Senior Specialist, Technical, NBS Implementation, 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 Senior Specialist, Technical, NBS Implementation, Climate Projects - Latam, you will be responsible for technical guidance, accompaniment, and follow-up and monitoring of conservation and restoration activities according to project schedules throughout the project life cycle. Reporting directly to the Regional Manager, Technical, NBS Implementation, Climate Projects - Latam.

You will give technical support as a thematic expert to Nature Based Solutions (NBS) projects developed by the regional team, from the pre-feasibility stage to their successful closure. You will perform and/or coordinate the evaluation, design, implementation and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) for project activities related to conservation and restoration.

Additionally, you will support and develop procedures and guidelines to standardise processes around the region under the project and South Pole Global standards in order to develop high-quality and cost-efficient carbon and biodiversity projects.

Main tasks & responsibilities:

• Develop and coordinate the evaluation, design, implementation, and Monitoring and Evaluation of project activities related to conservation and restoration, following assigned projects and applicable standards. This includes assessing the feasibility of activities to ensure deforestation avoidance and degradation reduction, as well as improving biodiversity status by designing specific and cost-effective actions to verify the project's effectiveness

• Support the evaluation of project partner capacities for implementing conservation and restoration activities, while generating alerts based on identified risk assessment

• Design the activities related to restoration based on collaborative problem assessment, available resources, project timeline and partner agreements using different approaches such as the Theory of Change and Logic Frame as part of structuring projects under methodological standards requirements

• Design and execute the monitoring plan for evaluating the effectiveness of restoration activities and for evaluating the efficiency of the project according to project objectives

• Develop the necessary documents following the certification standards, project manager requirements, and other stakeholders, aligned with the team’s implementation scope

• Prepare or support the construction and evaluation of budgets for the execution of project activities within mitigation initiatives and or biodiversity projects related to restoration activities

• Support the contracting process and monitoring of the execution of activities by third parties in the implementation of South Pole project activities related to restoration as well as giving technical guidance for the execution of activities

• Generate cost-efficiency analysis for conservation and restoration activities for the planning and execution of implementation activities

• Support the development and implementation of procedures and guidelines to standardise processes across the region and within the Implementation team, in line with project and South Pole Global standards, to create high-quality and cost-efficient carbon and biodiversity projects

• Lead and manage the activities assigned in the implementation projects, acting in an interdisciplinary and cooperative manner with team members and other employees of the company

• Ensure alignment with the company's mission, vision, and values

• Apply the internal policies and procedures about the correct use of our internal project management tools for keeping general harmony among all stakeholders involved in the organisation (accounting, registries, projects managers, portfolio, HR, commercial and other internal stakeholders)

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

• Planning and development of site visits, other types of business trips/training, and other relevant events.

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

Requirements:

Essential -

• A University degree in Natural Resources Management, Sustainability, Biology, Ecology, Forest engineering or related fields

• Relevant and certified specific experience related to evaluation, design, implementation and monitoring of restoration projects

• Relevant and certified experience working with ethnic groups, farmers, local communities and other actors as local authorities in projects related to ecological restoration

• Knowledge of restoration frameworks, plant ecology, plant taxonomy and restoration ecology (native species management, invasive species management, population conservation)

• Knowledge and experience in establishing baselines for restoration, design of restoration strategies, management of restoration indicators, monitoring and evaluation methods

• Strong problem-solving skills, capable of identifying challenges, analysing complex situations, and proposing practical solutions

• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, able to generate qualitative and quantitative data,analyse information, evaluate different perspectives, and make informed decisions

• Excellent communication skills, able to express ideas clearly, concisely, and persuasively, in both verbal interactions and in writing technical reports and documents in Spanish and English at a high technical level

• Ability to work on assignments that are diverse applying company policies, processes, and procedures to resolve a variety of issues/problems

• Capacity to solve relatively complex project-related problems independently and receive general direction on new assignments or projects

• Strong project management skills, capable of effectively planning, organising, and executing projects. This includes the ability to develop comprehensive work plans, budgets, and monitoring and evaluation plans to ensure successful project implementation

• High experience and proficiency in teamwork, budget management, adaptive management, and improved productivity

• Ability to manage targets and priorities and develop your own

• Transdisciplinary and holistic vision to support NBS projects

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

Desirable -

• Postgraduate degree in forestry, biology, environmental sciences,sustainability, agriculture, natural resource management, or climate change and carbon mitigation-related fields

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

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

• Experience working with local communities

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

• Knowledge of Geographic Information Systems using software such as Esri Suite andQGIS

• Adaptability and versatility to changing conditions and team composition

• Ability to manage multiple projects at the same time

• A third language is considered a plus, Portuguese

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.