Senior Manager, Forest Certification Markets

In 1994, an international group of leaders in business, human rights, and the environment came together to harness the power of the market to protect forests. Together they formed the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), setting the world’s gold standard for responsible forest management and employing a novel product certification and labeling system that lets forest products consumers of every kind – “the market” – signal their intent to reward those who do right by forests with every FSC certified purchase they make.

For more than 25 years, FSC has advanced the cause of responsible forest management – around the world and across all forest-based industries. FSC-certified products are widely available at all major US retailers, and more than 3,500 US companies are certified under FSC’s chain-of-custody standard, with nearly 50,000 certified globally. Approximately 155 million acres of forestland are FSC certified in North America, with 560 million acres certified worldwide. FSC US is the largest national office of the Forest Stewardship Council and is witnessing a dramatic increase in domestic and global demand, driving the need to add to our team.

US Senior Manager, Forest Certification Markets

Do you want to work with one of the world’s most trusted and influential conservation organizations, operating around the world to protect working forests? Do you want to help expand the movement toward more responsible forest management and grow markets for products from responsibly managed forests, working with partners in business, environmental groups, governments, and communities? Forest Stewardship Council is seeking an accomplished individual to help lead market development for US forest certification.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting to the Chief Marketing & Market Development Officer (CMO), and working in close collaboration with the Policy & Standards Team, the Forest Certification Market Manager will:

1.) Build relationships with and support our existing FM certificate holders and certifying bodies, improving their experience with FSC

• Engage regularly with FSC certified forest managers to ensure we have strong relationships and a good understanding of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats across our entire FM certification portfolio.
• Collaborate with the US and International Policies & Standards teams to create and share tools, training, and other innovations to improve the US FM experience.
• Work collaboratively with our third-party certifying bodies (CBs) to help ensure FMs are supported, engaging CBs from a market development perspective, as they are the primary owners of current and prospective new FM relationships.

2.) Help maximize economic value for current FSC certified forest owners

• Collaborate with current and potential future strategic corporate buyers who prefer FSC, progressively assisting them in efforts to increase availability of FSC-certified materials.
• Help drive greater recognition of FSC’s value in carbon offset schemes so FSC FM certificate holders and group members can consistently maximize the value of their investment in FSC via offset payments; curate resources for FMs and ensure they are aware of and are empowered to access current and emerging carbon markets.
• Help track current and potential global and domestic markets for primary certified forest materials across supply chains and work proactively to connect supply to these markets.

3.) Lead efforts to increase certified forest acreage across the US

• With the CMO, Director of Science & Certification and others, lead development of a 6-year US FM strategic growth plan. Include a comprehensive assessment of the US forest ownership market, delineate current perceived benefits and costs of FSC certification by forest owner type, and specify tactics to retain and grow our FM certificate holder base, prioritizing ownership segments of highest potential.
• Understand how market supply chains and other factors influence forest management (FM) certification and translate into effective strategies to promote FSC FM certification to key landowner segments, particularly small and low intensity managed forest owners (SLIMFs), smallholder groups and TIMOs.
• Help guide efforts to achieve greater US tribal engagement in FSC, focused on greater system participation and representation, respect of rights, and new certification of tribal lands.
• Pursue certification of US national and state public lands, in collaboration with local, state, and federal government entities.
• Expand successful corporate partner-subsidization model wherein additional FSC forestland may be secured through group smallholder certifications.
• Strengthen FSC US’s overall presence in the US forestry community.
• Establish and/or lead relationships with partner organizations to create or enhance markets to benefit smallholders & indigenous peoples.

QUALIFICATIONS

Basic Qualifications:

• Minimum 10 years’ experience in operational forest management, forest advocacy and/or building relationships with forest owners/managers.
• Demonstrated ability to build positive relationships with forest industry and other forestrelated stakeholders.
• Able to travel up to 40% as required (primarily national travel).

Preferred Qualifications:

• A resourceful and creative mindset, positive, resilient attitude, and the knowledge and passion to pursue what may be your life’s most important work – helping humanity value forests more completely, and to manage them for the benefit of current and future generations; ready to step in and help lead in building the capacity and reach of the world’s most trusted forest management certification.
• Strong prior experience dealing with complex forest industry issues and demonstrated ability in execution of growth strategies on a regional or national scale.
• Experience with FSC US forest management standard.
• Willingness to learn and master new information on forest industries, technologies, local organizations, climate science, forestry, and other relevant topics.
• Demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit, ability to organize time, work independently, and meet deadlines. Knowledge of sales methods and techniques and demonstrated ability to use in execution of sales strategies.
• Proficiency in Salesforce and in all MS Office applications.

Competencies:

• Strong social, verbal, written communicator; trustworthy with confidential and/or sensitive information Able to work in independent, yet coordinated way, good time manager.
• Creative and determined problem-solver.
• Driven to results; action-oriented.
• Capable of learning and applying knowledge quickly.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Compensation commensurate with experience.
• FSC US maintains a highly competitive benefits package including health and dental insurance, paid leave, retirement savings plan with matching contributions, and a flexible working schedule.

TO APPLY

• Please click "Apply" email your resume and cover letter to Nancy Barnard.  
• Please reference “Senior Manager, Forest Certification Markets” in the subject line.
• Resume attachments should be named in the following format: "LastName, FirstName - Resume."