Agricultural Climate Specialist Jobs

Arlington, Virginia, USA

The location of this position is flexible to all locations where The Nature Conservancy is registered to do business

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The mission of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is to conserve the lands and waters upon which all life depends. As a science-based organization, we develop innovative, on-the-ground solutions to the world’s toughest environmental challenges so that people and nature can thrive. Our work is guided by our values, which include a commitment to diversity and respect for people, communities, and cultures. From a rewarding mission to career development and flexible schedules, there are many reasons to love life #insideTNC. Want to know more? Check out our TNC Talent playlist on YouTube to hear stories from staff or visit Glassdoor.

One of TNC’s primary goals is to cultivate an inclusive work environment so that employees around the globe have a sense of belonging and feel that their unique contributions are valued. We know we’ll only achieve our mission by hiring and engaging a diverse staff that reflects the communities in which we work. Recognizing that people bring talent and skills that have been developed outside the scope of a job, we take a holistic approach to recruitment that considers life experience in addition to the professional requirements listed in our postings. Please apply – we’d love to hear from you. To quote a popular saying at TNC, “you’ll join for the mission, and you’ll stay for the people.”

The Nature Conservancy is dedicated to Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) as ways to tackle the climate crisis. Agricultural systems offer an important opportunity to both reduce emissions and remove carbon from the atmosphere. It is critical that The Nature Conservancy deploys rigorous methods to quantify potential and actual net emissions reductions from the agricultural projects supported by The Nature Conservancy.

The Agricultural Climate Specialist will provide technical support to agricultural climate projects, specifically supporting data collection design, biogeochemical modeling, data interpretation, and communication of results. The Agricultural Climate Specialist will support field programs worldwide to evaluate the feasibility and options for developing and assessing the impact of agricultural climate projects. This is a 2 year fixed term position.

This position will support TNC country programs, state chapters, and global teams in the design and implementation of agricultural climate projects. The Agricultural Climate Specialist will apply their extensive experience in biogeochemical modelling and sampling design to assist TNC’s goals of reducing soil greenhouse gas emissions via agricultural management practices. They will support the implementation of models, assist in assessing and developing new project opportunities, and subsequently monitoring the projects deployed. They will ensure that agricultural carbon projects meet TNC’s criteria for high-quality, high-integrity carbon credits. They will support the project in choosing the most appropriate standard and methodology and navigating through their requirements. They will work with a multidisciplinary team to ensure that carbon accounting is integrated into the other elements of a carbon project (e.g., financial model, mitigation action plan, community monitoring, etc.). They will develop partnerships to address challenges related to agricultural carbon projects and search for and apply new technologies and approaches to enhance the effectiveness of carbon accounting. They facilitate capacity transfer to local stakeholders and field teams.

The location for this position is flexible for countries where TNC is registered as a Non-Government Organization and established employer with existing staff/offices. The candidate must be located in an area with no more than a 5-hour difference from the US Eastern Standard Time. No relocation, visa, or immigration assistance is available with this position. Candidates that do not meet all desired qualifications yet have a passion for addressing climate change with the power of nature are encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities & scope

• Support field teams in the design of data collection, monitoring, and reporting systems to demonstrate the impact on soil health and carbon benefits
• Facilitate capacity transfer to local stakeholders and field teams, including technical training and developing Standards of Procedures
• Provide technical support to TNC’s internal carbon project approval body
• Support the development of tools, frameworks, and templates to facilitate project evaluation, design, and implementation
• Guide and support screening of soil models, including early-stage phases like feasibility assessments and project idea notes
• Review and synthesize scientific literature on relevant topics
• Incorporate cross-disciplinary knowledge to support program objectives.
• Calibrate and implement models in support of TNC agriculture management practice projects
• Serve as the technical lead for the agricultural climate projects by identifying solutions to common accounting issues, including systematic heterogeneity and high uncertainty
• May involve domestic and international travel up to 25% of their time.

• Experience parameterizing and implementing biogeochemical models, such as DayCent, DNDC, RothC, etc.
• Experience manipulating, analysing and interpreting statistical or environmental data.
• Experience implementing sampling design methods with a particular emphasis on soil.
• Master's Degree and at least 4 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience working on agricultural climate projects.
• Experience presenting technical work to various audiences, including government leaders and local communities.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Ph.D. and 1-3 years of experience considered.
• Must be a team player and work effectively across cultures and organizations.
• Understand carbon project development cycle and nature-based carbon accounting methodologies, including the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Standard (CCBS), and/ or American Carbon Registry (ACR)
• Science-led, pro-active, critical analytical thinking, and problem-solving oriented.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and meet time-sensitive deadlines.
• Experience fundraising and/or writing grants and research proposals.
• Record of peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals.

Since 1951, TNC has been doing work you can believe in. Through grassroots action, we have grown from a small non-profit into one of the most effective and wide-reaching environmental organizations in the world. Thanks to more than 1 million members, over 400 scientists, and the dedicated efforts of our diverse staff and partners, we impact conservation around the world!

TNC offers competitive and comprehensive benefits packages tailored to the individual countries where we work. These may include health care benefits, retirement benefits, parental leave, paid time off, life insurance, and disability coverage as well as an employee assistance program and other life and well-being benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our Culture Tab on nature.org/careers.

We’re proud to offer a flexible work environment that supports the health and well-being of the people we employ.

To apply for job ID 53433, submit your materials online by using the Apply Now button at https://careers.nature.org/ by 11:59 PM EST on Friday, May 30th. Need help applying? Visit our recruitment page or contact [email protected].

The Nature Conservancy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our commitment to diversity includes the recognition that our conservation mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people of diverse backgrounds, beliefs and culture. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflects our global character is a priority and we encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military, protected veteran status or other status protected by law.

The successful applicant must meet the requirements of The Nature Conservancy's background screening process.

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TNC is committed to offering accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please send a note to [email protected] with Request for Accommodation in the subject line.

An attractive salary and benefits package is part of TNC’s value proposition to our employees. TNC strives to provide competitive pay and bases salaries on the geographic location of the role committing to being equitable across groups and providing hiring salary ranges when possible.

Since we support flexible and remote work for our employees, many positions have a flexible location within countries where we’re registered as a Non-government Organization and established as an employer. This may mean we’re unable to provide a hiring salary range in the posting for some of our positions. However, candidates invited to be part of our interview process will be provided their location specific range upon request.