Program Manager

Summary

Join Terraformation as a Program Manager in East Africa for a temporary 4-5 month contract! Oversee a portfolio of international forestry projects, managing relationships with partners in Kenya and Tanzania. Responsibilities include project design, implementation, monitoring, and stakeholder engagement. You will lead coordination of deliverables, set strategy, and ensure positive partner outcomes. The role requires extensive experience in project management and forest restoration, strong communication skills, and the ability to work with diverse stakeholders. This position is based in Kenya with remote work options.

Requirements

• 5+ years of proven experience in relevant project management and operations roles
• Bachelor’s degree in related field; master’s degree preferred
• Experience using project management software, familiarity with CRM platforms, and ability to create and manage complex spreadsheets or databases
• Partner-first mentality; ability to empathize and work closely with diverse stakeholders including local partners, government officials, researchers, and global team members
• English language fluency; proficiency in local dialects preferred
• Demonstrated ability to drive complex initiatives in a leadership role across teams
• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• Quantitative and qualitative analytical skills, with the ability to build narratives and provide recommendations and learnings based on data

Responsibilities

• Oversee a portfolio of global carbon forest restoration projects, serving as the primary point of contact for regional partners operating primarily in East Africa from project design through implementation and monitoring
• Lead internal and external coordination of deliverables with partners, including restoration training via Terraformation experts and external consultants
• Set strategy and experience for global forestry partners, ensuring a collaborative working relationship and driving positive partner outcomes
• Work closely with global partners to co-create work plans and key project documentation, including feasibility studies and project design documents
• Oversee complex partner operations, tracking against project milestones, carbon standard requirements, budgets, and restoration objectives
• Iterate upon existing internal partner processes - including onboarding, partner delivery, and reporting - to improve the efficacy of Terraformation’s partner operations
• Detail reporting requirements, train teams where needed, and ensure quality data output
• Travel frequently (expected to be up to 33%) to partner locations to assist in initial vetting, build relationships, liaise with government and community members, proactively identify risks and challenges, oversee training, and support the implementation of restoration projects
• Build a network of regional stakeholders who can further Terraformation’s objectives, including government officials, NGO partners, and contractors
• Support with preparation of Feasibility Study reports for ongoing projects
• Coordinate partners training, including scheduling, organizing and reporting for Kenya & Tanzania projects
• Work closely with partners and Terraformation experts to deliver written technical deliverables for each project, including restoration plans, social impact plans, financial / budgeting inputs, and others as required
• Continuously collect more information from the partners to substantiate information provided during application and update project information details in Terraware (Budgets, stakeholder mapping, updating of species listing, workplans, etc)
• Support the partners with follow-up on government requirements, and initial application/registration of projects with the government

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience implementing forest restoration projects and/or carbon projects preferred, with a strong track record of working with local partners
• Experience in preparing written materials for the listing of voluntary carbon market projects is highly desirable
• Previous experience conducting site visits, partner assessments, and creating documentation for VCM projects (feasibility studies, FPIC / stakeholder engagement, PDD writing, etc)
• Previous government relations experience in Forestry or another regulated sector which required sensitive conversations / negotiations with officials
• Contacts / network of forestry and community based organizations in Kenya or elsewhere in East Africa