Sr. Carbon Standards and Methodologies Manager

Sr. Carbon Standards and Methodologies Manager

This position can work remote/virtual within the Untied States

As the Carbon Standards & Methodologies Senior Manager, you will work with the business to create the most credible, rigorous, transparent carbon offsets, insets and other assets in the market. Your primary objective will be to develop an industry-leading approach for Truterra’s carbon removal and reduction projects that aligns our work with best-in-class market standards and ensures high quality carbon projects.

A successful candidate will be adaptive and creative with a depth of knowledge of climate standards, experience in validation and verification of carbon projects, and can excel in a fast-growing startup environment.

Truterra is the sustainability and innovation business of Land O’Lakes, Inc. As the only farmer-owned, farmer-driven food and ag sustainability program in the U.S., Truterra believes farmers have the greatest potential to protect and restore the environment. As a member of the Truterra team, you will be helping bring agronomic insights and industry connections to farmers, so they can protect and restore their land, and unlock its deeper value.

As a rapidly growing business, Truterra is seeking individuals that are genuine, supportive team-players, hungry to collaborate cross-functionally to build better solutions to hard problems and have a meaningful impact in agriculture.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the development of carbon project documentation and verification documentation. Maintain and regularly update documentation to reflect the most up-to-date understanding of Truterra’s approaches.
• Act as a technical or subject matter expert to peers and other staff. Interface with project stakeholders, field implementation teams, operations teams, and science teams to ensure projects reflect standards and methodology requirements.
• Monitor external carbon and climate standards to stay up-to-date with changes and help shape Truterra’s growth strategy. Build an internal knowledge system for carbon and climate standards and public/private sector reporting best practices.
• Lead and manage relationships with third-party consultants, external verifiers and carbon credit registration bodies. This role will provide support with internal and external due diligence and customer reporting obligations.
• Establish internal quality control and auditing processes to ensure the validity and quality of the carbon credit assets created through the Truterra platform.
• Oversee execution of MRV processes to ensure the integrity of Truterra credits, including documentation of data related to assets, overseeing field monitoring, integrating soil sampling data and reporting.
• Assist in developing future MRV processes to constantly drive economic and quality improvement to ensure Truterra produces, transacts, and maintains the highest quality carbon credits available.
• Work collaboratively with GHG Standards and Methodologies Manager, Dairy/Livestock to build and add soil carbon programs for dairy and livestock feed/forage production systems where biomass is removed for animal feed. 
• This role does not have direct supervisory authority but the ideal candidate will use their experience and knowledge to influence without direct authority.

Required Experience & Education:

• BA degree to higher
• 10 or more years of work experience in corporate greenhouse gas/sustainability programs (preference for agriculture, food/beverage, forestry/wood/paper, textiles, or transport experience)        
• Proven knowledge or experience with leading climate standards that inform best practices in both the private and public sectors, such as the GHG Protocol, the Science Based Targets Initiative, Value Change Initiative, and the Task Force on Climate/Nature Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD/TNFD)
• Understanding of the key principles of carbon and climate standards such as Verra, Climate Action Reserve and Gold Standard, the UN Clean Development Mechanism, Paris Agreement Article 6 requirements, European carbon standards, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals
• Proven knowledge or experience with the full validation and verification process, including the development of Project Description Documents (PDDs), Monitoring Plans and Reports, and Validation and Verification Body (VVB) audits
• Experience collaborating with third parties on technical documentation, such as consultants, auditors, or verification bodies (or as a consultant/auditor)
• Experience working or reporting under a compliance or regulatory framework
• Fully conversant with developments and trends in nature conservation, NCS carbon markets, climate policy, carbon/climate, and safeguards
• Experience managing complex and fast-paced projects in a dynamic environment

Competencies-Skills (Required):

• Demonstrated team player
• Demonstrated problem-solving skills and ability to build on existing knowledge to develop new approaches
• Self-starting, goal directed with proven ability to achieve results through self and others
• Demonstrated project planning and management acumen
• Demonstrated customer focus with a strong business acumen
• Ability to understand, translate and align internal and customer business dynamics and strategies
• Ability to create new processes and standards
• Broad depth of understanding in ag retailers, farmers, and NGO’s
• Ability to work effectively cross functional within multiple business units
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to understand and process data and develop recommendations and action plans
• Excellent written, verbal, and delivery of communication skills

Salary is negotiable based on experience: $131,400 - $197,160

About Land O'Lakes, Inc.

Join us and be part of a Fortune 250, farmer- and member-owned cooperative that is reimagining the business of food. We have been named a Top Workplace by Indeed and LinkedIn, and to the TIME 100 Most Influential Companies list.

We provide a broad portfolio of benefits to keep you and your family at your best. Land O'Lakes is Where Your Future Takes Root.

Land O'Lakes, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) M/F/Vets/Disabled. The company maintains a drug-free workforce, including post-employment substance abuse testing pursuant to a Drug and Alcohol Policy.

Neither Land O’Lakes, nor its search firms, will ever contact you and ask for confidential information over the phone or in email. If you receive a call or email like this, please do not provide the information being requested.