(Associate) Director, Nbs Implementation And M&E | Project Design, Management & Evaluation

South Pole is an energetic, global company offering comprehensive sustainability solutions and services. With offices spanning all continents across the globe, we strive to create a sustainable society and economy that positively impacts our climate, ecosystems and developing communities. With our solutions, we inspire and enable our customers to create value from sustainability-related activities.

Our Project Development team is at the forefront of developing and managing climate mitigation activities. By working closely with project owners and developers as well as their local communities, we manage the complete registration, verification and evaluation of carbon projects to enable the issuance of emission-reduction certificates, in line with official carbon standards. If you are a smart, ambitious and dynamic sustainability professional with a strong passion to make a real difference in the fight against climate change, the below position may be right for you!

Job summary:

As the (Associate) Director of NBS implementation knowledge, process and M&E within the NBS practice of the Project Design, Management & Evaluation (PDME), you work in our Climate Projects Business Line. You will be responsible to plan, develop and maintain an up to date knowledge, process and approaches/tools behind how we assess/evaluate ground implementation activities designed mainly in our NBS projects, and to some extent community based appliances such as cookstoves. This entails direct coordination with the director of NBS within the PDME, Director of Sustainable Technologies, Director of QA (DD&QC) and regional NBS teams and leaders who develop and manage the projects in the regions. The aim is to assure all implementation aspects are properly evaluated from project identification and initial assessment to project realisation, impact issuance and long term maintenance of the project.

The responsibility also includes design and implementation of an effective frequent (e.g. annual) delivery of M&E reports for NBS projects together with the Director of QA and NBS who will help to incorporate M&E processes and reporting for applicable projects into the project cycle and QA framework and governance. You will make sure that the M&E reports drafted by the projects teams will constantly entail assessment of identified risks and suggestions on risk management as well as improvement plans and solutions. You will lead the process to assure crucial identified risks and risk management plans are sufficiently and effectively discussed/adjusted by regional team leaders and set into the project's workflows for constant improvement. The candidate will also collaborate directly with the digital innovation team who is behind digitalisation of the full project cycle and data management behind it.

You will own and maintain all strategic components and IPs related to NBS (and community based ST) implementation and social/community/biodiversity involvement relevant for climate mitigation/removal projects. The NBS and community based implementation function within the PDME will be supporting the NBS and ST regional technical leads/teams who draft, report and evaluate ground measures and activities for the NBS and ST community based projects locally; including overall progress and performance of the project vs. expected, progress and effectiveness of the implemented measures, financial updates and performance, governance, HSSE, ESG with local partners, communities and sub-contractors etc.

You will interact and collaborate directly with other directors and associate directors within the PDME and assure that projects, standards/methodologies, QA/QC and evaluation/optimisation topics are channeled well to regional technical teams and are embedded firmly within the global PDME processes and workflows to ensure a long term high quality outcome from our projects.

Main tasks & responsibilities:

• Assure that global and regional technical teams within the CP unit are equipped with the latest effective tools, knowledge and approaches around implementation knowledge and evaluation topics and can smoothly apply them in the field and deliver long term impact products (e.g. ERs and SDGs etc.) with high integrity and quality
• Directly liaise with operations to review and update/improve implementation linked operational processes in direct coordination and alignment with the head of digital innovation and the director NBS within the PDME; assure that NBS project workflows within SP includes both PDME and implementation tasks embedded in one integrated project management system
• Together with other leads within CP, make sure all regional technical teams understand project partners needs, gather market intelligence and identify industry trends
• Own, plan, direct NBS implementation latest strategic technical know how and share/link the strategic directions and outcomes with the regional technical and implementation teams globally in coordination with the project strategy director and regional leads
• With your team support and guide when necessary the regional technical heads in the NBS implementation topics; assure that the regional technical teams are using the most plausible latest approaches, in guiding and evaluating the implementation workflows and results in the highest quality possible
• Act as the global leader on NBS and community based ST implementation, community appliances and biodiversity know how and develop/organise a progressive and up to date knowledge center around implementation activities/techniques/intelligence/evaluation/reporting in collaboration with other leaders within PDME, Tech Strategy and other teams at CP
• Support and coordinate directly with the NBS Tech Strategy Director incl. Director of NBS within PDME on their strategic technical assessments, inputs and needs in different areas and scopes relevant for implementation and community aspects
• Support knowledge and expert needs, resource plan & management for implementation team globally (in direct coordination with the regional leads and technical heads per region) and when necessary
• Collaborate with the QA/QC, evaluation and optimisation director within the PDME to plan and develop the most efficient and effective processes for project quality assurance processes incl. During evaluation/assessment and implementation/PDME workflows
• Serve as a partner to global and regional project team heads on project implementation issues
• Ensure consistency of approach and quality of our implementation assessment workflows along the different regional teams globally. Be in charge of the coordination of the implementation teams globally and take responsibility for the quality of our global implementation evaluation work
• Introduce SP to potential clients and source new projects together with our international team when needed

Requirements:

Essential -

• Substantial experience in Engineering, Forestry/Ecology, Sustainability Consulting, Climate Change Mitigation/Adaptation or related fields
• Preferably a Master’s Degree in natural resource management, forestry and nature conservation, biodiversity, sustainable development business, sustainability/project management or related fields
• Ability to build, develop and manage large teams
• Extensive people Management experience, including performance management, developmental plans and succession planning
• Be very responsive and reachable to all internal and external stakeholders
• Strong multi-tasking, prioritization and delegation skills Keen sense for project administration & management
• Ability to identify gaps and design/enhance processes, tools and guidance to address them
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to manage priorities and motivate a team, keen sense for efficiency
• Advanced controlling and organisation skills to ensure proper use of processes and tools
• Fluency in English
• Ability to compromise and work with different teams within the organisation
• Vast experience in guiding and directing the work of others, with thorough functional knowledge/expertise in all field of NBS and know how on NBS implementation i.e. ground/field measures and activities and evaluation process around them

Desirable -

• Experience in scaling up a fast-growing team in the context of a highly competitive market environment
• A second language is a plus

What we offer:

At South Pole, we care about our employees as much as we care about the planet. South Pole is not just an employer, we are a Team. South Pole does not just offer people a job, we offer you a career. By joining our team, you will find strong purpose and deep meaning in everything you do. You will have the chance to make a real difference for our clients and for the planet, working alongside a passionate team of like-minded colleagues, while building your knowledge/skills and developing your career in a fun, dynamic, international and fast-growing organisation.

We’re a planet of 7.5 billion unique and different people. We all have a contribution to make; South Pole is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status or disability. Our recruitment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.