Director of Project Development

Director of Project Development

Location: Remote, Western US required (Within an hour of a major airport preferred) 

Reports to: Managing Director of Project Development 

Salary: $130k – $155k depending on experience

Travel: up to 25-30% 

Priority Application Date: Apr 20, 2026
Preferred Start Date: Jun 15, 2026
Employment Status: Full-time, exempt

About Blue Forest 

Blue Forest is a conservation finance non-profit founded in 2015 that is focused on advancing ecosystem restoration through scientific research, financial innovation, and collaborative partnerships. Since 2018, Blue Forest has managed investor capital through its flagship financial product, the Forest Resilience Bond (FRB), which deploys private capital to finance forest restoration projects to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires. More recently, Blue Forest has also established Blue Forest Asset Management (BFAM), an investment management platform connecting investors to compelling, mission-aligned opportunities in a broader set of asset classes beyond FRB projects, such as private equity and private credit investments.

Blue Forest is made up of an interdisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, foresters, finance, and communications professionals committed to the mission: “To accelerate ecological restoration through conservation finance, enabling climate resilience for ecosystems and communities.” 

Employees at Blue Forest are:

• Committed to Continuous Learning
• Driven by Collaboration
• Thoughtful Innovators for Impact
• Grounded in Science
• Passionate about Restoring Earth’s Ecosystems

Position Summary

The project development team at Blue Forest is responsible for developing and launching Forest Resilience Bonds (FRBs) and other ecosystem restoration conservation finance projects. The Director of Project Development plays a key leadership role on the project development team, developing and executing strategy for the project portfolio while advising on individual complex, non-traditional projects that require a management consulting mindset. This role therefore involves being detail-oriented during day-to-day operations and also focusing on overall long-term strategic planning, creative solutions, and relationship management. As Blue Forest looks beyond the traditional FRB, the director will play a central role in evaluating new conservation finance vehicles and conservation finance applicability in new ecosystems, which will require navigating ambiguity and creative thinking. Project development happens in close collaboration with external partners and the Blue Forest science, finance, Indigenous partnership, and communications teams; therefore an ability to learn and collaborate interdisciplinarily is essential to success. 

Responsibilities and Duties

Rocky Mountain Conservation Finance Development (50%)

• Cultivate the conservation finance strategy in the Southern Rocky Mountain region, and manage the project pipeline in collaboration with the World Resources Institute and other key partners. This work will be focused initially on the Colorado River Basin.
• Foster and deepen long-term relationships with peer organizations, land managers, government agencies, beneficiary payors, on-the-ground restoration implementors, Indigenous Partners, and funders.
• Advise on Rocky Mountain project development strategy as it fits into the broader departmental and organizational goals, Blue Forest-WRI partnership, and growing field of conservation finance.
• Serve as an advisor on 3-4 conservation finance projects, stewarding long-term relationships with project partners, guiding internal structure and culture, managing staff who lead project development, and providing strategy guidance to project teams. These projects will have a particular focus on complex, non-traditional projects that require evolutions to our existing model and processes.
• Attend in-person meetings and events throughout the region to build partnerships and on-the-ground knowledge, please note the significant travel required for success in this role.

Program Consulting, Business Development, and Beneficiary Engagement (35%)

• Lead Blue Forest’s consulting practice, developing strategies for consulting to public or private entities or new business models for revenue generation.
• Design and maintain systems for consulting practices, establishing frameworks and standards, impact requirements, resource planning processes, and accountability structures.
• In partnership with the Director of Natural Capital, help shape, advance, and implement beneficiary payor (water and electric utilities, corporates, local governments, etc.) engagement strategies across multiple projects and geographies.
• Develop a strategy to expand the FRB to other sectors and ecosystems while also developing alternative financing mechanisms based on partner needs in collaboration with the finance team and senior leadership.
• Collaborate with the science, finance, Indigenous partnerships, and conservation teams to identify and pursue new geographies, ecosystem restoration types, beneficiary funding streams, and other thematic opportunities for pipeline development and enhancement.

Department Leadership & Supervisor (15%)

• Continuously improve and progressively assume ownership of Blue Forest conservation finance practices, processes, systems, and documentation.
• Support Blue Forest communications, fundraising, and other teams in developing written content about project development team priorities, project pipeline, and processes
• Help refine the project development process and identify strategic areas of improvement (e.g. community engagement, beneficiary engagement). Propose new tools to accelerate and support the project development process.
• Supervise 2-3 team members on the project development team.

Desired Skills and Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in organizational leadership, business development, project management and execution, utility strategy, and/or management consulting. A passion for climate resilience and sustainability is required, and applications of these workstreams in an ecosystem restoration setting is a plus.
• Strategic, results-driven mindset and comfortable prioritizing competing needs, bringing structure to ambiguous situations, proactively researching and identifying creative solutions, and taking projects from ideas to implementation.
• Experience building new products, programs, and/or processes.
• Strong relationship management and business development skills, with demonstrated experience working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders and Native Nations to understand unique perspectives, work in partnership to design effective solutions, and foster long-standing relationships.
• Strong professional written and oral communication skills, including distilling and communicating complex ideas into presentations and written memos, facilitating multi-stakeholder collaborative discussions, and creating effective storytelling products.
• Experience in and desire to manage people/teams and strategically develop, support, and retain talent. Detail oriented and collaborative to develop strong relationships with partners, with the ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines
• Experience working with leadership or executive-level staff at utilities, corporations, and other beneficiary groups.
• Committed to continuous learning, including: seeking opportunities to incorporate feedback and learn from others, actively listening and taking note of opportunities to improve project development processes, documenting best practices, and exploring ways to promote engagement approaches anchored in historical place-based context.

Benefits

• 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision coverage; subsidized coverage for dependents
• Access to a 401(k) retirement plan with a 5% employer match
• 4 weeks paid vacation and 17 paid holidays; paid sick time and volunteer time
• 3 months of paid family leave
• Employer-paid life and long-term disability insurance
• Access to Dependent Care FSA and Health FSA
• Public Lands Exploration stipend (reimbursements for visits to National Forests, county parks, etc.)
• Monthly Home Office stipend or co-working space provided
• Dependent care costs are subsidized for business travel
• Additional stipends for health & wellness, home internet, and cell service
• Financial support for professional development

Additional Information

Blue Forest is a fully remote company with staff located across all four continental U.S. time zones. You will generally be expected to be online during Pacific Standard Time standard working hours in order to collaborate with partners and other team members. Blue Forest also hosts an in-person team retreat each year.