Director, Forestry Innovation Portfolio

Director, Forestry Innovation Portfolio
Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork, and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, biodiversity, and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples, and local communities to help people and nature thrive together.
POSITION SUMMARY – This position is based in Bolivia, Brazil (remote), Brussels, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, Suriname, United Kingdom (remote)
The Director will play a central role in our effort to globally pilot and scale the DeVine intervention. Working with a cross-divisional team including the Center for Natural Climate Solutions, the Conservation Finance Division, and field offices, the Director will lead the development of a financially sustainable business plan to scale the intervention globally. Duties will include business plan development, financial modeling, developing standard terms for agreements with forestry concessions, developing and applying a site selection and evaluation process, facilitating carbon project validation, budget creation and management, drafting interim staffing plans, managing coordination and capacity building with field offices, developing a global scaling strategy, developing a fundraising strategy, pitching to investors, managing donor/investor relationships, and regularly communicating the impact of the global DeVine project portfolio to internal and external stakeholders. The Director will also ensure compliance with CI policies, program and funding agreements, and local requirements.
This position will convene a diverse group of staff across disciplines (science, finance, country program implementation) to advance the DeVine initiative and will indirectly manage project staff, interdisciplinary teams, and/or outside partners, with the eventual possibility for direct management of a small global team.
RESPONSIBILITIES

Develop and manage business plan development to scale the intervention globally.

Develop and manage project financial models that integrate biophysical data and target financial sustainability.

Develop and manage standard terms for agreements with forestry concessions.

Develop a strategy for globally piloting and scaling DeVine.

Lead the development and application of a site selection and evaluation process of potential pilot sites.

Facilitating carbon project validation, including providing inputs to the project design document

Develop site-specific project budgets for new pilot sites.

Develop site-specific project carbon revenue model for new pilot sites.

Manage and track budgets and impact metrics for a portfolio of existing DeVine pilots.

Draft interim staffing plans for a pilot start-up.

Identify capacity-building needs and recruit/hire key staff, as needed.

Coordinate with CI scientists and local CI country/regional offices to manage the implementation phase of new pilot(s).

Gather, analyze, and report on Key Performance Indicators for the DeVine portfolio and for individual pilot projects.

Manage relationships with and reporting to donors, investors, CI Board, and leadership.

Ensure compliance with CI policies, funding agreements, and local requirements.

Identify opportunities for program growth and development.

Develop and execute a fundraising strategy to support program financial sustainability by identifying funding opportunities, developing innovative financing strategies, preparing and presenting funding proposals, and negotiating funding terms.

Advise on advancing other NCS models, including transferring lessons and tools from DeVine.

Perform related duties as assigned.

This position will indirectly manage project staff, interdisciplinary teams, and/or outside partners, with the eventual possibility for direct management of a small global team.

WORKING CONDITIONS

International travel will be required for this position (10-25%).

Ability to work in remote locations or under difficult working conditions.

Physical fitness to participate in field visits, often to remote/hard-to-access sites.

Guidance on flexible work arrangements will be shared during the interview process.

2-year fixed-term position with the option to renew.

For EU/UK candidates: “Candidates should be EU or UK nationals or have a valid work permit for Europe or the UK”.

QUALIFICATIONS
Required

Bachelor’s Degree and 7 or more work experience in business, finance, management consulting, forestry, natural resource economics, or related discipline(s).

2 or more years of experience managing multi-disciplinary teams.

Demonstrated ability to create business plans for projects, model costs, develop new revenue streams, and assess return on investment.

Track record in negotiating business contracts.

Strong analytical and conceptual skills, and demonstrated ability to understand, evaluate, and interpret a broad range of economic, financial, scientific, and non-technical information used in economic decision-making.

Proven leadership in the administration of complex programs or projects with skills in strategic planning, management, supervision, and budgeting.

Proven ability to manage multiple complex workstreams, manage time efficiently, and accurately prioritize tasks.

Excellent, highly professional written and verbal communication skills with demonstrated ability to interpret and communicate complex analytical data and information to technical, and non-technical audiences; and excellent skills in intercultural communication.

Team player and able to work effectively with diverse work groups in a multicultural environment.

Comfortable working in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment with changing priorities and under minimal supervision.

Fluency in English (written and spoken) is required.

Strong PowerPoint and Excel skills.

Preferred

Previous experience with conservation, forestry, NGO, and/or carbon crediting preferred.

Previous employment with a start-up company or an energy services company or equivalent.

Fluency in Spanish and/or Portuguese (written and spoken) preferred.

Success in influencing and partnering with key stakeholders to fundraise for projects.

To apply for this position please submit a resume and cover letter.
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Conservation International is an equal opportunity, affirmative action, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility-committed employer. We are proud to have a diverse, global workforce where employment decisions are based on qualifications, experience, position requirements, business needs, market conditions, merit, and other legitimate nondiscriminatory factors.
As a science-based organization, CI follows CDC recommendations for COVID-19 and other vaccines. Accordingly, for the health and safety of our employees, their families, and our community, subject to applicable local law, all Conservation International staff are expected to be vaccinated against COVID-19. However, vaccination is no longer a mandate or condition of employment and employees are not required to provide proof of vaccination. This means we will not require an individual to be vaccinated to enter a CI office, attend CI events or travel on CI-related trips. This applies for our community partners as well. This vaccine expectation applies to all team members working remotely, in a hybrid work arrangement, and on-site. Job applicants are NOT required to state their COVID-19 vaccine status in their application.

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