Senior Associate, Carbon Markets and Corporate Sustainability

~ For two decades, Forest Trends has pioneered the idea that creating economic value in our forests and natural ecosystems is one of the most powerful incentives for sustaining them. ~

• Traditional markets and financial systems fail to fully value all of the ways we benefit from a healthy planet. Forests and other ecosystems clean our air, provide natural protection against floods, and enrich the soil. When we fail to value these benefits, we waste and degrade critical natural assets.
• Our mission is to work with communities, governments, and businesses to more fully embed conservation into economic activity and prevent the destruction that comes from badly planned, unsustainable resource allocation and development.
• Through our work, Forest Trends has demonstrated that the preservation of natural assets yields much greater long-term economic and societal benefits than the economic activities that damage these natural assets for short-term profit.

Position Summary:

The Senior Associate, Carbon Markets, Ecosystem Marketplace (EM) will implement and grow our range of activities, products, readership, and profile across ecosystem research areas of carbon, forestry, water, biodiversity, agriculture. The Senior Associate will have strong writing skills and provide technical expertise in carbon and forestry markets, as well as non-market mechanisms for forest conservation. They will support strategic partnerships that enhance EM’s reputation and recognition and will represent EM and report on findings to external audiences.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Strategic Support Management: Directly provide account management and support requests from EM’s Strategic Supporters, including participation in calls/meetings, relationship development, generation of EM data-based analytical reports, and respond to general incoming inquiries. Assist in preparation of reports to partners, supporters, and donors.
• EM’s Annual Carbon Survey Market Engagement: Engage and build relationships with hundreds of carbon offset project developers, traders, and other actors by phone calls, emails, and face-to-face meetings to encourage and support their survey response. This includes the development of engagement / marketing materials, and supporting EM’s annual planning, engagement protocols, procedures, and tools. May also include external representation at conferences and events.
• Network Development: Build relationships with relevant stakeholders to support all activities related to EM’s Carbon Survey, presence externally at relevant meetings and events, collaborative research and insights generation, among others.
• EM Insights and ‘State of’ Research and Writing: Serve as thought leader, author and/or co-author, and as part of a team, contribute to all aspects of report production. Develop other EM content and project dissemination mediums, including webinars, newsletters, and social media.
• EM News Intelligence Support: Offer intelligence and information to EM News writers, and under the discretion of Director and Senior Program Manager may also author articles.
• Records Management: Maintenance and use of EM’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, and of EM data and use of EM’s Database Management System (DBMS).
• New Opportunities: Support Director in identifying and engaging with new opportunities for partnerships, collaborations, program expansion. This may include, contributing to research, analysis, writing and management of the production of RFPs in support of new funding.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• Committed to the mission of Forest Trends, and of the Ecosystem Marketplace initiative;
• Advanced degree required (preferably of related content);
• Relevant experience or expertise in climate and environmental markets and policy, impact investing, payments for ecosystem services and other environmental market and non-market-based approaches to conservation;
• Excellent research, organizational, and communications skills required; research and/or journalistic writing experience desired;
• Ability to analyze complex data sets, express data in graphic forms, and synthesize data for internal and external stakeholders;
• Fluency with Database Management Systems (DBMS), survey / data collection platforms, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, Google Drive, and Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Word, and advanced knowledge of Excel and complex formulas desired;
• Demonstrates high level of initiative and a desire to work in a fast paced and entrepreneurial environment;
• Ability to work independently, and collaboratively with other Ecosystem Marketplace staff on team projects and with other Forest Trends initiatives on joint projects:
• Prior experience with project and personnel management desired;
• Capacity to work with collaborators based outside of US, and develop strong internal and external stakeholder relationships.

Compensation:

• Competitive salary commensurate with work experience.
• In addition, Forest Trends offers a generous benefits package that includes a 7% (of gross pay) employer-paid contribution to a 401K account;  subsidized health and dental care insurance for self and family; employer-paid life, short- and long-term disability insurance; and paid sick and annual leave.

To Apply:

• Please click "Apply" below to email a cover letter and resume, with the subject line “EM Senior Associate”.
• Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, interested applicants are encouraged to submit applications as early as possible.

Application Deadline: March 20, 2020.