Forest Carbon Lead

Reports To: Carbon Portfolio Manager

Department: International Operations

Location: Remote

Position: Full Time

Classification: Exempt

Annual Salary Range: $80,000 – 105,000

Start Date: February 1, 2023

Company Summary

Eden Reforestation Projects is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization facilitating landscape restoration and community development through nature-based solutions. Eden works in developing regions of the world to protect and restore forests and ecosystems by working with local communities to address and mitigate the drivers of landscape degradation. We have active programming in East Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

Position Summary

The Forest Carbon Lead will proactively provide essential analytical and technical input to the CC team in the development of carbon projects and furtherance of the organization’s mission. This position will prioritize solutions-oriented outcomes that aid in the development of carbon project work and its supporting systems. Expected outcomes include expert level analysis, clear source documentation, supported rationale for recommendations, and the systematic addressing of both high-level view (macro) and specific issues, tasks, and process view (micro) in the evaluation of the work to be completed. This person will confidently and professionally liaise with external partners including clients, suppliers, and carbon standards bodies. They will provide regular feedback and verify the work product of internal team members and technical consultants. Empathetic leadership, writing and communication skills will be key.

Essential Responsibilities

• Provide technical expertise for carbon project design and development including but not limited to, assessing potential sites for carbon projects, guiding restoration activities, species selection, ensuring compliance with restoration and carbon standards, and training of field teams.
• Guide deployment planning and develop detailed carbon project planning documents for submission to carbon standards verifiers.
• Work with Carbon Team members on systems that ensure the quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) of carbon project operations.
• Inform QA/QC processes and systems to ensure that accurate completion of deliverables in accordance with methodological and standard requirements.
• Work on the development of additional monitoring tools and their deployment for biodiversity, socioeconomic, and other forms of monitoring.
• Contribute to project documentation and reporting.
• Provide analysis and technical reviews of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, carbon standards, and industry best practices.
• Provide technical expertise during calls with potential clients.
• Develop and maintain knowledge of the latest greenhouse gas corporate accounting and reporting standards and methodologies such as the Verified Carbon Standard, Gold Standard, and others.
• Perform special projects and other related duties as required, directed, or as the situation dictates.

Minimum Requirements

• Deep knowledge of forest ecology, forest conservation, and management.
• Thorough, demonstrable understanding of landscape restoration dynamics, including succession dynamics, biodiversity, and ecosystem services.
• At least five years of experience in the development process for forest carbon projects, including through REDD+, ARR, and other modalities.
• At least five years of demonstrable experience showing the ability to write clearly, generate reporting inputs, and think analytically.
• Demonstrable communication skills, both internally, and externally, with an emphasis on communicating scientific concepts to non-scientific audiences.
• Ability to use mapping and spatial analysis tools such as GIS programs, and land cover change analysis.
• Experience leading technical teams in the development of high-quality, timely analyses and reports.
• At least five years’ experience in developing training tools, methods, and deploying these training tools to field-based environments.
• Graduate or postgraduate experience with research design, scientific writing, and monitoring against baselines.
• Robust understanding and practice implementing various carbon standards and methodologies.
• Experience with software-based project management tools including ArcGIS Survey 123, ClickUp, Basecamp, Jira, or others.

Knowledge, Skill, and Abilities

• Proven empathetic leadership ability and supervisory experience.
• Demonstrates creative thinking and problem solving.
• Proven decision-making ability and leadership skills.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize and delegate tasks and responsibilities.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and manage multiple projects.
• Possesses clarity on global environmental work and the value of carbon projects.
• Lives and leads from a clear set of personal values that are aligned with the organization.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Exceptional listening skills.
• Capacity to learn and manage technical information.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Proficient in Google and Microsoft workspaces and able to quickly learn digital project management software and work within a system-based project management architecture.

Education and Experience

• Advanced degree in forestry, ecology, restoration, environmental management, or other related fields.
• Considerable experience in, and willingness to travel to difficult operating environments, including in areas that are considered off-grid, sometimes for several weeks at a time.
• Multilingual skills especially in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Kiswahili, Bahasa or other.
• Supervisory experience of individuals and teams.
• Additional training and experience in GIS applications, mapping and document development etc. are a significant advantage.

Work Conditions

• Requires computer usage and sitting for extended periods of time.
• Position requires field work in project nations, air travel and participation in extended meetings, conferences, and training in the U.S., and at international events.
• Requires good hand-eye coordination, arm, hand, and finger dexterity, including ability to grasp, and visual acuity to use a keyboard, operate equipment and read technical information. Overall mobility is essential.
• Extended or irregular work hours will be required as needed, particularly during project launches and expansions.

Benefits

All full-time employees are eligible for medical insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, short-term and long-term disability insurance, and participation in Eden’s retirement savings plan. Eden also awards year-end bonuses if merited.