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The Rainforest Alliance (RA) is an international nonprofit organization that works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. Based in New York City, with offices throughout the United States and worldwide, the Rainforest Alliance works with people whose livelihoods depend on the land, helping them transform the way they grow food, harvest wood and host travelers. SmartWood (SW) is a program of the Rainforest Alliance created in 1989; it is the oldest global forestry certification program and has been accredited by the internationally recognized Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). SmartWood’s mission is to promote the implementation of sustainable forestry worldwide. To accomplish this, SmartWood provides forest management and chain of custody certification services. Chain-of-Custody (CoC) certification verifies the flow of certified forest products through the supply chain, from the forest to the point of sale, assuring consumers and forest product companies that the wood they buy comes from certified forests. Position Summary The Verification Services Manager will be responsible for providing leadership and ongoing development of SmartWood’s portfolio of verification services and providing support in the delivery of those services into major markets of activity for SmartWood, particularly Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Verification services and programs will include verification of legal origin and legal compliance, carbon forestry projects, custom-tailored, client-defined sourcing requirements, and verification of social or conservation criteria, such as High Conservation Value Forests. S/he will develop large scale (i.e., country or region level) programs to test and implement legality verification systems within selected countries (i.e., Peru or Nicaragua) in collaboration with governments, donors, and private sector. S/he will coordinate the fundraising and financial support necessary for such a program. Responsibilities Legality Verification - In coordination with SW senior management, strengthen and enhance strategic planning to develop this service globally;
- In coordination with SW Certification Quality and Systems Manager (CQS), produce standards, policies, evaluation guidance, reporting templates, and other systems;
- Monitor the consistency and quality in implementation of legality verification services in close coordination with SW’s CQS;
- Assist each relevant SW regional and partner office in their planning of sales and service delivery in order to plan for appropriate technical support, tools, and training to realize targets;
- Prepare regular reports to highlight achievements on a worldwide basis of the legality verification program (monthly, quarterly, and annual reports);
- Develop and enhance marketing and sales materials related to legality services in coordination with the SW Marketing Manager;
- Market the service to potential clients, directly and/or with SW regional and partner offices;
- Coordinate and develop large (country or region) scale legality verification proposals;
- Work with regions to develop country-specific standards of legality;
- Coordinate with organizations such as EIA, Helveta, WWF, Forest Trends, TNC, FERN, and Greenpeace, as well as governmental agencies and timber traders concerning legality verification activities and issues;
- Coordinate with SW Training Manager to provide training regional and network partner offices;
Carbon Project Verification - Strengthen and enhance, in coordination with the Climate Change Manager, the strategic planning for these services;
- Assist in planning of sales, volume and profitability targets with each relevant SW regional and partner office;
- Monitor and report achievement of these targets on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, and annual reports);
- Coordinate with Climate Technical Specialist on production of carbon verification evaluation guidance, reporting templates, and other tools or audit systems;
- Develop and enhance marketing and sales materials related to legality and deliver presentations on carbon verification;
- Coordinate with organizations involved in carbon forest validation/verification;
Other Verification Services - Develop, with SW management, a global strategic plan for these services;
- Manage, monitor, and report upon achievement of these targets on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, and annual reports);
- Maintain the existing marketing materials and update them as needed;
- Support regional staff in marketing the service to potential clients; and
- Provide training and support to SW regional staff as needed.
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Qualifications - BS or BA degree in forestry/forest industries, ecology, or natural resource management; MS or MA degree preferred;
- 5-7 years of management level field experience in forestry or rural natural resources management and/or economic development;
- Experience with complex forestry issues in developing countries;
- Knowledge of SmartWood FSC certification protocols, a plus;
- Must have strong planning, analytical, and project management skills, and be a good consensus-builder;
- Strong verbal and written communication skills in English language;
- Ability to communicate in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian or a Malay-based language a plus;
- Strong computer skills (MS Office and Internet); and
- Ability to travel 20-30% of time.
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Compensation Commensurate with experience. Competitive benefits package provided. To Apply Please use our online employment application form or email resume, cover letter and salary history to Rainforest Alliance, 665 Broadway, Suite 500, New York, NY 10012; Fax: 212-677-2187; Email: personnel@ra.org. The Rainforest Alliance is an equal opportunity employer.
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