Landscape Program Manager, US Southeast

About Earthworm

Earthworm Foundation is a global non-profit organization based in Switzerland with over 300 employees across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. With most of our staff working directly on the ground where issues arise, we believe that supply chains can become powerful engines of prosperity for communities and ecosystems.

Guided by our core values of courage, humility, compassion, truth, and respect, we collaborate with companies and partners to address the environmental and social challenges of production practices. Our vision includes forests as boundless sources of materials and biodiversity, communities with respected rights and development opportunities, workers as valued partners, and agriculture as an instrument to regeneration, aiming to nurture humanity while keeping our climate stable.

Your Role

As the Landscape Program Manager, US Southeast, you will be primarily be responsible for:

• Leading the end-to-end design and development of the US Southeast Landscape Initiative, building on prior diagnostic and scoping work to shape a credible, investable, and implementation-ready multi-stakeholder program with clear goals, governance, financial and operational foundations, and pathways to impact.
• Convening and aligning a diverse set of actors including global brands, forest product suppliers, private and family forest landowners, NGOs, and state/local agencies translating between local operational realities and downstream brand commitments to ensure solutions are both grounded, scalable, and replicable.
• Driving technical project design in close collaboration with the Supply Chain Transformation Manager (SCTM), integrating risk mapping, priority practices, baseline setting, monitoring approaches, and cost and feasibility considerations into a coherent landscape strategy that supports supplier engagement and future claims.
• Serving as the primary relationship-builder and facilitator for the initiative, building trust with local stakeholders while guiding brands and suppliers through collaborative design processes that move beyond assurance toward tangible, on-the-ground action.
• Steering the initiative from development to formal launch and early scale, including coordinating field visits, synthesizing stakeholder input into concrete intervention models, establishing operational and funding frameworks for long-term viability, supporting CGF Forest Positive Coalition alignment, and preparing the initiative for sustained implementation.

Your Profile

You are someone who knows how to take an idea and make it real. You bring 6–8 years of combined academic and professional experience in forestry, forest product supply chains, environmental management, or a related field, including hands-on experience designing and launching complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives. You are energized by the “messy middle” of project development where vision meets constraints and are motivated by growing durable programs that deliver measurable environmental outcomes and lasting value for partners.

You bring a strong foundation in forest product supply chains, particularly pulp, paper, and packaging, and understand how global brand commitments intersect with supplier operations and landowner realities. You are comfortable working across technical dimensions, including forest restoration, market dynamics, and conservation strategies. You use this knowledge to tackle challenges such as forest degradation, land conversion, and scaling certification, while remaining attentive to land tenure, equity, and community dynamics. You can translate between data, field realities, and strategic priorities, helping diverse stakeholders align around shared goals.

You are both strategic and hands-on: capable of setting direction and equally willing to roll up your sleeves to move work forward. You excel at structuring complex, multi-actor initiatives into clear workplans, coordinating parallel workstreams, and adapting as new information emerges. Above all, you are a collaborative builder curious, pragmatic, and trusted able to bridge local stakeholders and downstream brands to turn ambition into action.

Workings Conditions

• Location: Based in the Southeastern United States and working remotely – preference for Charlotte, NC. Also accepting applications from the following locations: LA, MS, AL, GA, SC, NC or Northern FL, or Washington, DC.
• Travel: Semi-regular air travel (maximum of once per month), primarily within the US Southeast, with occasional travel elsewhere in the US
• Language: English required
• Scheduling flexibility required to accommodate calls and meetings across global time zones
• Valid work authorization required
• Employment: Full-time position, open-ended contract
• Start date: Immediate start

Compensation & Benefits

• $70,000-$88,000 annually, depending on experience
• 25 days paid leave per year
• 11 paid public holidays
• Paid sick and safe time
• 10 weeks paid parental leave (supplemental to state parental leave programs)
• Short/long term disability and life insurance
• Employer subsidized medical and dental Insurance
• SIMPLE IRA with employer match