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3 Feb 2022

Full-Time Managing Director, Soil Carbon Initiative

Green America – Posted by Green America Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Job Description

Hours: Full-time (4-days, 32 hours/week)
Salary:  Commensurate with experience
Benefits:  Generous benefits including medical, disability insurance, dental, sick leave, vacation
Supervisor:  Director, Soil Carbon Initiative

The work for this position can be fulfilled remotely or at Green America’s offices in Washington, DC.  Post-pandemic, the position will involve domestic and international travel for business development, strategic partner and stakeholder meetings, pilot development and execution, conferences and staff meetings. This position has direct supervisory responsibility for the SCI staff team and some contract positions, as applicable.

Green America is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a just and sustainable society by harnessing economic power for positive change. Our unique approach involves working with consumers, investors, and businesses to create a world that works for all. We deploy marketplace solutions to solve the most pressing social and environmental problems facing society today.

The Center for Sustainability Solutions builds on Green America’s work over the years, where we’ve brought together industry groups across supply chains to create major shifts in such areas as solar, banking and investing, sustainable agriculture and fair labor. The Center supports Innovation Networks, focused working groups of stakeholders with the objective of making significant, industry-wide system change.

The Soil Carbon Initiative (SCI) is an outcomes-based commitment and verification program that empowers and incentivizes farmers, food companies and the entire food supply chain to transition acres to regenerative management to maximize regenerative outcomes – soil health, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, water quality, climate resiliency, and farm and rural economics.

Key elements of SCI include farm and company commitments, measurement (Farm Standard), verification (farm and company commitments), farmer funding and farmer technical guidance.  Working closely with the SCI Director and CEO, the SCI Managing Director will provide organizational direction and team support for all key elements of the Soil Carbon Initiative.

After three years of development and pilots, in collaboration with over 150 stakeholders from across the food supply chain – farmers, suppliers, food companies, soil scientists, investors and NGOs – SCI is preparing to launch the Farm Standard and Go-to-Market Demonstration Pilots in 2022.  SCI has raised $2 million for the 2022/23 phase of work.

The work for this position can be fulfilled remotely or at Green America’s offices in Washington, DC.  Post-pandemic, the position will involve domestic and international travel for business development, strategic partner and stakeholder meetings, pilot development and execution, conferences and staff meetings. This position has direct supervisory responsibility for the SCI staff team and some contract positions, as applicable.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Strategy, Planning, and SCI Team Management

  • Lead efforts to successfully launch, maintain, and evaluate SCI initiatives.
  • Develop SCI strategy and priorities with SCI Director and CEO.
  • Oversee and support SCI team to implement project strategy.
  • Ensure team produces accurate, high-quality project deliverables in a timely manner, including reports, special research projects, and other outputs.
  • Lead the development of the framework and strategy for adding nutritional density and landscape biodiversity (insects, birds, pollinators) to the next phase of SCI.
  • Participate in Green America Cross Departmental Teams: The success of our organizational work includes the voluntary participation of staff members from all levels of the organization in cross departmental teams addressing a range of issues to strengthen our impact and planning, as time and other work commitments allow.

SCI Business Plan Development

  • Work with CEO to develop an enterprise model with explicit funding requirements for 3-5 years.
  • Work with CEO, the Center’s Foundations and Corporate Giving Director, and Green America’s Director of Development and Institutional Advancement to pursue grants and other funding opportunities.

SCI Verification

  • Work with our SCI Verification Director to ensure the final development and initial implementation of verification for SCI Farms and Companies.  This includes ensuring that all of our strategic partnerships are in place for implementation, including with our third-party verifier, testing lab, and enrollment and data management platform provider.

Farmer Guidance, Pilots and Consulting Program

  • Work with our Verification Director and SCI Specialist to ensure that we have the agreements in place for on-farm pilots and the guidance in place for on-farm pilots and the guidance in place for farms to develop their SCI plans and have the information they need to implement their plans.
  • Work with our SCI specialist to develop the criteria for our SCI Consulting program, to ensure that all SCI qualified consultants can provide the guidance needed to implement SCI plans.
  • Work with our CEO and SCI specialist for recruiting farm pilot partners, including co-ops and research partners.

Company Program

  • Work with our Verification Director and SCI Manager to ensure that we have the agreements in place for company pilots and the guidance for the company commitments, acre calculations and farm funding transition requirements.
  • Work with our CEO and SCI Manager for recruiting company pilot partners.

SCI Fund Development

  • Coordinate SCI Fund Development Strategy, including development of partner funds, resources, scoping of Pilot Fund and possible scoping of ongoing SCI Fund.

SCI External Communications and Engagement

  • Work with brand and communications agency to complete certification mark and visual identity.
  • Create and implement external communications plan including channels geared toward key SCI constituencies (CPG’s, farmers, farm support networks).
  • Design Strategic communications plan for post-pilot launch of SCI.

Qualified Candidates should have the following skills and qualities:

  • At least 5 – 10 years of experience working with farmers and food companies.
  • Experience with regenerative, organic, biodynamic, or other biologically based agricultural systems.
  • Understanding of agricultural supply chains.
  • Familiarity with managing or developing certification or verification procedures in an agricultural setting
  • The ability to understand and converse competently about complex sustainability, environmental and agricultural issues with a broad range of stakeholders, and to provide useful frameworks for analysis and action on key supply chain issues.
  • Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to develop trusting relationships with senior executives and high-level leaders across the agriculture sector.
  • Strong project management and team leadership skills, with 10+ years of experience managing multiple projects simultaneously.
  • Proven experience with business and client development (10+ years)
  • Strong research and writing skills.
  • Strong speaking skills.
  • Experience with facilitative leadership and directing multi-stakeholder networks
  • MBA or equivalent strongly preferred.

How to Apply

To apply, please email your resume and cover letter to [email protected], with "SCI Managing Director" in the email subject line. In your cover letter, please let us know how you heard of this position.

Job Categories: Sustainable Agriculture / Food. Job Types: Full-Time. Job Tags: business development, program management, regenerative ag, strategy and planning, and sustainability.

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