Head of Carbon Project Delivery

THE ROLE 

Climate Impact Partners, a leading provider of high-quality carbon credit programmes, is looking for a Head of Carbon Project Delivery to join our Global Supply Chain team. This leader will manage the Project Delivery team’s overall strategy and contribute to the strategic development of Climate Impact Partner’s global portfolio of carbon projects. The role is focused on the delivery of an international portfolio of Nature Based Solutions (NBS) and Energy development carbon project assets, from the earliest stages of development through to implementation and monitoring, under recognised voluntary carbon standards.

Climate Impact Partners makes and manages long term investments in development projects in return for verified emissions reductions (VERs), on behalf of financial investors and our corporate clients. We work closely with project development partners who are implementing project activities on the ground, bringing our expertise and oversight to ensure that projects are designed, set up, and managed to deliver the expected volume of high-integrity VERs and other impacts. The delivery of these development projects will be crucial for meeting our aspirations for impact and commercial value.

You will lead a team of project managers and work closely with other project development professionals (commercial, technical, policy, legal, and finance) to manage a portfolio of multi-year contracts, with a strong focus on reputation, delivery, and management of commercial risk and value. You will also work closely with client management colleagues to meet our obligations to clients and investors. As the portfolio grows and business value is demonstrated, you will have an opportunity to build a global team to enable the robust management of the portfolio.

RESPONSIBILITIES

· Manage our portfolio of long-term contracts with project implementation partners to ensure that projects deliver the committed carbon and other benefits on-time, with quality, and within budget, enabling us to meet our commitments to our investing clients.

· Oversee portfolio monitoring and reporting activities to track project performance against key performance indicators and targets. Regularly review the project status and outlook of your portfolio.

· Become a subject matter expert in all material contracts associated with your portfolio, improving on our framework for contract compliance and risk management.

· Assist in due diligence and formulation of operating assumptions for possible new additions to the portfolio.

· Identify and maintain relationships with key stakeholders and partners relevant to your portfolio. Make timely recommendations for actions required by Climate Impact Partners and/or project partners to resolve issues, mitigate risks, and enable project delivery. Where needed, lead any material disputes or contract amendment renegotiations to a conclusion.

· Identify opportunities for portfolio optimisation and performance enhancement. Anticipate and position the company to capitalise on upside and expansion opportunities.

· Visit key project sites in your portfolio, including internationally, at least annually, Work with your project management team to put in place pragmatic health and safety place prior to project visits, facilitate project visits for client teams as required, and provide feedback internally and to project partners on the findings of the visits.

· Ensure consistent project quality and lessons learned across the portfolio, consolidated and shared with the Origination and Technical teams.

· Evaluate and deploy best-in-class technologies to enhance monitoring and data collection. Partner with the Technical team to implement and continuously improve monitoring and data management protocols and operational project SOPs.

· Continue to develop and implement a transformation plan to establish a robust portfolio management operating system by leading and developing people as well as investing in processes and systems.

· Provide timely, accurate, and concise project reporting internally to the Senior Management Team, Board, and, in collaboration with client management colleagues, externally to our investing clients.

· Provide line management of three Project Managers and one Project Coordinator. There is an opportunity for the team size to grow as the portfolio expands.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

· Significant experience and relevant track record in management of long-term project development and operational contracts or investments with budgets of at least $10m. Evidence of adapting applying project and contract management skills across multiple industries.

· “Knows what good looks like”. Prior experience as a portfolio manager at a company with international operations and a strong project management culture.

· Commercial contract management experience, including managing commercial negotiation of contract amendments and dispute resolution.

· Exposure to the challenges of working in emerging markets with a variety of delivery partners, including smaller companies and NGOs, with an understanding of the on-the-ground realities of project delivery and local stakeholder issues.

· In lieu of prior carbon experience, a desire to learn quickly about carbon project development and carbon markets is essential.

· Exceptional attention to detail, organisational skills, and follow-through.

· Ability to manage multiple objectives simultaneously and prioritise appropriately

· Strong written and oral communicator tailoring communication styles to the needs of a given situation.

· Track record of leading and managing teams across different geographies.

It would be advantageous, but not essential, to have:

· Experience in NBS, Energy carbon project development and impact investing, or exposure to carbon markets. For example, experience in sustainable infrastructure, energy or construction project development, and operational asset management would be relevant experience.

· Experience in forestry carbon project management and/or development, including an understanding of the social dimensions of forestry projects.

· Experience of managing funding or investment from large corporate entities or investors.

We are looking for someone who:

· Has a strong commercial mindset and can assess risk.

· Has a strong intellect with the ability to dive deep into the details but has judgement on when to pull up to think strategically.

· Is solution-focused and pragmatic.

· Has a balanced focus across people development and operational execution.

· Has a driving ambition to build a best-in-class asset management team and values being part of a business with a strong profit with a purpose mission.

PERKS 

• 
  
• Hybrid working
  
• 25 days paid holiday
  
• Private Health Insurance
  
• Pension Scheme
  
• Bonus Scheme (subject to company and individual performance)
  
• Employee Equity Scheme
  
• Cycle to Work Scheme
  
• LinkedIn Learning & Training Budgets
  
• Modern, state of the art office in Paddington, London, which is dog friendly and includes showers, a mother's feeding room, a wellness room and barista coffee bar.
  

Climate Impact Partners is an equal opportunities employer. Our goal is to be a diverse and inclusive workforce, that embraces our differences, and so all aspects of employment including the decision to hire and promote, will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business need. We do not discriminate on the basis of characteristics protected under federal, state, or local law. To support this, all applications are anonymised until the interview stage which means that regardless of who has applied, your characteristics are totally anonymous.