Senior Specialist, Social Risk

Corporate Services·Multiple locations· Hybrid Remote Apply for this job

South Pole is an energetic, global company offering comprehensive sustainability solutions and services. With offices spanning all continents across the globe, we strive to create a sustainable society and economy that positively impacts our climate, ecosystems and developing communities. With our solutions, we inspire and enable our customers to create value from sustainability-related activities.

Our Corporate Functions team is the “enablement engine” of South Pole. Behind the scenes, we provide the business with world-class solutions and best practices that sustain business growth and success. We cover key areas such as Finance, HR, Office Management, Legal, IT, Operations, etc. If you are a smart, ambitious and dynamic professional with a strong passion to make a real difference in the fight against climate change, the below position may be right for you!

Risk is a newly created function, which plays a central role in our organisation. The team oversees all risk aspects of the company: carbon projects, financial, people, governance, reputation, data, IT security and many others. The mandate of the team is to identify, assess, manage, mitigate, monitor and anticipate risks South Pole is or could be facing. It also defines boundaries within which South Pole teams can operate by providing guidance and recommendations and escalation procedures. The risk team has some level of independence given that the Chief Risk Officer (CRO) reports directly to the CEO and is the main counterpart of the audit and risk committee at board level.

Job summary:

The Carbon Projects Social risk role will work within the Carbon Projects Risk team to support the risk analysis of South Pole Carbon projects. The successful candidate will support the Social risk expert in assessing and managing social risks associated with our carbon projects, ensuring that our initiatives not only reduce carbon emissions but also contribute positively to the well-being of local communities.

With this role you will have the opportunity to shape our carbon offset portfolios to the highest quality and projects that deliver real emissions reductions and powerful impacts on communities and biodiversity. You will have opportunities to work alongside a passionate group of people looking to upgrade South Pole’s Carbon Project quality standards to the next level.

The role will work closely alongside other teams within the company like Climate Projects (CP), Climate Portfolio Management (CPM), Legal, Compliance and Communications.

Main tasks & responsibilities:

Support the Social risk expert in conducting social risk assessments for carbon offset projects, identifying potential social impacts and risks related to local communities, indigenous peoples, and other stakeholders.

Review (and in some cases develop) due diligence reports for selected projects, including proposed mitigation action plan

Support the Social risk expert in developing strategies and mitigation measures to address identified social risks and ensure alignment with international standards and best practices, including but not limited to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of social risk management measures throughout project lifecycle, and recommend adjustments as necessary

Provide support in developing social related procedures and guidelines for different technologies, including but not limited to land tenure guidelines, FPIC process, stakeholder mapping and engagement, benefit sharing mechanism, etc.

Provide support in revamping and designing the implementation of a new due diligence process for carbon projects

Develop training materials for carbon project manager

Provide content for communication material for external parties about South Pole’s social risk assessment framework for carbon projects in general and the results on social performance of SP for specific projects

Requirements:

Essential -

Minimum 3 years of experience working on social topics including stakeholder mapping, stakeholder consultation, free prior and informed consent, land tenure with experience on the ground for sustainability related projects.

Master's degree or higher in social sciences, environmental management, international development, or a related field.

Methodical approach to work, detail orientation, drive for continuous improvement

Proven ability to work across multiple teams and in multi-disciplinary projects

Entrepreneurial, flexible and proactive mindset, willingness to take initiative

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Fluency in English; other language skills (e.g. French, Spanish) are a plus.

Desirable - 

Worked in the global south with sustainability projects.

Worked in a fast-paced company or a scale-up.

What we offer:

At South Pole, we care about our employees as much as we care about the planet. South Pole is not just an employer, we are a Team. South Pole does not just offer people a job, we offer you a career. By joining our team, you will find strong purpose and deep meaning in everything you do. You will have the chance to make a real difference for our clients and for the planet, working alongside a passionate team of like-minded colleagues, while building your knowledge/skills and developing your career in a fun, dynamic, international and fast-growing organisation. 

We’re a planet of 7.5 billion unique and different people. We all have a contribution to make and South Pole is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status or disability. Our recruitment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.

Department

Corporate Services

Locations

Multiple locations

Remote status

Hybrid Remote

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• Work-life balance

  From flexible working hours to flexible workplace (home office), with above-average vacation allowances, we strive to make the work and family life puzzle an easy one for our employees.

• Flexible Vacation Benefits

  Options to buy up to 5 extra days of time off.

• Life Insurance

  Available to all employees across the world.

• Care for your Wellbeing

  Access to mental, physical and financial wellbeing support through our Employee Assistance Program (TELUS Health).

• Parental leave

  Should any of our employees need to take time off the Iceberg as a result of a new addition to their household, we are happy to be able to offer competitive Paid Parental leave to support them during this time.

• Compassionate Leave

  Sometimes life is unpredictable, and when unfortunate events occur, we want to give you peace of mind so you feel fully supported during this time.

At South Pole, we are first and foremost a purpose-driven Company. People join us because they believe in our mission and want to be part of a community that fights together for our shared values and beliefs. But that is not the only reason why working at South Pole is such a rewarding experience.

• We know that our vision to help create a greener world is both bold and challenging. To achieve it, we settle for nothing less than the absolute best. We form a Community that is stronger than the sum of its parts.

• Entrepreneurial at heart. It’s not just our founders who are entrepreneurs. We actively promote an innovative mindset at all levels of the organisation, where each and every employee is encouraged to challenge the status quo and empowered to make decisions.   

• Growing employees in a growing company. With a team of smart, passionate and engaged colleagues, as well as increasing demand from our clients, opportunities to learn, develop our skills and grow our careers are endless. 

• All for one, and one for all! Above all other things, what truly drives our dedication and commitment to our purpose is our colleagues.  We learn from each other and grow together. Because that is who Penguins are.

Our story began in Zurich, with 5 friends* in 2002. They had a belief and a vision to shape and change the future of the world through climate empowerment, education and projects with their non-profit organisation; MyClimate. These ‘social entrepreneurs’ went on to pioneer climate change with the introduction of South Pole in 2006*. More than 20 years on, with the support of some of the most passionate and talented entrepreneurs around them, who are empowered to all play their part and with their founding belief in aligning purpose with passion, people and profit, they have created South Pole, an organisation that has gone onto positively impact the lives of over 20 million people across the world through its projects, saving over 20,000 km2 of forests from deforestation.

*Patrick Bürgi, Thomas Camerata, Renat Heuberger, Ingo Puhl, and Christoph Sutter
*2006 Joined by Marco Hirsbrunner and Christoph Grobel

Founded in 2006 Co-workers 1000+ Corporate Services·Multiple locations· Hybrid Remote

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