Senior Program Officer

Summary

Join Winrock’s Net Zero Climate Services team as a Senior Program Officer and help businesses and investors develop climate change mitigation strategies. You will work with clients in the Food and Agriculture sector to finance emission reduction projects, providing technical advice on GHG emissions accounting and decarbonization strategies. Responsibilities include supporting client interactions, modeling GHG emissions, developing knowledge products, and managing a pipeline of technical advisory requests. This role requires a Bachelor’s degree, 5+ years of relevant experience in food systems and GHG accounting, and strong communication skills. Experience with LCA and EPD is preferred. The position may be remote within the US (East Coast hours) and requires international and domestic travel. Winrock offers competitive pay and an excellent benefits package.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree required
• Experience: Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in food systems and GHG accounting for land sector required
• Industry/sector understanding of GHG profiles and potential mitigation strategies for one or more of the following commodities:Palm oil, cocoa, sucrose, Vegetable Fats & Oils, Cereals & Grains
• Team player capable of adapting to ambiguous environments with cross-group collaboration and problem-solving abilities
• Working understanding or experience with preparing submissions or reporting against key climate corporate leadership standards (e.g. GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and/or Project Standard, Science-Based Targets Initiative’s standards, the Value Change Initiative)
• Experience with developing Life-cycle assessments (LCA) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPD)
• Fast learning, curious, passionate for uncovering and creating solutions to climate and sustainability problems
• Strong written and verbal communication skills are required, including effective public speaking and the ability to communicate complex issues both verbally and in written form
• Experience leading or supporting new business development efforts
• Experience in the food, land and agriculture sectors is required for this position
• Additionally, an up-to-date understanding is required of the current state of how companies reduce Scope 3 emissions while being in compliance with Science-Based Targets initiative standards
• Ability to travel internationally and domestically required
• Must be authorized to work within the United States

Responsibilities

• Supports the Manager, Net Zero Climate Services to help clients achieve their climate mitigation strategies with a focus on decarbonization of a company’s value chain emissions (Scopes 1, 2, and 3)
• Supporting interactions with clients, primarily in presenting updates or deliverables and conducting research to confidently answer client questions
• Modeling GHG emissions reductions and removals in agricultural commodities to inform decarbonization strategies
• Developing knowledge products and training materials related to GHG mitigation in agriculture to ensure the technical rigor and credibility of GHG mitigation strategies, in alignment with key industry standards
• Tracking and managing a pipeline of technical advisory requests on carbon accounting and decarbonization strategies for clients
• Conducting desk research and preparing PowerPoint presentations, reports, memoranda, and other communication materials
• Completing tasks in fast-paced and self-motivated environment in a timely and efficient manner
• Leading and/or supporting workplan development and new business proposals
• Working with small teams to prepare high-quality products, pitching in wherever necessary and providing guidance and leadership

Preferred Qualifications

• Language: Fluent in English, fluency in another language is a plus as we engage clients globally
• Additional years of experience are strongly preferred
• Experience in commodity decarbonization and Greenhouse Gas accounting in tropical crops like cocoa, sucrose, and palm oil is preferred

Benefits

Winrock offers competitive pay and an excellent benefits package