accurate, high-quality work within agreed scope, timelines, and budgets.
• Develop clear, client-ready deliverables, including regulatory matrices, data analysis, gap assessments, implementation plans, and presentations.
• Collaborate with Uplift team members and external specialists to coordinate work and ensure regulatory and technical inputs are appropriately incorporated into client deliverables.
• Communicate progress, outstanding questions, risks, and potential scope considerations proactively.
• Contribute regulatory and technical expertise to the development and refinement of Uplift’s EPR and PPWR services, tools, and methodologies.

Professional Qualifications

• Approximately 4–7 years of relevant experience in packaging EPR, packaging sustainability, regulatory readiness, or a related field.
• Prior consulting experience supporting clients is required, including the ability to manage workstreams, communicate with clients, and deliver practical outputs with limited direction.
• Demonstrated experience supporting packaging EPR work across multiple jurisdictions in the United States, Canada, and/or Europe, with a strong understanding of the variation in requirements across jurisdictions.
• Applied PPWR experience is required. Candidates must have supported a company’s PPWR-related work in a practical capacity.
• Strong analytical skills and experience working with complex datasets, particularly packaging data and associated documentation.
• Experience identifying data gaps, conducting quality checks, reconciling information, and developing organized tracking tools and repeatable processes.
• Ability to research regulatory materials and communicate findings clearly, accurately, and with appropriate acknowledgment of questions requiring legal advice.
• Strong client communication, facilitation, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, proactive, and comfortable managing multiple project deliverables.
• Broader packaging sustainability experience is a plus.

Experience with packaging sustainability requirements beyond EPR, including other PPWR provisions, is valuable. Experience with packaging recyclability assessments, recycled-content calculations, or packaging design is a plus, but is not required.

Personal Values

• Practical and solutions-oriented: Focuses on helping clients move from information to actionable next steps.
• Collaborative: Works effectively with clients, colleagues, legal counsel, and technical specialists.
• Curious and proactive: Keeps current with regulatory developments and takes initiative to identify relevant changes and questions.
• Clear and thoughtful communicator: Makes complex information understandable while being careful not to overstate conclusions.
• Accountable and adaptable: Takes ownership of deliverables, communicates early about challenges, and adjusts to evolving project needs.