Senior Program Officer, Carbon Market Infrastructure

**Job Title:                    Senior Program Officer, Carbon Market Infrastructure

Location:                    Remote - Worldwide (with significant overlap with US business hours)

Start Date:                 Immediately

Reports to:                Manager, Carbon Market Infrastructure

With the rapid growth in carbon markets driving a new wave of project development, Verra is seeking a Senior Program Officer to join the Climate Policy and Strategy Team within the Legal, Policy and Markets Department.

Verra is a global leader helping to tackle the world's most intractable environmental and social challenges. As a mission-driven non-profit organization, Verra is committed to helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve livelihoods, and protect natural resources across the private and public sectors. We support climate action and sustainable development with standards, tools, and programs that credibly, transparently, and robustly assess environmental and social impacts and enable funding for sustaining and scaling up projects that deliver these benefits. We work in any arena where we see a need for clear standards, a role for market-based mechanisms, and an opportunity to generate significant environmental and social value.

Verra manages a portfolio of standards, including the:

• Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) – the world's leading carbon crediting program, with more than 1800 registered projects in 80 countries that account for two-thirds of all voluntary carbon market transaction volume.

• Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta) – a flexible framework for assessing and reporting on the sustainable development benefits of project-based activities.

• Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards – to identify projects that simultaneously address climate change, support local communities and smallholders, and conserve biodiversity.

• Plastic Waste Reduction Program – to enable robust impact assessment of new or scaled-up waste recovery and recycling projects around the globe.

Carbon markets and climate action, more generally, are growing rapidly and driving ever-increasing levels of climate investment, much of it certified by Verra. At the same time, expectations for the nature and integrity of such investment are evolving and demanding new levels of sophistication and interaction with government policies and broader frameworks for climate action under the Paris Agreement. We are building the Climate Policy and Strategy team to support Verra in evaluating and engaging with its policy and market environment and to help foster the ongoing growth and maturation of its climate-related programs.

A day with Verra's Legal, Policy, and Markets Department might include…

• Conduct research and develop specifications for how Verra's registry services can be linked with broader market infrastructure and initiatives.
• Liaise with experts engaged in other registries and market infrastructure initiatives to coordinate measures to link systems and coordinate work.
• Identifying requirements for Verra's systems and undertaking integration planning for how they can be coordinated and fit within a broader infrastructure strategy.
• Engage with experts in exchanges, platforms, and cryptocurrency markets to implement Verra's policies on Related Instruments in secondary markets.
• Liaise with independent assessors of Verra's programs, such as the ICVCM and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) agencies.

Specific functions you will be responsible for leading...

• Contribute to Verra's positioning in downstream carbon markets through supporting the evolving architecture and infrastructure of carbon markets and the positioning of Verra within it, through actions such as those below,
• Support the development of the Verra Registry and its Terms of Use
• Support the establishment of linkages between Verra's registry infrastructure and that of countries and global carbon markets.
• Support Verra's engagement with initiatives for developing and governing the architecture and infrastructure of international carbon markets.
• Support the development of Verra's policy on Related Instruments in secondary markets.
• Support the identification of external policy and infrastructure implications for Verra's program development.
• Help develop messaging and responses to stakeholder and media queries.

You bring with you...

• At least 3-5 years of relevant professional experience and an understanding of policy and market responses to climate change or other environmental concerns.
• Experience with infrastructure and process aspects of carbon, financial or commodities trading would be beneficial.
• A systematic approach to analyzing complex systems and relationships and an ability to think creatively and in a solution-oriented manner is essential.
• Technical knowledge of global developments in climate action and financing arrangements, policy and market drivers, and an appreciation of challenges and opportunities facing countries and other stakeholders active in this area.
• Experience supporting strategic partnerships and demonstrating success in serving on collaborative teams to produce significant outcomes.
• Strong organizational skills and discipline to be able to prioritize and work efficiently and effectively under deadlines in an independent manner.

In this role, you will grow and expand your expertise by...

• Helping to develop and implement strategies that establish a solid role for Verra's crediting programs in voluntary and compliance carbon market settings and other financing arrangements.
• Working at the cutting edge of programs designed to drive finance towards high-impact activities that tackle the most pressing environmental and social issues of our day.
• Gaining exposure to challenges and opportunities faced by practitioners of activities aimed at reducing emissions and improving livelihoods.
• Expanding your network of professionals working on climate and sustainable development, including government officials, private-sector actors, NGOs, and others.
• Learning from a diverse group of climate and sustainable development thought leaders and other talented professionals at Verra.

You will know you are successful, if...

• You are seen as a go-to resource by your peers.
• You are seen as a reliable and capable member of the team by your manager.
• Your knowledge of carbon markets and sustainable development grows.
• You help push team deliverables across the finish line on schedule.
• Verra stakeholders express positive feedback regarding your ability to collaborate.
• Verra is able to develop and strengthen its programs and catalyze climate action.

You will join a team...

• From diverse locations and backgrounds, including climate policy and carbon market experts, project developers, consultants, climate negotiators, researchers and auditors.
• Committed to driving quality so that finance can flow at scale to projects and programs that advance climate action and sustainable development through high-quality standards and programs.
• That embodies the values Verra has established for itself, which include Teamwork, Results, Integrity, Balance, and Exploration.

Compensation at Verra

To help us attract and retain top talent, Verra pays employees competitively to the market. In return, we expect each employee to, at a minimum:

• Meet expectations in terms of work effort and performance.
• Take the initiative to build the skills and knowledge needed to do their job effectively.
• Embody Verra's values.

We will recognize employees who go beyond expected performance with salary increases and/or promotions, but the bar for earning those rewards is high.

Salary is one component of Verra's total compensation package which also includes:

• Health, vision and dental care, and life insurance;
• Verra contributions to each employee's retirement plan;
• Verra contributions as required by national labor laws in countries where staff are located;
• Paid Time Off (PTO), comprising 22-30 days plus eleven floating holidays, sabbatical after five years of service, and other leave allowances; and
• Funds to support professional development.

To apply, please send us the following:

• Cover letter (not to exceed one page)
• Resume/CV (not to exceed two pages)

Verra provides equal opportunity for all job applicants and employees and is committed to providing a work environment free of discrimination. We conduct our recruitment and hiring without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, genetics, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, and local law.

Keywords

Senior Program OfficerCarbon Market Infrastructure