Associate Manager, Technical, NBS, Climate Projects - LatAm

South Pole is an energetic, global company offering comprehensive sustainability solutions and services. With offices spanning all continents across the globe, we strive to create a sustainable society and economy that positively impacts our climate, ecosystems and developing communities. With our solutions, we inspire and enable our customers to create value from sustainability-related activities.

Our Project Development team is at the forefront of developing and managing climate mitigation activities. By working closely with project owners and developers as well as their local communities, we manage the complete registration, verification and evaluation of carbon projects to enable the issuance of emission-reduction certificates, in line with official carbon standards. If you are a smart, ambitious and dynamic sustainability professional with a strong passion to make a real difference in the fight against climate change, the below position may be right for you!

Job summary:

As an Associate Manager, Technical, NBS, Climate Projects - LatAm, will be responsible for and lead a set of carbon projects related to Nature Based Solutions (REDD+, Reforestation/Afforestation, Improved Forest Management, Wetlands Restoration and Conservation, Agriculture, etc.) developed by the LatAm regional team. Reporting directly to the Regional Manager, Technical, NBS, Climate Projects - LatAm.

You will lead and coordinate work with other technical collaborators within the NBS technical team, who give their experience and expertise to support and complete the attainment of carbon credit issuance, ensuring the development and implementation of high-quality projects within time and budget. The coordination of experts, in topics such as environment, finance, implementation, climate, community, and others, is necessary to adequately fulfil the requirements of the carbon or biodiversity standards that certify and issue the credits from projects.

You must have the ability to ensure the best quality of South Pole’s NBS projects while ensuring adequate relationship skills management, both internally and externally, including project partners, communities, standards, authorities, stakeholders, and others. You must be available to participate in site visits when needed.

Additionally, will have qualities related to people and time management, supervision, leadership, high-level decision-making, and support in complex projects.

Main tasks & responsibilities:

• Technical, financial, and administrative development and management of NBS projects in the LatAm pipeline, ensuring adequate completion of all the project cyclesteps, from due diligence to commercial agreement, listing, validation, verification, emission, and commercialization, working closely withthe commercial team and other technicalcollaborators for project development and implementation

• Provide leadership and troubleshooting through the project cycle, offering guidance and team coordination with other technical (climate, biodiversity, community, implementation, GIS, etc.) and administrative (legal, finance, operations, commercial, etc.) teammates from other teams, as well as, all stakeholders involved (project owners, project partners, communities, validation and verification bodies, and local/regional authorities), to achieve the NBS project objectives

• Ensure compliance with all aspects defined by the corresponding national or international certification standards (Gold standard, VERRA, and national or local standard), and South Pole’s project development and implementation policies and guidelines

• Implement financial and budget planning, fieldwork logistics, management, resource scheduling, communication, risk analysis, monitoring, and quality plan/protocols to develop NBS projects, following up on the objectives and schedule of activities, overseeing compliance with commitments to partners and communities associated with the ongoing NBS projects

• Participation in the management of project partners as a key point of contact, together with the Commercial team, in the maintenance of the relationship, and maximizing value from existing and new opportunities

• Define goals and implement the corresponding activities with the support of the NBS technical team, for each project, based on the analysis of the theory of change, logical framework, and other applicable methodologies

• Develop proposals and deliverables and finalize them to the quality required by South Pole, the standards and the client, related to the NBS projects

• Make early warnings and report risks related to technical, social and financial aspects defined in the NBS project, and provide feasible solutions in a timely manner

• Apply the internal policies and procedures about the correct use of our internal project management tool for keeping general information, milestones, and cash flow, as well as the general normativity to ensure harmony between all stakeholders involved in the organization (accounting, registries, projects managers, portfolio, HR, commercial and other internal and external stakeholders)

• Participate in the co-creation spaces to develop and provide feedback and offer solutions about the internal process involved in the project management activities

• Planning and development of site visits and other types of business trips/training

• Identify and prioritize tasks according to the needs of the project, regarding the schedule and budget

• Others related to the fulfilment of the role deemed necessary.

Requirements:

Essential -

• University degree in Forestry, Biology, environmental sciences, sustainability, agriculture, natural resource management, or climate change and carbon mitigation-related fields

• Several years experience in project management in forestry, sustainability, environmental consulting, and climate change mitigation/adaptation, with 2-3 years of specific experience in NBS projects

• Demonstrated people skills through experience in technical and financial management

• Management of the NBS projects, based on the planning and monitoring (mainly technical and financial aspects), team management from a transdisciplinary point of view

• Ability to work on assignments that are diverse in nature, apply company policies, processes, and procedures to resolve a complex project-related problem and take decisions in an independent way

• Have excellent communication skills and the ability to create high-quality written documents especially verbal and written skills in English and Spanish

• Ability to perform multiple activities (coordinate more than one project at a time), according to the company and project requirements, with good performance in terms of time and quality

• Ability to manage complex and multiple tasks, projects, and programs, prioritizing urgent and important tasks while delivering high-quality products.

• Skills in leadership and high-level decision-making

• Experience in budgeting/financing tools and tracking processes

• Transdisciplinary and holistic vision to support NBS projects.

Desirable -

• Knowledge and experience in the NBS project management and environmental credits markets (carbon, biodiversity, water), in local/international certification standards

• Diploma or courses related to project management

• Experience working with local communities (indigenous and ethnic communities)

• Proficiency in Project Management tools (e.g Monday, Trello, and others)

• Experience in budgeting/financial planning tools and concepts

• Proficiency with MS Office, especially MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, Salesforce, and Google Suite

• Adaptability and versatility to changing conditions and team composition

• Ability to manage multiple projects at the same time

• Other local languages would be an advantage 

What we offer:

At South Pole, we care about our employees as much as we care about the planet. South Pole is not just an employer, we are a Team. South Pole does not just offer people a job, we offer you a career. By joining our team, you will find strong purpose and deep meaning in everything you do. You will have the chance to make a real difference for our clients and for the planet, working alongside a passionate team of like-minded colleagues, while building your knowledge/skills and developing your career in a fun, dynamic, international and fast-growing organisation. 

We’re a planet of 7.5 billion unique and different people. We all have a contribution to make; South Pole is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status or disability. Our recruitment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.