Associate Director, Ecosystem Services Unit (ECO)

Title: Associate Director, Ecosystem Services Unit (ECO) Team: Environment & Energy Group (E2) Reports to: Director, Ecosystem Services Unit (ECO) Location: Arlington, VA or remote Winrock International is recruiting an Associate Director in the Ecosystem Services Unit (ECO) to lead a portfolio of global projects aimed at building effective strategies to mitigate climate change within food and forest systems. This position works with private sector clients to assess critical investments that finance emission reduction and removals. The Associate Director manages a team of technical specialists with deep expertise on the measurement of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the development of monitoring protocols, and assessment of project risks and opportunities. Ecosystem Services Unit (ECO) The ECO team forms the cornerstone of Winrock’s scientific leadership and has been at the cutting edge of the evaluation of ecosystem services from forests and agriculture for 25 years. The ECO team is a global leader in carbon accounting in food systems and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). Past ECO team projects have focused on: Conducting GHG measurement and monitoring activities for companies and governments. Developing tools and games for building community resilience and adaptation in the face of climate change. Providing technical support and tools to countries, project developers, and private sector entities to support high quality offsets. Developing forest inventory design, carbon measurement, and monitoring protocols. Building capacity building tools and training programs for ecosystem assessments. Creating decision-support tools for the measurement and monitoring of GHG emissions and ecosystem services in the land use and forestry sectors. POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES Essential Duties The Associate Director oversees a team of technical specialists, provides technical and project leadership, manages client interactions, and contributes to new product development. Team Leadership: Lead by example and inspire staff in the unit, promoting professional development and creating a positive working environment that encourages productive relationships, creative problem solving, and high performance. Provide effective supervision to a team of up to six staff including setting performance expectations, conducting regular performance evaluations, and providing ongoing feedback and coaching. Serve as a champion for Winrock’s Core Values (accountability, equity, innovation, integrity and transformation) in the approach to management of the ECO team and encourage upward feedback and management. Technical Leadership: Lead GHG measurement and monitoring, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and climate risk analysis projects. Develop and implement statistically sound approaches to project design and data analysis for carbon projects, including use of field data, new statistical tools, and models. Recommend and implement new approaches that strengthen Winrock International’s reputation for sound science and expand the visibility of Winrock International as a leading developer of measurement and monitoring methods. Prepare technical analyses, reports, presentations, and other communication, translating technical topics into terms that are meaningful to diverse audiences. Network with external stakeholders and other experts to ensure that project approaches reflect cutting edge technical approaches. Augment ECO’s technical visibility with key stakeholders, practitioners, and donors with an eye towards identifying and engaging promising partners for collaboration and innovation. Project Leadership: Manage key projects in portfolio, liaising with donors, mentoring project support staff and producing high quality deliverables/products. Maintain day-to-day client communications by communicating clearly with and addressing clients’ needs. Provide accurate, consistent, and coherent technical guidance and explanations to clients and donors. Track and monitor programs as assigned to ensure they are fulfilling deliverable and performance requirements at a high quality, on time, and on budget. New Business Development: Contribute to the strategic growth and diversification of ECO’s portfolio, deepening impact, scale, and reach. Grow ECO new business by serving as a technical lead, contributor, or reviewer on proposals; leading decisions on whether to pursue ECO new business opportunities; and working closely with the ECO leadership team, New Business Support Unit and E2 New Business Manager to ensure the delivery of quality proposals. Work with the team to identify, document, and promote technical best practices and methodologies for future new business design. Augment ECO’s technical visibility with key stakeholders, practitioners, and donors with an eye towards identifying and engaging promising partners for collaboration and innovation through thought leadership activities including, but not limited to, penning op-eds; serving as a technical panelist, and identifying topics and convening technical fora. Qualifications and Background: Education: Master’s degree in environmental science, natural resource management, forestry, ecology, climate change, or other related field required; terminal degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) strongly preferred. Required Experience: Minimum 9 years of relevant experience in climate change adaptation/ mitigation/ resilience and GHG accounting for land use required. Additional years of experience are strongly preferred. Experience developing, mentoring, and managing teams of technical staff. Experience leading complex technical projects with a diverse team of staff and consultants. Knowledge of project carbon accounting, land use change models, and potential mitigation strategies of food and forest projects. Experience in the development of Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) projects and/or programs in the voluntary and/or compliance carbon market preferred. Working understanding or experience with preparing submissions or reporting against key climate corporate leadership standards (e.g. GHG Protocol, Science-Based Targets Initiative’s standards). Demonstrated experience in research and public communication on technical issues, including peer-reviewed publications. Overseas experience with technical and/or operational issues related to GHG accounting and land use, or related issues. Experience working in developing countries is preferred. Qualifications Strong analytical capability and problem-solving abilities required. 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. Ability to contribute to project operations and workflow effectively, to track and meet deadlines for multiple tasks, and work effectively under pressure. Ability to foster and maintain good working relationships with clients and partners, including non-profit organizations, the private sector, foundations, and multilateral organizations. Understanding of GHG emissions quantification methods, carbon credit project development, and/or other sustainability product certification standards, Experience developing proposals for a variety of funders is desired. Proficiency in using Microsoft Office software, including Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint. Advanced proficiency in Excel is preferred. Fluency in English; fluency in a language in addition to English is strongly preferred. Knowledge of geospatial technologies, tools and methodologies is a plus. This position may be based remotely within the United States but is expected to work East Coast hours (EST). The salary range for this role is set between $135,000 and $150,000, with the majority of candidates typically land within the midpoint of this range, there is an additional 10% contribution for a 403b annually and an excellent benefits package. Winrock is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people and value diversity and inclusiveness. Winrock recruits, employs, trains, promotes and compensates regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, 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. Winrock knows that its success comes from the hard work and steadfast dedication of its diverse workforce. Winrock remains committed to maintaining diversity, inclusion and equity across the entire organization