Carbon Project Specialist

1. Project Background and Context

The ProTana project (“Protecting water supplies and catchments in Ethiopia’s Tana Subbasin”) is a multi-sectoral initiative led by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in partnership with the Millennium Water Alliance (MWA), Abbay Basin Administration Office (ABAO), WaterAid, and ORDA. Operating in the North Mecha, Farta, and Dera woredas of the Amhara Region, the project addresses the critical degradation of the Tana Subbasin, where declining water quality and quantity threatens the livelihoods of 3 million people.

ProTana employs an integrated model that bridges the gap between water resources management (WRM) and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). By looking at the system from source to tap, the project combines community-led watershed restoration (aiming to rehabilitate 2,000 hectares of degraded land) with institutional strengthening to ensure that water supplies and services remain resilient against climatic shifts, ecological degradation, and governance challenges. A central pillar of this strategy is the exploration and development of innovative financing mechanisms to ensure long-term system sustainability and continued watershed protection. This consultancy focuses on assessing and establishing a high-integrity carbon credit mechanism that layers nature-based sequestration with water-related emission reductions. The goal is to generate a predictable revenue stream to fund the operation and maintenance (O&M) of rural water schemes and continued watershed stewardship, providing a scalable proof of concept for the nexus of climate finance and water security.

The consultant will be hired and supervised by MWA as part of MWA’s role in the ProTana project scope. He/she will work closely with WRI and other consortium partners during this assignment.

2. Objective

The objective of this consultancy is to serve as the lead technical expert for the ProTana Carbon Credit Initiative. The specialist will transition the project from its current conceptual stage through a formal feasibility assessment, project design, and initial registration. A key focus is examining the potential for layering diverse carbon methodologies and, if feasible, establishing a proof of concept to create a predictable, multi-year revenue stream that is directly reinvested into local water service sustainability. Such a proof of concept could be relevant beyond the project geography to the broader carbon financing for water space. This is a part-time, intermittent assignment where the Level of Effort will fluctuate based on the project’s technical requirements and the timeline of the registry submission process.

3. Roles and Responsibilities

Technical Project Development and Methodology Application

• Methodology selection: The specialist will identify and apply the most appropriate international carbon methodologies, such as the Gold Standard for the Global Goals (GS4GG) or Verra (VCS), specifically focusing on those relevant to safe water supply and afforestation/reforestation. The inception phase and methodology selection will involve reviewing and analyzing the project scope, anticipated interventions, and local WASH activities to identify opportunities for carbon emission reduction and sequestration.
• Establishing baselines and additionality: A core responsibility is to define the project boundary and establish rigorous emission baselines. This includes developing the technical argument for suppressed demand, quantifying the carbon emissions avoided by providing safe water access to communities that currently lack the resources to treat water. The specialist will further demonstrate additionality by providing a rigorous financial and barrier analysis proving that the landscape restoration and O&M activities exceed standard regional practices and require carbon revenue to be viable.
• Managing the Project Design Document (PDD): The specialist will lead the technical writing and compilation of the PDD, ensuring all data regarding land eligibility, leakage, and permanence risks meet the stringent requirements of international registries.

Financial Modeling and Business Case Development

• Developing revenue and cost projections: The specialist will build a comprehensive financial model that evaluates different carbon price scenarios against the costs of monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV). This model must clearly show the net revenue available for O&M after transaction fees.
• Designing benefit-sharing mechanisms: Drawing on best practices, the specialist will design transparent frameworks for the distribution of carbon revenue proceeds. This involves ensuring that funds are ring-fenced for water system maintenance and that local communities and woredas are incentivized to maintain both the water infrastructure and the restored landscapes.
• Comparative Advantage Analysis: The specialist will explicitly evaluate the revenue and operational advantages of a combined carbon credit scheme (layering NRM/reforestation with clean water provision) versus standalone interventions. This includes assessing cost-sharing efficiencies in MRV systems, simplified stakeholder engagement, and the potential for a premium price per credit due to high-integrity, multi-benefit nature of an integrated model.

