Vice President, Environmental Resources Trust (ERT)

POSITION DETAILS

Position Title: Vice President, Environmental Resources Trust (ERT)

Location: Arlington, VA Office or US Remote

Department: Environmental Resources Trust (ERT)

Reports To: President & CEO, ERT

GENERAL

The Environmental Resources Trust (ERT) is a wholly owned nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International and was founded in 1996 to offer trusted solutions to environmental markets to catalyze transformational climate impacts. ERT ensures the integrity of environmental assets, including carbon credits, by developing science-based, peer reviewed accounting standards, overseeing independent third-party verification of emission reductions and carbon removals and providing transparency throughout the process including the issuance, transactions, and retirement of serialized offset credits on public registry systems. ERT operates carbon crediting programs ACR and ART.

ACR is an internationally recognized carbon crediting program that operates in global compliance and voluntary carbon markets. ACR was the first private greenhouse gas registry in the world and brings three decades of unparalleled experience and innovation to its operation as an independent carbon credit standards body and registry. ACR is also an approved Offset Project Registry for the California and Washington State Cap-and-Invest Programs (administered by the California Air Resources Board, or CARB and the Washington State Department of Ecology respectively). Under ACR, ERT is also developing and piloting the Standard for the Transformation of the Electric Power Sector (STEPS), a first of a kind sectoral carbon crediting standard to incentivize steeper and more rapid electric sector decarbonization.

The Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) was established in 2018 as the first market-based initiative to incentivize the protection and restoration of tropical forests at scale, also known as jurisdictional REDD+. ART is the leading global carbon market initiative for jurisdictional REDD+, ensuring the social and environmental integrity of climate results from protecting and restoring forests at scale. ART’s growing pipeline of participating jurisdictions currently includes over two dozen governments on five continents covering over 1 billion acres – 25% of the world’s tropical forests.

ACR and ART are approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to supply emission reduction and removals credits to airlines for use towards their obligations under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) pilot phase (complete), phase 1 (2024-2026) and phase 2 (2027-2029). The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) has assessed ACR and ART against the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) and approved both as a CCP-Eligible programs. Both also have an MoU with Singapore to supply credits for use towards national carbon tax obligations and are positioned for roles in new compliance offset markets and under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, as well as increased prominence in the global voluntary carbon market.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Vice President (VP), ERT is a senior leadership role focused on organizational strategy as well as policy and technical positioning of ACR and ART in global compliance and voluntary carbon markets.

The role leads and coordinates across ACR and ART to ensure cohesive policy and technical approaches for MRV and market interface. This includes, but is not limited to, having a strong functional understanding of the ACR Standard, STEPS, TREES, California and Washington regulations, Article 6, and CORSIA, ICVCM and relevant international market frameworks to ensure continued alignment with regulatory requirements and industry best practice. The VP will track policy developments and technological advancements to lead the continued growth and innovation of ERT’s crediting programs while continuing to ensure integrity of issued credits through strong governance and transparency. The VP will also bring visibility to organizational thought leadership and growth through participation in policy and technical forums in target markets and will enhance collaborations with strategic partners.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic vision and leadership

Collaborate with the ERT President & CEO to:

• Refine and communicate the organization’s vision and goals.
• Develop and lead the implementation of ERT’s strategic and business plans, as aligned with the organization’s mission and values, including staffing and retention and business models to ensure financial stability.
• Identify strategic partnerships and innovations, product and service offerings, and other new business and funding opportunities that will further the organization’s mission.
• Cultivate and sustain a productive and mutually supportive relationship with the ERT Board and Winrock Board and senior management.

Policy and technical leadership

• Lead the development of policy and technical positions to ensure high integrity carbon markets working with internal colleagues and through engagement with strategic partners. Engage with government officials and policymakers to shape rules to advance markets.
• Bring visibility to ERT’s thought leadership through participation in policy and technical forums in target markets and build consensus among diverse stakeholders around key policy positions.
• Monitor policy developments and technological advancements to lead the continued growth and innovation of ERT’s crediting programs while ensuring integrity of the issued credits for integration into compliance markets. This includes following supply (credit integrity) and demand-side (claims) policy developments in key markets such as US subnational jurisdictions, ICAO, Article 6, EU, Singapore, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Japan and across Africa through engagement with IETA, G7/G20 carbon markets platform, the Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets, VCM+ and others. Policy and technical topics include managing non-permanence risk, digital MRV, financial market infrastructure, the legal nature of carbon credits and scaled up crediting approaches.
• Provide leadership in the public dialogue on carbon markets and serve as an effective spokesperson to advance the role of international carbon markets and cooperation by providing input on the implementation of state, national and international climate policy and carbon market strategies.
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with ERT clients, relevant governments and government agencies, industry groups, environmental NGOs, IPLC organizations, corporate business leaders, and academic institutions to work collaboratively in support of carbon markets. Constructively engage with the UNFCCC and relevant governments for Article 6 transactions including for the International Civil Aviation Organization’s CORSIA.
• Coordinate with the Director of Communications on communications opportunities including the development of analyses, presentations and outreach materials; the design, delivery and participation in targeted events, conferences, workshops and webinars; and by ensuring a sustained media presence through publications, press releases and social media.
• Contribute to the creation of reports for regulatory bodies including CARB, Ecology, ICAO and ICVCM.

QUALIFICATIONS AND BACKGROUND

Education: Required Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Forestry, Natural Resources Management, Business Administration Public Policy or related field. Master’s degree preferred.

Skills and Experience:

Management and Operations

• 14 years of broad-based senior management experience in the nonprofit, government or private sector focused on climate policy and carbon markets. Additional years of experience preferred.
• Experience working collaboratively with boards and advisory committees.
• Demonstrated experience management of organizational and financial operations.
• Experience leading organizations or significant programs through periods of growth and transition including implementation of business models to ensure financial stability.
• Extensive personnel management experience and a demonstrated ability to lead, mentor and motivate team members and foster a positive team culture – ideally within a flexible, fast-paced, remote work environment.
• Ability to set clear priorities, delegate and guide investments in people and systems.
• Strong interpersonal skills, impeccable integrity and trustworthiness, and ability to consistently interact with others in a professional, courteous, and tactful manner, maintain a positive attitude and good working relationships, and work effectively in a team setting.

Technical and Policy

• Deep technical expertise in climate change science and policy, GHG accounting and carbon markets across national and international markets including the UNFCCC and other national / subnational programs / initiatives.
• Demonstrated technical knowledge of carbon accounting including fundamental GHG quantification, monitoring, reporting and verification principles and frameworks. Accreditation by ARB strongly desired.
• Direct experience in carbon markets working for a carbon crediting program, serving on technical advisory committees of standards body(ies), working as a carbon project developer or investor, providing verification services, and/or as a carbon market regulator.
• Proven ability to navigate complex geopolitical and multi-stakeholder landscapes including through prior engagement with regulatory bodies

Computer/Technical Skills: Proficiency in the full MS Office suite required.

Communication Skills: Strong technical writing skills required.

Language: Fluency in spoken and written English is required. Additional languages desirable.

Required Travel: Must be available to travel for short-term assignments.

Other: Must be authorized to work in the United States. Commitment to Winrock’s mission and interest in market-based approaches to reducing GHG emissions required.

Salary Range: $250,000–$300,000. Final compensation will be based on experience, skills, and internal equity.

Winrock is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, age, disability or any other basis protected by law.

At Winrock we have a clear mission: Empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity and sustain natural resources through unwavering dedication to accountability, equity, innovation, integrity and transformation

#LI-DNI.