AFOLU Project Development Specialist (f/m/d)

Your mission

This is a techno-managerial role in the climate department at KAYA head office (alternatively in the Luanda office of KAYA Angola). The responsible colleague will be a critical link between the scientific staff in the head office and the colleagues in the offices in the countries where the landscape-scale conservation and restoration projects are being developed. The ecosystems in focus are forests, agricultural and grasslands. The work would involve ensuring the adherence of projects, through their lifecycle, to the regulations set forth by various certification standards. The Project Development Specialist will work closely with the Landscape Specialists, Earth Observation Specialist, and GHG Accounting Specialist. Periodic travel to project sites for monitoring and evaluation will be an integral part of this role.

Your responsibilities

• Steer the feasibility assessments and baseline studies of forestry, agriculture and grassland projects by coordinating the activities of head office climate department and country offices
• Write project concepts and project idea notes based on the inputs gathered from the colleagues in the climate department
• Ensure adherence of project development and implementation to the selected scientific forestry, agriculture or grassland methodology
• Be the organisation’s focal point to Verified Carbon Standard, Gold Standard, BioCarbon Registry, Plan Vivo Standard and Ecosystem Restoration Standard, and track developments there
• Steer the certification standard-mandated public consultation process in the projects under development
• Support the Head of Operations in the planning and scheduling of project operations
• Steer the complete but mainly the certification standard-mandated documentation process through the life cycle of the project
• Coordinate the certification standard-mandated third-party validation and verification process in the projects under development
• Support Head of Climate and the Finance Office in building project financial plans

Your profile

• Strong understanding of one or more from Verified Carbon Standard, Gold Standard, BioCarbon Registry, Plan Vivo Standard and Ecosystem Restoration Standard
• Deep knowledge of multiple AFOLU methodologies under the above-mentioned standards and certifications
• Over five years of experience in managing or coordinating multi-team conservation and restoration projects with the potential to show samples of work done
• Willingness to live and work in Berlin or Luanda
• Willingness to commit to a full-time (40-hours) role
• Willingness to travel overseas for work, especially to sub–Saharan Africa and/or Europe
• Openness to co-creating structures, processes and culture at a start-up while being patient through the developmental phase
• Possibility to contact former employers
• In addition to English fluency, languages desired are French, Portuguese, and/or Spanish
• Education in agricultural, forestry or landscape management is desirable
• Knowledge of national AFOLU regulations and policies in sub-Saharan African countries is a plus

What we offer

• Offer of a job with purpose 
• Opportunity to work for the planet and people 
• Opportunity to learn about climate change mitigation and adaptation from first-hand experience 
• Global exposure through international colleagues and intercontinental work 
• Possibility to become part of an organisation in its developmental phase 
• Chance to experience life in Berlin or Luanda

Please send us your latest CV along with a summary on why you would like to work at KAYA. Please note, that along the interviewing process we may wish to contact former employers for reference of your work. In case of any questions to aid your application process, please write to us at work@kaya.global.

We at KAYA stand for equal opportunities and recruit based on capability and performance. We welcome everyone - who shares our passion and cares about contributing to our vision - to hand in their application.