Regional 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 a Regional Manager, Technical, NBS, Climate Projects - Latam team, you will lead, develop and coordinate novel actions and strategies for biodiversity conservation, coupled with climate change mitigation & adaptation strategies and sustainability solutions. Reporting directly to the Regional Senior Manager, Technical, NBS, Climate Projects - Latam.

You will head different Biodiversity Standards, Programs and markets approaches under compliance and voluntary schemes, hand in hand with the experts in the Carbon Standards team and the Biodiversity Mandatory Markets Senior Manager Latam, following environmental safeguards and co-benefits.

You will guide and coordinate the Biodiversity Standards team, leading the Biodiversity Standards Strategy design, development, and implementation of the monitoring scheme, and evaluation of the outputs and outcomes to promote sustainable use, conservation, and forest management for High Conservation Values.

You will collaborate with other Latam and worldwide teams and will be crucial for technical sessions, site visits, and community-based conservation approaches while supporting the programs and projects' audit processes to achieve, validate and verify net positive benefits for Biodiversity. Additionally, will have qualities related to people and time management, supervision, leadership, high-level decision-making, and support in complex projects.

Main tasks & responsibilities:

• Develop and lead the Biodiversity Roadmap for the Biodiversity Standards team of the NBS portfolio for Latam, managing budgets, resources, and timelines with high-quality criteria

• Lead the Biodiversity Standards Latam team to interact with national biodiversity compliance markets (biodiversity offsets) and with other teams in the region

• Support and advise the Project Manager for the compliance of environmental safeguards and co-benefits (biodiversity) under AFOLU (REDD+, ARR, IFM, ALM, WRC) for Biodiversity and carbon Standards (e.g., VERRA, Gold Standard, Plan Vivo, Social Carbon, BioCarbon), Programs (e.g., VCS, CCB, JNR REDD+ framework, LandScale, SD Vista), and Biodiversity Markets (compliance and voluntary), among others

• Plan and develop strategies for Biodiversity Conservation, Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation, and Sustainability Solutions, aligned with the company’s global goals and objectives

• Coordinate biodiversity technical support during due-diligence processes to assess project initiatives

• Lead the design and development of high-quality products related to biodiversity (e.g., Project Design Documents, Monitoring Reports, Monitoring Plans, and proposals) to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation; and the implementation of the monitoring scheme and evaluation of outputs and outcomes for the Latam portfolio

• Promote the guarantee of sustainable use, forest management, and evidence-based conservation approaches for the NBS portfolio for Latam and their specific High Conservation Values

• Support the NBS portfolio’s audit processes for the region linked to the validation and verification of net positive benefits for biodiversity and complying with the standards and programs’ requirements

• Develop a network of projects, external partners, clients, companies, standards, methodology developers, investors, businesses, and communities active in the Biodiversity area, under compliance and voluntary schemes in the region

• Be aware and updated on the evolution and standard requirement trends in all NBS-approved technologies of the company

• Oversee and secure best practices by the NBS technical teams in all administrative tasks such as budgeting, expenditure approvals, invoices, payments, and accounting follow-ups related to the portfolio of NBS projects within the region

• Provide leadership, mentoring, and effective guidance to the Biodiversity Standards team in the region to ensure high-quality and timely project cycle activities while securing talent development and retention

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

• Collaborate with other managers in the region and worldwide around technical topics and collaborative approaches

• 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).

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

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

• Lead the team in relation to their time management and their daily processes, aligning their career and development goals with the organization's objectives

• Lead recruitment and performance review processes for the Biodiversity Latam team within the NBS in the region

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

Requirements:

Essential -

• University degree in biology, ecology, forestry, natural resource management, sustainability, or climate change mitigation-related fields.

• Relevant experience in Biodiversity, Tropical Ecology, Forestry, Climate Change Mitigation and adaptation, or related fields.

• Relevant experience as a manager (6+) with forest management approaches in Natural Climate Solutions and experience in planning, developing, or executing Environmental Impact Assessments, Biodiversity Monitoring Plans, Biotic Indicators, and/or different assessment tools for Biodiversity Measures

• Proven experience with forest management approaches in Nature Climate Solutions using a theory of change or adaptive management for projects and programs in Latam or tropical countries

• Experience with community-based conservation approaches for halting and reversing biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation while achieving net positive benefits for High Conservation Values

• Leading capacities to manage highly independent teams, applying company policies, processes, and procedures

• High experience and proficiency in teamwork and team management with highly motivated professionals, while prone to apply and receive feedback, adaptive management, and improve productivity

• Results-driven team management and talent development abilities, familiar with micro and macro-management for long-term projects and programs (budgets, timelines, personnel)

• Ability to manage team targets and priorities to develop the team goals, achieving high-quality products

• Ability to manage teams building targets and goals in a collaborative manner.

• Experience in guiding and directing the work of others, with thorough functional knowledge/expertise in the field of AFOLU’s Nature Climate Solutions (REDD+, ARR, IFM, ALM, WRC), Biodiversity & Carbon Standards (e.g., VERRA, Gold Standard, Plan Vivo, Social Carbon, BioCarbon),Programs (e.g., VCS, CCB, JNR REDD+ framework, LandScale, SD Vista), or Biodiversity Markets (compliance and voluntary)

• Several years experience in budgeting/financing tools and tracking processes

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

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

Desirable -

• Relevant experience with environmental safeguards and SDGs orientation and compliance for sustainability

• Experience with environmental assessment and compliance for development projects and national authorities in Latam countries

• Experience with biodiversity offsets, habitat banking, ecosystem assessment, restoration, or evidence-based conservation approaches

• Experience with biodiversity credits, landscape approaches, or science-based targets for nature

• Relevant experience supporting clients, partners, and conservation stakeholders

• Capacities to promote, create and innovate solutions related to climate and biodiversity conservation needs

• Experience working with local communities (indigenous and ethnic communities), is a plus

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

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

• Adaptability and versatility to changing conditions and team composition

• Other languages would be an advantage (Portuguese, French)

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.