Carbon Portfolio Director

OFFICE LOCATION

This role may be based in any country where TNC has an established entity and is within 6 hours of Eastern Time, taking into consideration legal restrictions, such as non-national ratios and immigration processing times.

#Open until filled

Who We Are

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.”

What We Can Achieve Together

The Impact Finance & Markets (IFM) division at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) provides technical and strategic leadership to create transformational impact with the private sector by translating the value of nature and conservation approaches into actionable, science-based strategies that can help solve societal challenges. Sitting in the Global Carbon Markets team, one of four teams in the IFM Division, the Carbon Portfolio Director ensures a global portfolio of high-quality natural climate solutions (NCS) carbon credit projects are successfully launched and investable.

Through our Natural Climate Solutions Accelerator (NCSA) program and Carbon Business Incubator, TNC is currently supporting 25 NCS carbon projects in 18 countries with the technical and financial support needed to launch as a model global portfolio. The program has grown rapidly in scope and complexity and is seeking a talented leader. The program and strategy are already well underway and this position is an exciting opportunity for a motivated person to build on a strong foundation with a highly talented team and take it to the next level.

This is a two-year limited term position that may be based in any country where TNC has an established entity and is within 6 hours of Eastern Time, taking into consideration legal restrictions, such as non-national ratios and immigration processing times.

WE'RE LOOKING FOR YOU

The Carbon Portfolio Director is responsible for the overall success, effective operation and efficiency of the NCS Accelerator and a related Carbon Business Incubator (launched in Feb 2025). They will work closely with senior technical staff that oversee all technical aspects of project selection and development, resource management staff that track financial and technical resource distribution, and new leadership for the just launched Carbon Business Incubator. They will ensure clear decisions are made, and clear priorities are set, in collaboration with the Managing Director, Global Carbon Markets, an NCS Accelerator Steering Committee and other leaders. The successful candidate will have process expertise in multiple business areas and will formulate and develop new or modified business processes for and across all organizational business lines. They will provide leadership to project teams in order to assess processes for improvement and create new processes to enhance organizational outcomes. They will identify and implement solutions to ensure the optimal alignment of strategies, talent, processes, and tools. They will create and/or identify process performance indicators and provide expertise related to the implementation of recommendations. They will wake up every day focused on the health and effectiveness of the entire carbon portfolio. They will introduce best practice business processes and the culture of iteration and continuous improvement needed to ensure the success of a complex global portfolio. The position will report to the Managing Director, Global Carbon Markets and will chair the NCS Accelerator Steering Committee.

Responsibilities & Scope

• Oversee a complex global portfolio of >25 carbon projects during the development and business incubation stage;
• Hold responsibility for seeing the whole picture of the NCS Accelerator and Carbon Business Incubator including proactively identifying issues that could jeopardize the health or efficiency of the portfolio;
• Creates a culture of trust, transparency, iteration and continuous improvement. Responsible for change management when needed. Introduces new and/or improved business operations and processes and works closely with team members to gain buy-in and ensure uptake;
• Champions a business-oriented mindset among direct reports, sub-teams, and among the carbon project portfolio to ensure NGO originated carbon projects are prepared to transition to successful businesses;
• Support the Managing Director, Global Carbon Markets as needed to build and improve relationships with TNC leaders and external audiences to increase the support and success of TNC’s carbon project portfolio;
• Possess the judgement and discretion needed to make clear decisions often with incomplete information and know when to elevate issues to the Managing Director for resolution;
• Able to navigate internal dynamics in a highly complex global organization and ensure the carbon project portfolio is prioritized and successful;
• Supervise multiple staff including training, professional development, establishing clear directions, setting “stretch” objectives, and overseeing execution of day-to-day work;
• Design and lead collaborative, complex, and diversified projects, coordinating the work of other professionals, managing budget, and ensuring accountability;
• Direct or participate in negotiations for complex, high profile or sensitive agreements;
• Ensure compliance with TNC policies and procedures and external (donor/legal/IRS) requirements; decisions may have organization-wide impact and bind the organization financially or legally;
• Maintain confidentiality of frequently sensitive and emotionally charged information;
• May develop and administer budget, evaluate results, and develop corrective strategies, as needed;
• May involve domestic and international travel of around 25%;
• Work environment involves only infrequent exposure to disagreeable elements and minor physical exertion and/or strain.
  
  

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree and 7 years related experience or equivalent combination, including 2 years in process management;
• 3 or more years experience developing and managing multiple cross functional projects, ideally directing process initiatives in both short and long lifecycles;
• Experience with current and evolving technology and tools related to business process management;
• Experience with organizational change management principles and techniques;
• Experience successfully navigating cross-functional teams across multiple organizational levels; and
• Experience, coursework, or other training in principles, practices, and procedures of carbon markets, other ecosystem markets, or international development.
  
  

Desired Qualifications

• Experience developing carbon market projects, carbon finance, natural climate solutions, and carbon accounting is highly desirable;
• Social enterprise development experience is highly desirable;
• Private sector experience is highly desirable;
• Multi-lingual skills and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experiences are highly appreciated;
• Ability to make strategic decisions based on analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment;
• Effective communication skills via presentations, conversations, and documents;
• Supervisory experience including setting objectives, managing performance, and conflict resolution.
  
  

What We Bring

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.

SALARY INFORMATION

This position may be based in any country where TNC has an established entity, taking into consideration legal restrictions, such as non-national ratios and immigration processing times. For U.S. based applicants only, the starting pay range for this position is generally within the range of $140,000- $170,000 for annual base salary and is based on location, qualifications, specific skills, and experience. This range only applies to candidates whose country of employment is the USA. For all other applicants, pay ranges will be in local currency, the pay range will be based on the local labor market, and not tied to the above pay range. Your geographic location will be confirmed during the recruitment and used to determine your actual pay range. Additionally, for all applicants, actual pay will fall within a range based on a variety of factors including, for example, the candidate’s qualifications, specific skills, and experience.

APPLY NOW

To apply for job ID 56513, submit your materials online by using the Apply Now button at https://careers.nature.org/ . Need help applying? Visit our recruitment page or contact applyhelp@tnc.org .

Our recruiting process is a rolling interview process to ensure we engage applicants in a timely manner. This means we review applications in the order in which they are received. Once a strong candidate pool is identified, the role will be unposted. The timeline may vary depending on the expressed interest in the role, so we highly encourage candidates to apply as soon as possible.

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.

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 applyhelp@tnc.org 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.