Senior Program Officer, Corporate Sustainability

Job Title:   Senior Program Officer, Corporate Sustainability (Remote - Worldwide)

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

Start Date:   Immediately

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. 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, and accounting 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.

With climate action growing rapidly and driving a new wave of investment, Verra is enhancing its team responsible for the development of high-integrity, high-impact carbon markets to build responsible demand for Verra's carbon credits and to support the ongoing growth and development of Verra's carbon programs.

A day with Verra’s collaborative Legal, Policy, and Markets team might include…

• Researching a Fortune 500's climate commitment and identifying how Verra's standards can be used to help meet it.
• Holding your biweekly relationship call with your counterpart at a large corporate purchaser of carbon offsets.
• Preparing a presentation for senior staff to deliver at a workshop convened by a financial institution.
• Engaging with Verra colleagues to share insights about the future development of Verra's carbon programs.

Specific functions you will be responsible for leading...

• Client research. Research the climate commitments of demand-side users and intermediaries of carbon credits, synthesize and analyze findings, and present results in clear, actionable ways.
• Client engagement. Develop and implement Verra’s strategy around demand-side corporates and financial institutions that are engaged, or wish to become engaged with, the voluntary carbon market, including through holding regular relationship calls, delivering and providing training and/or capacity-building workshops, and preparing relevant stakeholder communications.
• Messaging. Work collaboratively with colleagues throughout the organization to ensure the accuracy and delivery of key messages relating to Verra's carbon market offerings.

You bring with you...

Essential:

• At least six years of relevant professional experience in investor or client relations, including in the core functions of research, engagement, and messaging.
• Demonstrated experience in working with senior executives and decision-makers, both internally and externally, to provide strategic, actionable recommendations aimed at facilitating their decision-making.
• Excellent networking and interpersonal skills, maintaining a professional approach and demeanor in high-pressure situations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with fluency in English.

Desirable:

• A relevant degree and/or certification in a field relevant to corporate decision-making (e.g., corporate relations, financial regulation, securities).
• Exposure to commodity markets.
• Experience in cross-cultural and/or international work environments.
• Competency in languages other than English.

Personal qualities:

• Proactive, creative, can-do attitude, with an ability to think quickly and to conduct oneself authoritatively and persuasively in a variety of situations.
• 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...

• Gaining exposure to challenges and opportunities faced by corporate and financial institutions in their use of carbon credits.
• Strengthening organizational efforts to develop high-integrity, high-impact voluntary carbon markets.
• Expanding your network of professionals working on climate and sustainable development.
• Learning from a diverse group of climate and sustainable development leaders with vision and other passionate professionals at Verra.

You will know you are successful, if...

• You effectively support a team of professionals dedicated to building a high-integrity, high-impact voluntary carbon market.
• You develop effective and trusted working relationships with corporates and financial institutions.

You will join a team...

• From diverse locations and backgrounds, including carbon market experts, project developers, consultants, climate negotiators, researchers, auditors, and more.
• Committed to driving finance 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, and 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; and
• 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.

How to Apply

To apply, please send us the following:

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

*Please add app.bamboohr.com to your contact list to ensure you receive emails from us*

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.