JOB DESCRIPTION Job Title Line Manager Location Flexibility Type of Contract: Salary: Purpose of the Role: Nature-based solutions (NbS) & Carbon Manager Head of Programme Quality and Advocacy Bristol, United Kingdom (Negotiable), occasional overseas travel Office-based with potential for home working FTE £46,853 per annum An exciting opportunity has arisen at Tree Aid for a Nature-based Solutions (NbS) & Carbon Manager. Building on two years of pioneering work, this role enters a pivotal new phase as Tree Aid consolidates and scales its NbS and carbon portfolio across the drylands of Africa. Tree Aid is recognised as a global leader in community-centred forest carbon, having become the first organisation worldwide to register an afforestation, reforestation and revegetation (ARR) project under Verra’s VM0047 methodology. With multiple new projects in the pipeline, the organisation is now focused on scaling high-integrity, rights-based carbon programming that delivers measurable climate, biodiversity and livelihood outcomes. This role offers a rare opportunity to strengthen technical leadership, influence market practice and help shape the future of equitable carbon finance at a critical moment in the global response to climate breakdown We are recruiting a confident and experienced professional to take forward and deepen this work, supporting the development and implementation of high-impact, community-based NbS projects, particularly afforestation, reforestation and revegetation (ARR), across Tree Aid’s countries of intervention (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Senegal). The role will lead the quantification of carbon sequestration benefits across an established and growing project portfolio, including the associated measurement, reporting and verification processes, translating Tree Aid’s forest restoration activities into registered, high-integrity carbon removal projects. The postholder will identify, develop and manage carbon estimation models, working closely with partners to deploy these at scale across regions. This requires confidence in working with data at multiple spatial and temporal scales, navigating varying levels of uncertainty, and analysing forest growth and yield models to generate robust estimates of environmental commodities and credit potential. The successful candidate will also have opportunities to work directly with investors, contribute to the marketing, trading and sale of resulting carbon credits, as well as to shaping how climate finance and carbon markets are mobilised and channelled in the most equitable and sustainable ways to support inclusive economic growth for host communities. Working closely with Tree Aid’s Advocacy Team, the role will contribute technical expertise to international influencing efforts and support the organisation’s ambition to deliver lasting change across the drylands of Africa. Tree Aid welcomes applications from candidates with varying levels of experience and anticipates that the role will offer significant scope for professional growth, including exposure to investment underwriting, investment management and investor engagement and portfolio-scale carbon strategy, as Tree Aid’s NbS and carbon work continues to mature. Key responsibilities NbS Project Development, Carbon Quantification and Implementation (70 %): • Provide technical leadership and backstopping for NbS projects across the full project life cycle, from early concept and feasibility through implementation, monitoring and credit issuance. • Work closely with in-country project development, restoration and forestry teams to support robust NbS project design, assess technical and financial feasibility, and evaluate potential social, environmental and sustainable development impacts. • • Lead pre-feasibility and feasibility-stage carbon analyses, including forest growth and yield modelling, to generate realistic long-term projections of forest carbon sequestration potential alongside high-integrity social and environmental co-benefits. Lead the application and ongoing operationalisation of recognised carbon standards and methodologies, particularly Verra methodologies relevant to afforestation, reforestation and revegetation (including VM0047), ensuring methodological compliance and technical integrity across the project portfolio. • Use a full suite of spatial (GIS), database, spreadsheet, programming and analytical tools (e.g. R and/or Python for scripting and modelling), to process, calculate, analyse and quality-control raw and finalised forest carbon and activity data. • Design, analyse and interpret forest inventory and related datasets using standard sampling protocols and software, maintaining workflows that allow dynamic re-calibration of growth curves and models using field-collected data. • Establish, manage and continuously improve data systems for Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV), and integrate newly developed systems with Tree Aid’s existing organisational data management platforms. • Lead and oversee the integration of drone-based data collection and analysis to support land suitability assessments, forest monitoring and participatory mapping at project level. • Drive continued technical progression in Tree Aid’s adoption of emerging tools and technologies, including land-cover classification algorithms, remote sensing products and AI-based object detection models. • Support and raise understanding across internal and external stakeholders in data requirements and management required for robust quantification in carbon projects and programs. • Develop and maintain an informed understanding of relevant regulatory frameworks in project countries, as well as evolving trends in voluntary and compliance