JOB DESCRIPTION

POSITION SUMMARY

The Hunter Parks Forest Conservation Fellowship at ACR has been established jointly with Green Assets, in remembrance of the organizations’ business colleague, founder, and dear friend.

The Hunter Parks Fellow will engage on a day-to-day basis with forestry and carbon market experts as a member of the ACR Forestry team. The successful candidate will gain valuable experience in the evaluation of forest carbon project design and implementation to support our ongoing work to harness the power of carbon markets to conserve, sustainably manage and restore forestlands across the U.S.

The two-year Fellowship will be awarded to a recent forestry graduate on a competitive basis, after which time the incumbent may be considered for a full-time position with ACR. Preference will be given to candidates who embody Hunter’s passion for conservation and demonstrate the utmost character and initiative in promoting fair and sustainable business practices for landowners.

The Hunter Parks Fellow is a technical position within ACR providing support to the ACR Forestry Director and Managing Director as well as other colleagues within the ACR team. The person in this role will contribute to most aspects of ACR services, including performing routine and increasingly complex project reviews accurately and independently, developing and maintaining systems for project record keeping, and attending site visits and performing audits. They will ensure that projects move through the Registry process efficiently and with appropriate attention to detail. ACR prides itself on being responsive and providing sound technical knowledge to all our partners. They will provide technical support to external stakeholders, ensuring consistency and adherence to ACR, CARB, and Ecology requirements.

The successful candidate must be able to obtain and apply a functional understanding of GHG emissions/carbon accounting principles and functional expertise in the ACR methodologies and compliance protocols they support. They will possess (or quickly develop) a detailed understanding of the ACR Standard and other ACR policies, California’s Cap-and-Trade Regulation, Washington State’s Climate Commitment Act and associated regulations, and associated project-level methodologies within forestry, agriculture, and other land use (AFOLU) sectors (e.g., active conservation, improved forest management, afforestation/reforestation, wetlands).

The position requires strong technical and analytical expertise, excellent attention to detail, and the ability to track and adhere to deadlines, among other skills listed below. Further, they must have a willingness and ability to learn on the job; be comfortable working in a flexible, fast-paced environment; share a commitment to Winrock’s mission; and have an interest in market-based approaches to reducing GHG emissions.

 

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

• Perform routine and increasingly complex GHG emissions reduction and removal project reviews accurately, efficiently, independently, and according to regulatory deadlines (where required), seeking input from colleagues and leadership as needed.
• Provide accurate, consistent and coherent technical support to external stakeholders (e.g., project developers, validation and verification bodies, regulators) on matters that come up as part of project implementation, verification, and review, seeking input from colleagues and leadership as needed.
• Provide basic support to external stakeholders on routine use of the registry, seeking input from or escalating to registry staff as needed.
• Develop and/or maintain institutional systems for project record keeping, regulatory guidance tracking, and sector-specific technological advancements.
• Attend site visits and perform audits, as assigned.
• Perform technical and policy analysis, as assigned.
• Support and contribute to technical team and ACR objectives appropriate to level of experience and expertise (e.g., develop template and presentation materials, coordinate across ACR teams, develop internal policies and procedures, develop project GIS maps, support co-benefits efforts, author sections of ACR policy documents, perform policy analysis) in coordination with leadership, as assigned.
• Provide administrative, technical, and policy support for methodology development and updates, as assigned.
• Represent ACR externally (e.g., working groups, conference presentations), as assigned.
• Complete other tasks as assigned.

 

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Recent graduate with Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Forestry, Natural Resources, GHG emissions accounting, or a related field. Advanced degree preferred.

Experience: Professional experience and/or relevant work or research-related experience is required.

Preferred Qualifications: Experience in, training in, and/or familiarity with fundamental forest quantification and GHG emissions/carbon accounting principles, verification and auditing standards, and at least one of the ACR Forestry sector project types. Familiarity and experience related to forest ecology, carbon markets, forest carbon measurement and monitoring, forest inventory design and statistics, silviculture, or related fields.

Computer/Technical Skills: Proficiency in MS Office suite (Outlook, Word, Excel), GIS and SharePoint, is required.

Communication Skills: Strong writing skills required.

Language: Fluency in spoken and written English is required. Fluency in one or more additional languages is an asset.

Required Travel: Must be available to travel 1-3 times per year for short-term assignments.

Position-Specific Skills:

• Strong technical and analytical expertise
• Excellent attention to detail
• Ability to track and adhere to deadlines and perform required reviews with speed, accuracy, and efficiency
• Ability to work well in teams and independently on multiple projects at a time without sacrificing quality
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills

• Ability to meticulously review and provide substantive feedback on datasets and documents

• Ability to consistently interact with others in a professional, courteous, and tactful manner
• Strong interpersonal skills, integrity, and trustworthiness
• Strong speaking, presentation, and written communication skills

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements