Agriculture Carbon Specialist

About the Role

The Nature Conservancy is dedicated to achieving high environmental and climate integrity in our carbon projects, as well as unlocking new Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) pathways, geographies, business models, and innovative financing mechanisms. As part of the multidisciplinary Global Carbon Markets (GCM) team, the Agriculture Carbon Specialist supports field programs worldwide in planning, designing, and implementing high-integrity carbon projects. This position requires a strong technical background in developing high-integrity NCS agriculture carbon projects, accompanied by project management skills. The Agriculture Carbon Specialist will collaborate with TNC staff and partner organizations to bring promising ideas to fruition, helping to address the triple crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and equitable development. The Agriculture Carbon Specialist will also provide technical support to guarantee that projects meet TNC's criteria for high-quality, high-integrity carbon credits. They will manage the feasibility assessment and design of TNC carbon projects, assuming key responsibilities that include project planning and tracking, project-specific team leadership, budget design and management, time management, and project closure, among other tasks. Additionally, the Agriculture Carbon Specialist will also engage with Validation and Verification Bodies (VVBs) to support the validation and verification processes, facilitating the exchange of findings and response rounds with the VVBs and the carbon standard. The Agriculture Carbon Specialist will be responsible for coordinating relevant internal processes to ensure adherence to TNC's requirements for carbon projects across the Conservancy. They may serve as an advisor to TNC's Carbon Project Review Committee to evaluate and ensure adherence to TNC's guidelines for high-quality carbon credits. This position involves domestic and international travel (up to 25% of the person's time within a year). They will approach all work with a spirit of collaboration and respect for colleagues and partners across geographies, cultures, and subject matter expertise.

The location for this position is flexible for countries where TNC has existing staff/offices. This is a two-year term position with opportunity for extension based on budget and performance.

We're Looking For You

This is an exceptional career opportunity for a highly motivated and capable individual seeking to join the world's leading conservation organization.

Responsibilities

• Technical Advisory & Carbon Accounting: Provide expert technical guidance on soil carbon accounting principles, including analytical support and problem-solving skills to estimate credible baselines, demonstrate additionality, leakage management, and durability assessment across the full project lifecycle—from feasibility and design to development and implementation.
• Technical Analysis, Modeling & Reporting: Apply expertise in soil sampling, laboratory analysis, and biogeochemical modeling to quantify GHG fluxes and carbon outcomes; integrate findings with NCS soil carbon accounting methodologies and high-quality carbon standards into clear, decision-ready outputs, including feasibility assessments, project design documents (PDDs), and technical recommendations.
• Project Evaluation & Screening: Assess and rank prospective projects through review of Project Idea Notes (PINs) and technical criteria; contribute to internal governance processes (e.g., CPRC) to evaluate project quality, risks, and alignment with high-integrity carbon standards.
• Investment Due Diligence & Impact Assessment: May support the evaluation of external carbon project opportunities by assessing alignment with Impact Fund criteria and strategy, conducting technical due diligence, and providing recommendations on project integrity, risks, and expected impact.
• Standard & Methodology Selection: Guide project teams in selecting and applying the most appropriate high-quality carbon standards and methodologies to ensure project integrity and maximize the impact of carbon credits.
• Capacity Building & Training: Facilitate knowledge transfer and build internal and external stakeholder capacity through technical training, presentations, and ongoing support for TNC global, regional, and local teams.
• Tool Development & Optimization: Design, develop, and support the creation of essential applications, guidelines, templates, and tools to streamline and enhance the evaluation, feasibility assessment, design, and development phases of NCS carbon credit projects.
• Validation & Verification Support: Provide comprehensive support for project validation and verification, including the preparation of required documentation (e.g., Project Description Documents, Monitoring Reports) and engagement with Validation and Verification Bodies (VVBs).
• Project Management & Oversight: Manage assigned NCS agriculture carbon projects through feasibility and design stages, including planning, budgeting, team structuring, progress tracking, and risk mitigation.
• External Engagement & Representation: Represent the TNC Global Carbon Markets team in internal and external events and meetings, and support the evaluation, selection, and engagement with third-party consultants, developers, partners, and auditors.
• Risk Management & Quality Assurance: Advise on risk identification and mitigation strategies to uphold the highest quality criteria for carbon credits.
• Strategic Technical Integration: Apply cross-disciplinary knowledge to support overall program objectives, making strategic technical decisions based on thorough analysis, experience, and contextual understanding.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in natural science, forestry, geography, conservation, ecology, or a related field, and at least four years of relevant experience, or an equivalent combination.
• Demonstrated technical experience in evaluating, designing, and implementing NCS agriculture carbon projects (Agricultural Land Management, Avoided Conversion of Grasslands and Shrublands, Wetlands Restoration and Conservation, and Biochar).
• Experience working for voluntary carbon market standards, VVBs, and/or carbon project developers.
• Experience managing complex carbon projects or strategic initiatives at different stages of development (including project planning, initiation, implementation, monitoring, and closing) in an unstructured environment.
• Experience with the carbon project development cycle, soil sampling/analysis, biogeochemical models for GHG flux quantification, and NCS agriculture carbon accounting methodologies from high-quality carbon standards and compiling them into cohesive reports and recommendations (such as feasibility assessment reports or project design documents).
• Experience researching, critically analyzing, and evaluating information from divergent sources and compiling it into cohesive reports and recommendations for strategy and action.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Desired Qualifications

• Demonstrated scientific knowledge of soil organic carbon, and/or wetland conservation/restoration initiatives, and/or regenerative agriculture initiatives applied in carbon projects.
• Strong team player who can build relationships and work collaboratively across the organization and with Conservancy partners.
• Strong problem-solving and proactiveness.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and priorities simultaneously.
• Ability to write and speak in languages other than English, such as, but not limited to, Spanish, French, Portuguese, or Swahili, is a plus.

Pay

The starting pay range for a candidate selected for this position is generally within the range of $85,000–$110,000. This range only applies to candidates whose country of employment is the USA. Where a successful candidate's actual pay will fall within this range will be based on a variety of factors, including, for example, the candidate's location, qualifications, specific skills, and experience. Please note countries outside the USA would have a different pay range in the local currency based on the local labor market, and not tied to USA pay or ranges. Your geographic location will be confirmed during the recruitment.