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Manager, Forest Carbon Innovations 🔥


Job Title:             Manager, Forest Carbon Innovations 

Location:             Remote – Worldwide (working with significant overlap with US business hours) 

Start Date:          Immediately 

Reports to:      Senior Director, Program Development & Forest Carbon Innovations 

Verra [1] is a global leader helping to address the world’s most intractable environmental and social challenges. As a passionate non-profit organization, Verra is committed to helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve livelihoods, and protect natural resources across the private and public sectors. We support climate action and sustainable development with standards, tools, and programs that credibly, transparently, and robustly assess environmental and social impacts and enable funding for sustaining and scaling up projects that verifiably deliver these benefits. We work in any arena where we see a need for clear standards, a role for market-based mechanisms, and an opportunity to generate significant environmental and social value.  

Verra manages a portfolio of standards, including the:

  • Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) [2] – the world’s leading carbon crediting program, with more than 1600 registered projects in 80 countries, and accounting for two-thirds of all voluntary carbon market transaction volume.  
  • Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta) [3] – a flexible framework for assessing and reporting on the sustainable development benefits of project-based activities.  
  • Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards [4] – to identify projects that simultaneously address climate change, support local communities, and conserve biodiversity.  
  • Plastic Waste Reduction Program [5] – to enable robust impact assessment of new or scaled-up waste recovery and recycling projects around the globe.  

Verra is looking for a Manager, Forest Carbon Innovations, to lead our technical work in supporting forest-related activities that generate climate and other environmental and social benefits!  

The focus of this role is on forest carbon activities other than REDD (i.e., improved forest management (IFM), afforestation, reforestation and revegetation (ARR), and agroforestry) and innovations that apply to all-natural climate solutions (NCS) included within the scope of the VCS Program.  

A day with Verra’s Innovations Team might include...  

  • Identifying new opportunities for scaling IFM, ARR, or agroforestry activities and overcoming barriers to implementing existing Verra standards and methodologies in those areas.  
  • Collaborating with key external stakeholders and Verra staff to track evolving market dynamics, collect feedback on Verra standards, and develop ways to streamline and strengthen the VCS Program’s requirements and procedures.  
  • Identifying and developing proposed updates to existing Verra rules, procedures, methodologies, tools, or guidance to ensure they drive significant environmental and social impact.  

Specific functions you will be responsible for leading...  

  • Driving Verra’s non-REDD forest carbon strategy: assessing, developing, and implementing ways to improve and expand the VCS Program and other Verra standards to make it easier for IFM, ARR, and agroforestry stakeholders to drive significant climate and sustainable development action.  
  • Providing technical input to and leading development of new VCS forest carbon (specifically, IFM, ARR, and agroforestry) methodologies.  
  • Consulting with stakeholders, including by leading Verra’s Forest Carbon Innovations Working Group [6], to discuss and gather feedback on the VCS Program and proposed methodologies, tools, guidance to identify the most effective and efficient means of scaling up forest carbon opportunities.  
  • Developing concept notes and proposals for sharing the most promising ideas and opportunities with external audiences, including potential partners and funders.  
  • Representing Verra at forest carbon-related conferences, workshops, and events.  

You bring with you...  

  • At least eight years of relevant professional and technical experience focused on forest carbon. In particular, experience with sequestration activities, such as restoration, afforestation, agroforestry, and improved forest management would be beneficial.  
  • Understanding of emerging monitoring technologies (e.g. remote sensing, smartphone apps), forest carbon modeling, and implementation innovations (e.g. drones).  
  • Understanding of the main technical, policy, and market challenges to scaling up forest carbon sequestration activities, and an appreciation for the challenges and opportunities faced by practitioners in this arena.  
  • Strong awareness of the market and policy drivers for advancing and scaling NCS, including project, landscape, and jurisdictional efforts.  
  • Experience working with companies and other end-users of environmental standards.  
  • Experience working with forest carbon standards in any capacity would be highly advantageous.  
  • A collaboration disposition with the ability to work with stakeholders and partners from different countries and cultures.  
  • An innovative, critical thinking mentality for solving complex and interconnected challenges.  
  • Strong project management skills with the capability to work independently, persistently, and can balance competing priorities.  
  • Excellent written and verbal communication Proficiency in English is crucial.  

In this role, you will grow and expand your expertise by...  

  • Working at the cutting edge of programs crafted to drive finance towards high-impact forest-based activities that take on some of the most pressing environmental issues of our day.  
  • Growing your network of professionals working on forest carbon and related sustainable development initiatives, including corporate buyers, NGOs, project developers, and others.  
  • Working with a multifaceted, committed, and focused team of professionals.  
  • Mentoring junior Verra staff and supporting their development.  

You will know you are successful, if...  

  • You are seen as a leader, go-to resource, and a reliable and capable member of the Innovations Team.  
  • Verra stakeholders consistently express positive feedback regarding your ability to collaborate to find workable and credible solutions to challenges they face.  
  • Verra’s Innovations Team successfully helps to scale up forest carbon sequestration activities.  
  • Verra continues to be the leading standard-setting organization in respect of certifying environmental and sustainable development impacts from projects and programs! 

You will join a team...  

  • From diverse locations and backgrounds, including carbon market experts, ex-government representatives, auditors, and more.  
  • Committed to implementing innovative solutions that drive finance to projects and programs that advance climate action and sustainable development.  
  • That embodies the values Verra has established for itself, and which include Teamwork, Results, Integrity, Balance and Exploration [7]
  • That is rapidly growing! 

  1. https://verra.org/
  2. https://verra.org/project/vcs-program/
  3. https://verra.org/project/sd-vista/
  4. https://verra.org/project/ccb-program/
  5. https://verra.org/project/plastic-program/
  6. https://verra.org/forest-carbon-innovations-working-group/
  7. https://verra.org/about-verra/opportunities/#:~:text=At%20Verra%2C%20we%20value%20teamwork,work%20here%20fulfilling%20and%20meaningful.

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