AVP, Jurisdictional Alliances & Market Dev't, NCS

Overview

Put your passion and skills to work for the planet. Climate change is the most urgent issue of our time, and we need people like you to help us build a vital Earth — for everyone.

We’re Environmental Defense Fund, a fast-paced nonprofit with a growing staff of more than 850 people in nearly 30 countries. We deliver game-changing solutions that cut climate pollution and strengthen people’s ability to thrive despite the effects climate change is already having. We work wherever we can have the most impact, from local communities to top companies to governments worldwide, and even in space.

Our culture, values and commitment to diversity make EDF an exciting and meaningful place to work. Every job here makes a difference. Won’t you join us?

Responsibilities

AVP, Jurisdictional Alliances & Market Development, Natural Climate Solutions

Locations: Mexico or Peru preferred with openness to other geographies.

EDF’s Natural Climate Solutions Initiative is a new global initiative and matrixed team whose goals rise to the level of the enormity of the climate crisis.  Through taking a systems change approach that harnesses EDF’s unique capabilities in science, economics, policy, corporate partnerships and market design, we seek to bring forward catalytic solutions that, by 2030, will result in critical global-scale contributions to halting destruction and degradation of forest, peatlands, coastal and other natural systems, while rapidly growing natural carbon accumulation through sustainable management and restoration.  The scope of this work is global in nature, with near-term priorities on tropical forests and emerging priorities on temperate and blue carbon systems, amongst others.

The Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition’s goal is to halt deforestation by financing large-scale tropical forest protection.  In 2021, the Coalition mobilized $US1bn in financing, kicking off one of the world’s largest public-private efforts to protect tropical forests.  LEAF advances a jurisdictional approach to emissions reductions, linked to jurisdictional compliance with a set of rigorous criteria established in the ART-TREES Standard. A growing number of tropical jurisdictions are preparing themselves to pass this standard, implement emissions reductions activities and participate in the program.  Many of these would benefit from a similar set of capacity building support to close readiness gaps as well as accessing the up-front financing and trust-based partnerships needed to drive emissions reductions activities at scale.  Support to the LEAF Coalitions body of work will be a main focus of the AVP, Jurisdictional Alliances and Market Devt in early years.

Overall Function
The Associate Vice President (AVP) of Jurisdictional Alliances & Market Development (Dev't), Natural Climate Solutions (NCS), is a first-of-function role for EDF’s rapidly growing Natural Climate Solutions team.  Working in close collaboration with EDF counterparts and a network of external partners, the AVP, Jurisdictional Alliances & Market Dev't will deliver overall vision, strategy and leadership to ensure that supplier jurisdictions and corresponding critical stakeholders (government, corporate, NGO, and IPLC) count with the capacity building, implementation tools, partnerships, and resources necessary to successfully accelerate implementation of natural climate solutions at large-scales.

In so doing, the AVP will deliver against the following core objectives:

• Lead design of an overall market development, engagement & supply strategy that establishes a unique value-added role for EDF, progressively scales-up engagement and support to priority jurisdictions and captures synergies across jurisdictions and NCS types (i.e., from tropical to temperate systems).
• In partnership with key stakeholders, lead the design and ensure successful implementation of a global-scale technical assistance and capacity building strategy and operating model to deliver the tools, partnerships and resources jurisdictions require to participate in large-scale NCS programs, beginning with jurisdictional-scale work in tropical forests (i.e., the LEAF Coalition).
• Establish the long-term, results-based partnerships with government agencies, technical assistance partners, and other key stakeholders to guide implementation of the engagement and supply strategy.
• In collaboration with the demand team, innovate and test in selected jurisdictions, new value propositions that leverage carbon credit revenues to attract complementary private sector investment.
• Establish EDF and partners as thought leaders and trusted partners to deliver supply-side jurisdictional engagement and solutions.

While the scope of this role is global, a priority focus in years 1-2 will be on designing and implementing capacity building, financing and policy support to advance REDD+ programs in Spanish-speaking Latin America as well as a selected set of jurisdictions in sub-saharan Africa, India and Southeast Asia.  This role reports to the Vice President, Natural Climate Solutions and will coordinate extensively with a range of colleagues, including with the Senior Director of Tropical Forest Policy, who leads EDF’s work in Brazil and coordinates tropical indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC) initiatives.  As EDF’s global NCS initiative evolves and advances solutions in other NCS types (temperate forests, oceans, etc.) work will expand thematically and geographically.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Vision and Innovation

