REDD+ Regional Lead - london, United Kingdom - Emergent

Description

Emergent is a global non-profit that aims to mobilize public and private finance to conserve and restore the world's forests to combat the climate crisis. We serve as an intermediary between the private sector and forest nations, acting as a market catalyst to deliver transformational impact for the climate, biodiversity and local communities.

Emergent purchases high-integrity carbon credits from 'jurisdictional' (national or subnational) REDD+ forest protection and reforestation programs that are verified under the high-integrity ART TREES standard. We then sell these credits via the LEAF Coalition to donor governments or corporate buyers looking to drive significant impact and meet their climate and nature goals. The LEAF Coalition is a unique public-private partnership focused on halting tropical deforestation by 2030. By bringing together forest governments, the private sector, donor governments, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities and civil society, LEAF aims to raise and deploy the finance needed to tackle deforestation by making tropical forests worth more alive than dead.

The Role

Emergent is looking for a REDD+ Regional Lead (Africa) to join our team; this official title will be Director, Origination, when the successful hire is in place. The Origination team works directly with forest governments to guide them towards ART readiness, submit proposals for LEAF financing, prepare for transactions with LEAF, and deliver credits successfully to LEAF buyers.

The incoming Director will be responsible for engaging a portfolio of forest governments, bringing into LEAF new government partners, and ensuring they have the means to successfully issue credits and receive finance from the Coalition.

Their primary portfolio will include select countries in Africa, including Ghana, Kenya, and Côte d'Ivoire. They'll develop bespoke strategies to guide the process and serve as the main Emergent point of contact for all relevant stakeholders, utilizing their expertise, decision-making, communication and organization skills to anticipate and mitigate potential issues and help countries move forward their programs effectively.

Our ideal candidate has both knowledge and experience working with jurisdictional REDD+ programs. They are passionate about climate change and preserving and restoring forests. They are a strategic thinker; an organized and process-oriented project manager; with strong decision-making capability; able to communicate complex and nuanced messages clearly and diplomatically; with a track record of successfully working with a range international partners and local contexts. Ability to travel is a must, and professional fluency in English and French are required. Fluency in Spanish or Portuguese is an asset.

This is a full-time role ideally based in London or Barcelona, or well-connected hubs within continental Africa (Nairobi or Accra), starting as soon as possible. The incoming Director will report to the Executive Vice President, Global Origination.

Responsibilities

• Build effective working relationships with a portfolio of forest governments and local partners in Africa, acting as Emergent's lead representative for the LEAF Coalition, tailoring LEAF's approach to each country's local needs and context.
• Support forest governments to progress (inter alia) their: ART readiness building – coordinating technical assistance as needed; LEAF proposal submission; stakeholder engagement; creation of Benefit Sharing Mechanisms; and fund management and reporting systems.
• Prepare forest governments to be ready to negotiate transactions with LEAF, and once contracts are agreed ensure that forest governments can fulfil delivery of their obligations, successfully delivering credits to LEAF Coalition buyers.
• Lead project teams of divisional leads from across Emergent to advance our partnerships with key countries, ensuring Emergent and Forest Governments have strong jointly developed workplans, with close coordination to deliver our intended outcomes in a timely way.
• Monitor developments in deforestation data, as well as the progress of forest governments' submissions to ART, to ensure Emergent and LEAF Coalition buyers have accurate forecasts of expected credit delivery volumes and timelines.
• Contribute to related areas of Emergent's work including: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning; corporate engagement; policy development; fundraising; and communications.

Qualifications

• 5+ years' relevant experience in any of the following areas: jurisdictional REDD+ program implementation, ART TREES, the voluntary carbon market, nature-based solutions, or climate finance.
• Proficiency with REDD+ related concepts, programs, policies and best practices, including social and environmental safeguards requirements.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in a relevant field (e.g. forestry, environmental science, climate, international development).
• Superb project management skills, including stakeholder engagement and event management. Technical project or program implementation experience is valuable.
• Proficiency in English and French required; Spanish or Portuguese is an asset.
• Strong organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams at once, and lead cross-functional project teams.
• Excellent communication skills – both written and verbal; able to engage and influence senior management and foreign leaders alike. Able to communicate between technical and non-technical contributors to gain alignment.
• On-the-ground experience, particularly work for a REDD+ program, is an asset.
• A flexible and agile self-starter who is excited to work in a fast-pasted work environment.
• Detail-oriented with superb analytical and administrative skills.
• Passion for sustainability and tackling climate change.
• Able to travel (~ 5% – 15%)

Perks

Flexibility

• Flexible working between home and office.
• A Work From Anywhere policy to allow employees to work from elsewhere for short stretches of time.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits, details dependent on location
• Generous PTO including 23 days per year + holidays + sick time

Fine Print

Additional Requirements

Applicants must have work authorization in the country where they are applying.

Equal Opportunities

Emergent provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, local or other applicable laws.

Studies have shown that men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them. If you think you have most of what we're looking for and believe you'd be a great fit, we'd love to hear from you.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, please submit resume and brief cover letter that explains why you are a good fit for this opening and Emergent; application materials can be sent to

Our team will review applications on a rolling basis; we strongly encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible.

Emergent will not be able to respond to every application. A member of our team will reach out if you are shortlisted for this opening. If your application is unsuccessful, we will be unable to provide feedback and ensure we delete your personnel data once we have made this determination.