carbon markets related to nature-based carbon removal • Stay up to date with emerging methodologies, tools and remote-sensing innovations across third- party certification standards that influence carbon, ecosystem services and environmental commodity markets. Technical Advice, Capacity Building and Learning (20%): • Provide technical advice, mentoring and oversight across country programmes and partner organisations to train, supervise and strengthen the technical capacity of staff and collaborators. • Facilitate the systematic sharing of lessons learned and best practice, and contribute to creating an organisational culture that supports innovation, continuous improvement and adaptive learning. • Support Tree Aid’s advocacy work by providing technical inputs that inform and influence international policy processes and sustainable investment mechanisms relevant to nature-based solutions. Representation (10%) • Act as a recognised technical authority for Tree Aid in the fields of nature-based solutions, forest restoration and carbon finance. • Represent Tree Aid in relevant national and international fora, including engagements related to sustainable finance and investment for NbS, and in UK, UN and multilateral policy and advocacy processes as required. • Undertake any other duties commensurate with the role, as directed by the Line Manager. Person Specification Personal Qualities • A strong commitment to international development and to addressing the challenges (E) faced by rural smallholder farmers in dryland Africa. • Clear alignment with Tree Aid’s vision, mission and values, and a demonstrated (E) commitment to working within a values-driven organisation. • A global outlook combined with cultural sensitivity, with the ability to work effectively (E) across ethnic, religious, linguistic and geopolitical contexts. • A proactive, solutions-oriented and positive approach to problem-solving. • Proven ability to rapidly grasp complex technical and strategic issues and communicate them clearly and concisely to management and non-technical audiences. (E) (E) • Ability to thrive in a medium-sized, dynamic, growing organisation demonstrating (E) autonomy in driving own work while contributing to the development of organisational approaches and ways of working. Experience • Academic or professional experience in the design and delivery of nature-based solutions (NbS) projects, including coordinating activities, managing budgets and meeting agreed timelines. (E) • Experience in forest carbon modelling and quantification, including the use of forest (E) growth and yield models. • Strong scientific and technical skills in data processing, analysis and statistical computing, including the use of Python and/or R, and database environments (e.g. PostgreSQL/PostGIS). Experience with machine learning approaches (e.g. Random Forest) and deep learning frameworks (e.g. PyTorch, TensorFlow) is an advantage. • Proficiency in geospatial analysis and remote-sensing tools, such as Google Earth Engine (GEE), QGIS, or equivalent platforms. • Experience in the design, analysis and interpretation of forest inventory data, and in the development or implementation of Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) plans. • Demonstrated understanding of carbon accounting standards and methodologies in a technical, investment or project development context, including familiarity with Verra methodologies relevant to ARR projects (e.g. VM0047). • Prior experience or exposure to carbon project development and certification processes within voluntary or compliance carbon markets. • Experience providing remote technical support to country offices and partners in developing country contexts. • Experience in technical report writing for funding agencies, investors and/or peer- reviewed or grey literature publications. (E) (E) (E) (E) (D) (D) (D) • Experience contributing to budget development, financial modelling for NbS, carbon or (D) environmental programmes. • Experience working with rural development or natural resource management (D) programmes in dryland Africa. Qualifications • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in forestry, forest biometrics, natural sciences, natural (D) resource management, environmental science, environmental data science, ecological modelling, or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience. Skills/Knowledge • Strong research, evaluation and analytical skills. • High attention to detail, with the ability to develop, implement and adhere to robust systems and processes that withstand internal and external scrutiny. (E) (E) • Demonstrated experience of fieldwork, including direct engagement with farmers and (E) local communities. • Good understanding of UK and international climate and/or environmental policy (D) frameworks. • Proficiency in managing, querying, and analysis of data within a relational database (E) environment. • Excellent written and spoken English. • Working knowledge of French is desirable; willingness to strengthen French language skills in post is strongly encouraged. • Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work in a multi-cultural team. • Excellent communication skills, including written, presentation and facilitation skills, with both technical and non-technical audiences. • Self-motivated, with good organisational, planning and time-management skills • Ability to work effectively under pressure and manage competing priorities. • Willingness and ability to travel and to undertake fieldwork. (E) (D) (E) (E) (E) (E) (E) Any candidate offered a job with TREE AID is required to sign TREE AID’s safeguarding policy and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of the policy. This role requires DBS checks.