• With key colleagues and partners, lead the creation of a jurisdictional market creation, engagement and supply strategy and workplan, and take accountability for its execution.
• In collaboration with partners, oversee the creation of a consistent, replicable technical assistance and capacity building program that supports jurisdictions to meet requirements of high-integrity jurisdictional standards.
• Identify, design, and pilot a suite of tools, progressively building these into a global implementation toolkit.
• Through co-creation with key partners, develop and maintain knowledge-transfer platforms required to enable replication globally.
• Strategically identify, vet and establish partnerships with a roster of long-term preferred partners who can deliver impactful technical assistance and capacity building to priority governments, IPLC groups and other key local stakeholders.
• Advance design of REDD+ action plans and corresponding policies and regulations through connecting key government agencies to state-of-the art modelling and economic analyses that inform policy options and emerging up-front financing solutions.
• Align and harness EDF global expertise in science, economics and other areas, channeling these contributions to inform strategies and target investments of supplier jurisdictions.
• Proactively engage in institutional planning and strategy processes and foster effective internal collaboration in a matrixed working environment.

Management

• Help build a high-performing, results-oriented and mission-driven team (staff, consultants and sub-grantees) that reflects EDF’s vision, values and culture, creating a positive work environment.
• Guide, motivate and develop personnel, prioritizing professional development and ensuring staff understand how their work relates to EDF’s global strategy.
• Participate in advancing EDF Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) goals in which people from all backgrounds and experiences feel connected, included, and empowered to address the environmental and organizational challenges in alignment with EDF values.
• Take accountability for effective and impactful implementation, ensuring that EDF attains its technical, financial and contractual commitments for work under the AVP’s purview.
• Develop, oversee, monitor and adaptively manage budgets, in collaboration with finance staff.
• Proactively identify and manage risks, escalating as necessary to executive leadership.
• Ensure compliance with EDF’s policies, procedures and project management processes, and actively contribute to the strengthening of these.

Partnerships and External Engagement:

• Proactively strengthen existing and cultivate new partnerships from all sectors (public, private, nonprofit, etc.) that enable EDF expand the scope, scale and impact of its work.
• Build trust, co-design and secure buy-in from key government officials in ministries of agriculture, environment, finance and others for policy proposals that support effective implementation of REDD+ programs.
• Develop, implement and grow a long-term partnership model with several dozen international and local civil society organizations.
• Serve as a global thought leader and thought partner to influence the broader global NCS agenda, through active engagement in priority multi-stakeholder platforms.
• Periodically author op-eds or other thought pieces to enhance EDF’s positioning and expand participants and users of jurisdictional-scale tools.
• Oversee the creation and maintenance of knowledge management networks and learning exchanges.

Business Development/Fundraising

• In partnership with senior leadership and development, lead and/or serve as key contributor to the design, writing and budgeting of fundraising proposals.
• In partnership with senior leadership and development, cultivate and engage new funding prospects.

Qualifications

• Degree in natural resources management, public policy or related field and at least 15 years of progressive experience advancing sustainable natural resource management and climate change mitigation programs.
• At least 15 years of progressive experience managing complex teams, budgets and scopes of work on sustainable natural resource management and/or climate change in tropical countries.
• Experience developing and executing successful, integrated strategies that meet needs of diverse stakeholders (government, NGO, community, etc.), for one or more tropical countries.
• Track record of successfully influencing forest and agricultural policy design and implementation.
• Experience establishing and maintaining results-based partnerships NGOs, government agencies and other key stakeholders, and fostering transparency, trust and accountability.
• Experience and results with community engagement including small-business strengthening, community-centered advocacy, and/or advancing local community participation in government program design, amongst others.
• Strong knowledge of the landscape of actors working on sustainable natural resource management and climate change.
• Deep network and relationships at the national and/or regional level; international network a plus.
• Experience managing a team of staff to deliver results within a thriving team environment with a commitment to team health, mentorship & staff development, and work-life balance.
• Evidence of a collaborative mindset, demonstrated through prior experiences and results.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Oral and written fluency in Spanish and English.
• Demonstrates initiative, embodied by the ability to deliver results in complex, unstructured environments with limited direction/supervision.
• Demonstrates self-awareness, cultural competency and inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across diverse cultures and backgrounds.
• Flexibility: demonstrates ability and/or experiences delivering results and working effectively in a fast-paced, start-up environment.
• Demonstrated results developing fundraising proposals and cultivating donors is preferred, and evidenced by a portfolio of successful grants at the seven-figure level.
• Willingness and ability to engage in regular travel domestically and internationally, up to 25% of time.
• Alignment and commitment to EDF’s mission and core values.

Note: When submitting your application materials, please be sure to submit all documents in English.

Minimum Salary

MXN $2,800,000.00/Yr.

Maximum Salary

MXN $3,000,000.00/Yr.

EEO Information

Environmental Defense Fund is an equal opportunity employer where an applicant's qualifications are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other basis prohibited by law.