Carbon Investments Manager

Carbon Investments Manager

Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork, and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, biodiversity, and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples, and local communities to help people and nature thrive together.

POSITION SUMMARY - This position is based preferably in Mexico City-Mexico, Lima-Peru, or Brazil (remote). It is also open to La Paz-Bolivia, Bogota-Colombia, San Jose-Costa Rica, or Quito-Ecuador.

Amid growing consensus that the protection, restoration, and improved management of ecosystems can provide at least 30% of the climate mitigation needed to limit warming to 1.5 C, Conservation International (CI) has set ambitious targets to realize the potential of natural climate solutions (NCS) worldwide. The Carbon Finance (CF) team within CI’s Conservation Finance Division (CFD) is working across CI to source and finance a portfolio of high-quality NCS projects, creating industry-leading partnerships with the private sector and connections with CI field programs to ensure the delivery of ambitious climate and conservation targets.

The CF team prioritizes impact through community engagement, biodiversity, safeguards, and high-quality carbon credits, as well as through projects which are located in “Irrecoverable Carbon” and Biodiversity hotspots. Each member of this team plays a critical role in making this impact mission a success.

This position is an integral part of the CF team by ensuring that high-quality carbon projects are sufficiently funded throughout their lifecycle, while the needs and interests of stakeholders are taken into account. The role will be working closely with global origination and technical teams to support the delivery of turn-key service to both external partners and internally developed projects. The team is engaged with several leading institutional asset managers and corporates who rely on CI’s expertise to design, structure, and manage natural capital impact strategies. The role will require working with internal and external partners to identify, review, and present project opportunities and then at a portfolio level, implement and manage these projects.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Origination/pipeline phase

Support the Origination Team in the review of NCS carbon concept notes and advanced proposals to identify opportunities that best meet CI's impact objectives.

Evaluate, at an early stage, the viability of potential projects by preparing key financial analyses, including equity, debt, grant, and insurance assumptions.

Contribute to and coordinate CI’s investment review process in cooperation with other teams.

Structure funding proposals, evaluate feasibility, analyze operational and financial risks, and draft reports and investment proposals for internal review.

Track developments and monitor NCS markets to gather information related to investment terms, sizes, the position of relevant players in the market, and new products.

Structuring and fundraising

Financially engineer projects with multiple tranches and blended finance approaches that involve various concessional and commercial sources in the same capital stack.

Develop information materials, create proposals/ pitch documents for CI purposes.

Participate in, and support coordination and planning of meetings.

Work with the various project stakeholders to gather inputs, while feasibility work is underway.

Improve internal materials, processes and tools.

Improve metrics and data analytics in the context of financial modeling.

Contribute to the knowledge and relationship base of the carbon finance team.

Manage timelines and deliverables of transactions, ensuring adherence to established milestones and deadlines.

Consistently follow up to ensure timely progress up to and including execution of funding agreements.

Build and maintain data rooms for various programs.

Perform other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Does not have direct supervisory authority.

Act as a technical or subject matter expert to peers and other staff.

Will be responsible for managing project-related budgets, consultants, and vendors but decisions that bind or commit CI are approved by the immediate supervisor.

May lead “matrixed” project teams. Matrixed project teams are those which do not have a single supervisor and are often multi-divisional.

WORKING CONDITIONS

This is a full-time position.

Travel within the region will consist of approximately ~20% of the person's time, often this will entail travel to remote locations for project due diligence.

Flexibility in work schedule is required in order to accommodate time differences between the Arlington, VA office and CI field offices located in multiple time zones.

Guidance on flexible work arrangements will be shared during the interview process.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

Undergraduate degree in finance or business, environmental science field, or another relevant discipline.

4 to 6 years of relevant working experience ideally in transaction advisory roles such as project finance, deal advisory, infrastructure, or/and buy-side experience with funds, private equities, and investment managers.

Advanced data analysis and financial modeling skills.

Exposure to and understanding of Natural Climate Solutions or non-NCS carbon finance projects.

Proven team player able to work effectively across cultures and within and across organizations.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Demonstrated problem solving skills and ability to build on existing knowledge to develop new approaches.

Ability to thrive in fast paced environment and entrepreneurial approach to work and strong team player skills.

Ability to work autonomously.

Self-starter

Empathy and ability to build consensus and work as a team.

Demonstrate a “can do” approach in an environment that is fast-moving and dynamic.

Preferred

Graduate degree.

Experience working across several different NCS pathways and project types (e.g. REDD, sustainable grasslands management, ARR, Blue Carbon).

Experience working in a developing country context.

Experience with non-governmental organizations (NGO), conservation partners, development institutions, and corporate sustainability/climate programs.

Prior experience in developing and structuring carbon products (either tech-based or nature-based).

Fluency with data analysis, visualization tools (eg., Tableau, MS Power BI, etc.), and programming (e.g., R, python suite for Excel, etc.).

Fluency in a CI language (e.g. Portuguese, Spanish, Bahasa, or French).

To apply for this position please submit a resume and cover letter in English.

Application Deadline: July 16, 2024 (11:49 ET)

See all Conservation International Career Opportunities HERE

Conservation International is an equal opportunity, affirmative action, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility-committed employer. We are proud to have a diverse, global workforce where employment decisions are based on qualifications, experience, position requirements, business needs, market conditions, merit, and other legitimate nondiscriminatory factors.

As a science-based organization, CI follows CDC recommendations for COVID-19 and other vaccines. Accordingly, for the health and safety of our employees, their families, and our community, subject to applicable local law, all Conservation International staff are expected to be vaccinated against COVID-19. However, vaccination is no longer a mandate or condition of employment and employees are not required to provide proof of vaccination. This means we will not require an individual to be vaccinated to enter a CI office, attend CI events or travel on CI-related trips. This applies for our community partners as well. This vaccine expectation applies to all team members working remotely, in a hybrid work arrangement, and on-site. Job applicants are NOT required to state their COVID-19 vaccine status in their application.