About the job

Project Development Manager

Reports To:

Nick Wobbrock, Co-founder & COO

Preferred Start Date:

February/March 2021

Application Deadline:

Rolling, position open until filled. First round interviews begin 1/25.

Location:

Remote; Northern California or Pacific Northwest preferred.

About Blue Forest Conservation

Blue Forest is a small, innovative climate finance non-profit firm that develops financial tools to address pressing environmental challenges. We are an interdisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, foresters, finance and communications professionals committed to the mission of “Financial Innovation for Sustainable Solutions” through our culture of learning, collaboration, diligence, and innovation.

About the Forest Resilience Bond

In partnership with the US Forest Service and the World Resources Institute, Blue Forest developed our signature environmental bond, the Forest Resilience Bond (FRB), to overcome the funding gap for forest management. As a first of it's kind public-private partnership, the FRB enables private capital to catalyze public land management on National Forest land, thereby reducing wildfire risk and promoting ecological sustainability, by valuing the resulting ecosystem services. The FRB model is currently used exclusively for forest management interventions, but our successful replication and scaling of this ecosystem services model offers a new solution for financing a wide variety of climate interventions through public-private-partnerships at scale.

To date, Blue Forest has launched a $4M pilot FRB project on the Tahoe National Forest, will launch a 3-4x larger FRB project in California in 2021, and expects to launch $50M+ in FRB projects over the next five years across California and the Pacific Northwest.

Summary

The Project Development Manager is a highly valuable and strategic leader in our organization who assumes responsibility for leading the Forest Resilience Bond development team to achieve our visions for scale. As the key and sole financial product of Blue Forest, the success of the Forest Resilience Bond is key to the success of the entire organization.

The primary goals of the Project Development Manager at Blue Forest are to (1) manage the development process of individual forest resilience bond projects from conception to execution, (2) coordinate a diverse mix of partner organizations, governmental entities, tribes, utilities, non profits, and research partners, (3) develop standardized approaches and strategies to support the project development process, (4) support and coordinate other team members in the project development process, and (5) advise the Executive Team regarding strategies to expand the Forest Resilience Bond.

What you'll need to succeed

This role requires a strategic problem-solver who is an effective influencer and who has a heart for the environment, an eye for business, and an ability to communicate across sectors. They will need to deeply understand Blue Forest's business, the Forest Resilience Bond (FRB) development process, and demonstrate leadership and process improvement skills to replicate and scale the FRB across California and the Pacific Northwest in the coming years.

Project management, stakeholder engagement, and partnership building will be essential to succeed in this role. The ideal candidate has a combination of experience working in the environmental or conservation sectors, extensive multi-million dollar project management experience, and expertise in developing impact bonds, conservation finance projects, and/or public private partnerships. This is a high visibility role with tremendous professional growth opportunities.

Responsibilities & Duties

FRB Business Development & Growth Strategy

• Lead Forest Resilience Bond project development team and activities to develop all FRB projects or initiatives
• Build the necessary process and partnerships to launch the FRB in new states
• Research, benchmark, and analyze data to make strategic recommendations regarding FRB project beneficiaries
• Design a system and pipeline to scale the FRB to a cumulative value of $50M+ in five years

FRB Process Improvement

• Identify process improvement opportunities from Blue Forest’s existing tools
• Propose new tools to accelerate and support the project development process
• Write or lead project proposals, funding plans, and other documents to support the project development process
• Audit the existing Project Development Framework

FRB Project Management

• Develop project development plans and coordinate among many parties
• Be a lead point of contact responsible for all relationships associated with the project(s)
• Coordinate Blue Forest’s internal resources to deliver project development milestones

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of relevant project development experience minimum, 5+ years preferred (in public infrastructure, natural resources, social impact, or related sectors)
• Bachelor’s Degree
• Highly developed written and verbal communication skills
• Strong organization and planning skills
• Project management experience - from scoping projects to successful execution
• Ability to successfully manage multiple projects simultaneously
• Excellent problem solving skills
• High emotional intelligence
• Strategic mindset and ability to prioritize among many needs
• Self-starter and self-motivated
• Ability to work remotely

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with ecosystem services, impact bonds, public-private partnerships, or conservation finance HIGHLY DESIRED
• 5+ years of relevant experience
• Experience in the social or environmental sectors
• Familiarity with local, state, or federal public sector work
• Experience working or volunteering in environmental/social justice
• Business or engineering consulting experience a plus

Benefits 

• Employer paid health, dental, and vision coverage
• 401k retirement plan with 4% employer match
• 3 weeks paid vacation to start and 17 paid holidays 
• Health & Wellness Stipend
• Explore the Outdoors Stipend
• Home Office Stipend or Co-Working Space provided 
• Paid family leave

Target Compensation Package

Competitive compensation dependent on experience

HOW TO APPLY

To apply to this position, submit a resume and cover letter to . Applications without cover letters will not be considered. People from historically underrepresented populations and candidates with non-traditional career paths are especially encouraged to apply. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, and those submitted by Friday, January 22nd will be part of the first round of review and eligible for interviews beginning the week of January 25th.

Blue Forest provides employment and opportunities for advancement, compensation, training, and growth according to individual merit, without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, genetic information, disability, veteran-status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable Federal, state, or local law. Applicants must have authorization to work in the United States.