Senior Sourcing Specialist, Agriculture - US & Canada

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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 part of the Global Sourcing team within the Climate Projects business line, the Senior Sourcing Specialist, Agriculture, will primarily focus on Agriculture emission reduction project leads and opportunities in the US and Canada, including but not limited to grassland and rangeland management projects, feed additives / enteric fermentation projects, and regenerative agriculture / soil carbon projects. Reporting to a senior member of the US and Canada Sourcing team, you will actively support business development and agriculture-based emission reduction project sourcing related activities in the region. In this exciting role, you will work closely with other teams within the Climate Projects business line, especially with the Nature-based Solutions team in the US and Canada and the Global Agriculture Sourcing Practice Lead, allowing you a global perspective on climate finance and sustainability. This is an externally facing position that will require strong networking and communication skills. You will be dealing directly with many project partners and sustainability-related actors to help collaborate and source emission reduction projects for South Pole’s global portfolio.

Main tasks & responsibilities:

• Support Agriculture related project sourcing operations activities for carbon credits and possibly other environmental market products in the US and Canada region
• Ensure that sourcing flows and processes (including documentation and interaction with other teams) are in line with the company guidelines
• Manage and maintain our global sourcing database in Salesforce, ensuring that information regarding project leads and opportunities are well recorded and updated
• Support coordination and collaboration with other teams within South Pole globally, in regards to project leads and opportunities, especially the Agriculture Value Chains team, as well as the global project development and Implementation teams working on the agriculture projects
• Source new project leads and opportunities for the US and Canada region aligned to the Global Sourcing strategy
• Draft contracts and commercial proposals
• Conduct research relevant to new project leads, project developers, project owners, relevant regulatory regimes/ policies in the US and Canada region
• Collect data from Project Partners or other third parties for due diligence, financing plans and budgets, technical, financial, and legal documentation
• When relevant, attend meetings/ seminars/ workshops/ events that are strategic for sourcing team activities

Requirements:

Essential 

• University degree in Agriculture, Natural Resources Management, Environmental Sustainability, Business Development and Law or related fields
• Min. 3 years of experience in environmental project assessment/development/implementation especially in the Agriculture sector, ideally in an international environment. Where such experience is linked to (and/or is within the context of) carbon markets both compliance or voluntary will be a bonus
• Familiarity (especially hands-on experience) with International voluntary emission reduction standards and methodologies in the NBS sector is a major advantage
• Experience and interest in engagements and networking — people skills
• Good understanding of commercial terms/structures and ideally experience with commercial negotiations
• Existing networks in Agriculture fields such as Farmer Associations, NGOs, Agriculture Extension Offices, relevant government departments, technology providers etc.
• Professional proficiency in English
• Proficiency with Google Suite and MS Office.

Desirable 

• Ideally a masters degree
• Good understanding of climate change mitigation actions and frameworks such as ‘Net-Zero’, Climate Neutrality, etc.
• Experience in project screening and budgeting/financing
• Knowledge of project development in the US and Canada and specifically Agriculture projects such as grassland and rangeland management, feed additives / enteric fermentation, and regenerative agriculture / soil carbon projects
• Knowledge of carbon credits, standards, project development
• Comfortable working with an international and multicultural team
• Adaptability and versatility.

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.