Stakeholder Engagement and Regulatory Compliance

• Navigating the Ethiopian regulatory landscape: The specialist will act as the primary liaison with the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), regional bureaus and any other relevant authority to ensure alignment with national climate policies and host-country authorization processes and compliance with national environmental laws and international carbon standards.
• Leading community and local government consultations: This role involves conducting participatory workshops at the woreda level to define carbon rights and obtain buy-in for the project. The specialist must ensure that the governance structure is equitable and understood by all local actors.

Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) Systems

• Digital integration for MRV: Working with the project data team, the specialist will oversee the integration of carbon and hydrological indicators into the mWater platform. This includes designing data collection protocols for field staff to ensure high-quality evidence for future audits.
• Preparing for validation and verification: The specialist will manage the relationship with third-party Validation and Verification Bodies (VVBs), ensuring all supporting documentation is organized and that the project is ready for its first verification cycle.
• MRV system design: Design MRV systems to accurately track carbon benefits linked to water supply interventions. Prepare documentation for verification audits, third-party assessments, and funding proposals.

Capacity Building and Knowledge Transfer

• Institutionalizing expertise: The specialist will develop technical training materials and practitioner briefs for ProTana and woreda-level staff to strengthen their understanding of carbon market processes and governance. This includes hands-on mentorship to community monitors on using the mWater platform for high-integrity carbon data collection and baseline sampling.
• Strategic roadmap and policy support: The specialist will produce an actionable scaling roadmap and financial strategy to guide ProTana in future carbon developer engagements beyond the pilot phase. Additionally, they will support technical dialogues with local government offices to demonstrate how carbon revenue can be integrated into existing water and watershed budget frameworks.

4. Key Deliverables and Projected Timeline

• Phase 1: Feasibility and Technical Justification (Months 1–6): A comprehensive technical assessment of carbon sequestration potential, methodology selection, and a summary of legal/regulatory requirements in Ethiopia. This phase involves the delivery of formal justification for additionality and suppressed demand for the WASH-related project components. It will further require preparation of inception report, work plan, and consultations held.
• Phase 2: Financial Model and Institutional Capacity (Months 7–12): A detailed business case including projected revenue flows and a formal agreement template for fund management at the woreda level. This phase must include a comparative strategic assessment detailing the revenue advantages, transaction cost efficiencies, and marketing positioning benefits of the layered methodology approach over standalone project. This phase also requires the delivery of a capacity building package, consisting of practitioner briefs and training modules to strengthen local government and partner understanding of carbon governance.
• Phase 3: Completed Project Design Document (PDD) and Registration Submission (Months 13–24): The submission of the full project package to the selected registry and successful completion of the initial public consultation period. This deliverable includes the finalized data collection protocols and mWater dashboards required to support future verification audits.

5. Required Qualifications and Expertise

• Technical Carbon Expertise: At least 5 years of experience in carbon asset development, with specific knowledge of household-level WASH methodologies and nature-based solutions. Demonstrated experience with international carbon standards (VCS, Gold Standard, CDM, etc.).
• Regional Experience: Proven experience working within the Ethiopian environmental and water sectors, with a deep understanding of local governance and the OneWASH National Program.
• Analytical and Commercial Skills: Strong financial modeling skills and the ability to evaluate the commercial viability of projects in a fluctuating voluntary carbon market.
• Education: A Master’s degree in Environmental Science, Natural Resource Management, Economics, or a related field.
• Language: Fluency in written and spoken English is essential for high-level technical reporting and partnership management. Proficiency in Amharic is considered a strong asset and will be viewed favorably, but is not a prerequisite for international or regional candidates.

6. Application Process

To apply, please send a CV/Resume, a signed cover letter, and at least three professional references to jobs@mwawater.org by Friday, May 15^th, 2026.

Equal Opportunity Statement: MWA is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment and encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply.

Contact Information: For additional information, please contact jobs@mwawater.org.