Lead, Voluntary market governance (Multiple Locations)

Lead, Voluntary market governance (Multiple Locations) Lead voluntary market governance at South Pole: translate policy into revenue, shape certificates strategy, and drive market intelligence across global teams. Role Summary: The Lead for Voluntary Markets Governance sits at the intersection of technical expertise, market intelligence, and commercial support. The Lead is a key subject matter expert on voluntary markets governance, contributing to South Pole's offering across business development, product development, and informing our certificates’ origination and sales strategies. This role drives value by developing deep knowledge of voluntary carbon market (VCM) governance frameworks - as a priority that includes SBTi, ISO, VCMI and CRCF, but also more broadly national claims regulations, insetting and other governance frameworks that shape voluntary market dynamics. The Lead supports the translation of their policy insights into internal knowledge tools, market analytics, and commercial certificates strategy, directly supporting South Pole's position as a leading specialist voice in carbon markets. The Lead owns VCM intelligence and translates it into the go-to-market strategy for the Sourcing, Marketing, Communications, and Sales teams to enable revenue generation and market activation. Key Responsibilities Technical Expertise & Market Intelligence Maintain strong, up-to-date technical knowledge of voluntary markets governance and policy frameworks, eligibility criteria and review processes Track policy developments and governance developments, assessing associated market risks and opportunities and communicating findings to relevant internal teams Support with market analytics and intelligence gathering related to voluntary markets Contribute to knowledge-sharing activities across the certificates business line, helping colleagues understand voluntary markets and their implications Business Development Analyse the implications of VCM governance developments for South Pole certificates origination and sales strategy Provide technical input on RFPs, deal structuring, and client proposals, ensuring alignment between customer needs, policy requirements, and South Pole's portfolio Help identify new business opportunities and market segments in close coordination with the Sales, Portfolio, MarComms and Structuring teams Contribute to go-to-market activities for South Pole's voluntary markets offering Communications and marketing Lead the development and maintenance of voluntary markets-related trackers or technical intelligence solutions Coordinate with different South Pole teams to ensure coherent, common external advocacy messaging across the company Support the development of South Pole's thought leadership materials, marketing content, and product positioning on voluntary markets and product offering, in coordination with MarComms Advocacy Maintain a strong network of key market shapers across VCM industry and governance bodies Represent South Pole in relevant industry associations and task forces active in areas relating to voluntary markets or removals Translate technical insights into voluntary market governance developments and the ensuing commercial impact into key external advocacy messages for the company and inform ongoing governance developments across industry bodies with South Pole insights through public consultations, engagement with industry and governance bodies, industry events and compelling communication pieces. Essential profile requirements University degree in political science, environmental economics or other relevant field Minimum 5 years of professional experience in carbon markets or related field Good understanding of the voluntary carbon markets landscape and the governance systems that shape VCM market dynamics: SBTi, ISO, CRCF, GHG protocol, VCMI and so forth. Strong network across voluntary market governance bodies and regulators, with experience in representational roles in these bodies Experience with policy and market research Experience with commercial strategy support and business development, tendering and client engagement Proficiency in data analysis/models and market analytics Ability to interpret complex policy and technical developments accurately into appealing messages for external audiences, and convey complex data to diverse audiences Working proficiency in English Desirable profile requirements Mastery of French or Spanish; Technical understanding of Carbon Dioxide Removals, in particular biochar Multiple Locations: New Delhi, India - Berlin, Germany - London, UK - Milan, Italy - Paris, France - Brussels, Belgium - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Bangkok, Thailand - Jakarta, Indonesia - Cape Town, South Africa. Locations Multiple locations Remote status Hybrid Berlin, Germany Milan, Italy Paris, France London, United Kingdom Brussels, Belgium Amsterdam, Netherlands Bangkok, Thailand Jakarta, Indonesia New Delhi, India Cape Town, South Africa 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. What makes us unique 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. About South Pole 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