Senior Manager, Operational Excellence & Risk

ROLE PURPOSE

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Senior Manager, Operational Excellence & Risk will provide leadership and drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operational efficiency, productivity, and overall operational performance across Gold Standard. This role will also involve developing and implementing project management methodologies, frameworks, and tools to ensure effective planning, execution, and monitoring of operational projects across the organization. The incumbent will collaborate with various stakeholders, including project managers, department heads, and the executive team, to drive project success and organizational efficiency.

This incumbent will also be responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive risk management framework and reporting, ensuring that Gold Standard operates in a secure and sustainable manner. The role holder role will play a critical role in driving operational efficiency, promoting a culture of continuous improvement, and ensuring the organization's success in a rapidly changing environment.

WHAT WE DO

Gold Standard is a standards body and thought leader that promotes the best that can be achieved in climate and development projects. It was established in 2003 by WWF and other international NGOs as a best practice standard to ensure projects that reduced carbon emissions under the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) also delivered sustainable development benefits. Today, our standard, ‘Gold Standard for the Global Goals’, allows climate and development initiatives within carbon markets, corporate supply chains, and sustainable finance to manage, measure and maximise their impacts toward the Net Zero ambition of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. Certification against the standard provides the confidence that these results are measured and verified, enabling credible impact reporting. ISEAL Code Compliant and backed by a broad NGO Supporter Network, Gold Standard has 2000+ projects underway in over 90 countries, creating billions of dollars of shared value from climate and development action worldwide.

OUR VALUES

• PIONEERING

For almost 20 years, Gold Standard has shown how carbon finance can achieve its highest potential. We’ve created innovative new standards, programmes and tools that raise the bar for quality across a broader range of applications than carbon markets. We focus on those that have the most promise to contribute to our vision and mission, bringing them to market with the requisite planning and resources.

• RIGOROUS

We build on our reputation for quality and rigour with more robust measurement of outcomes, stronger safeguards and greater impact across the Sustainable Development Goals. Our objective is to make rigour simpler and more achievable at scale.

• COLLABORATIVE

We work with key partners who share our goals and complement our strengths. Our partnership strategy aims to move beyond working opportunistically as a delivery partner in favor of collaborating in long-term strategic synergy.

• TRANSPARENT

We were established to bring confidence, trust, and accountability to carbon markets. We will continue to take strides to improve transparency in our own processes, in the broader market and in non-market mechanisms.

The Gold Standard Foundation is looking to build our team with exceptional people who are excited and driven to shape and deliver this ambition and uphold our values.  We are now seeking a Senior Manager, Operational Excellence & Risk.

YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FOLLOWING:

1. Operational excellence, process optimisation and change management

• Support the COO in developing and implementing a comprehensive operational excellence strategy aligned with the organization's goals and objectives. This involves designing the governance, identifying key performance indicators (KPIs), setting improvement targets, and defining the roadmap for achieving operational excellence.
• Lead and facilitate the design and implementation of process improvements, operational best practices, policies, and standard operating procedures.
• Analyse existing business/operational processes and identify areas for improvement. Work closely with all teams across Gold Standard to streamline processes, eliminate waste, reduce costs, and enhance productivity. This may involve applying methodologies such as Lean Six Sigma, Kaizen, or other process improvement frameworks.
• Implement change management strategies to ensure successful adoption and sustainability of process improvements. This includes communicating the benefits of change, engaging stakeholders, and providing training and support to employees throughout the change process.
• Implement project management methodologies, standards, and best practices to ensure consistent project delivery and quality across Gold Standard.
• Provide the team with the necessary training, guidance, and support to ensure adherence to project management best practices.

2. Risk Management

• Develop and implement a risk management framework, aligning it with Gold Standard mission, values and strategic objectives.
• Coordinate the identification and assessment of risks across the organization and update the risk register to document and prioritize risks.
• Collaborate with the department heads and the Executive team to develop risk mitigation strategies and action plans.
• Develop and implement crisis management and business continuity plans to ensure operational resilience of Gold Standard in the face of potential disruptions.

YOU WILL BRING TO THE ROLE:

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field. A master's degree or professional certification in project management (e.g., PMP, Kaizen, Agile) is preferred.
• Proven experience in project management, including experience working in a Project Management Office function.
• Strong knowledge of project management methodologies, standards, and best practices.
• Excellent change management skills, including communication, stakeholder engagement, and influencing skills.
• Knowledge of risk management frameworks, methodologies and best practices.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with a keen attention to detail.
• Strong leadership and team management abilities.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to influence stakeholders and build positive relationships.
• Strong organizational and strategic thinking abilities.
• Experience in the nonprofit sector or NGOs is preferred.
• Self-motivated, structured working, conceptual thinking, and strategic reasoning, while being hands-on.
• Team player with highest levels of ethics and integrity.

YOU WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN AND GROW BY:

• Working within an internationally leading environmental standard at the cutting edge of climate and sustainable development action.
• Working as a key member of the COO Team in a period of growth of the organization.

WHAT WE OFFER:

The salary range for this role will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Other benefits to working at Gold Standard include:

• A mission-driven organisation working at the leading edge of climate and sustainability.
• Rewarding work in a dynamic non-profit environment
• A collaborative workplace within a multicultural team
• An ambitious, agile and flexible environment

CLOSING DATE

Applications for this role will close on 15th October 2023. Successful candidates will be contacted for an interview.

APPLICATIONS

Please submit a 1-page cover letter explaining why you want to work for the Gold Standard and a CV through our recruitment portal.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

Gold Standard provides equal opportunity for all job applicants and employees and is committed to providing a work environment free of discrimination. We are dedicated to an inclusive culture and we strive to create a workplace where teams of people with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, perspectives, ideas and experiences work together.

We welcome applications from individuals of all genders, ages, sexual orientations, nationalities, races, background, religions, beliefs, ability status, and all other diversity characteristics.