Senior Project Managers (4 Positions)

About Us

Earthbanc is a climate technology company based in Stockholm with teams in Melbourne, Sydney, Nairobi, Mumbai and Shillong, that develops agroforestry, regenerative agriculture, and ecosystem restoration projects globally, that produce climate and biodiversity co-benefits. Every project we develop supports sustainable livelihoods and income generation, because we see farmers and landowners as true partners. In partnership with our clients, we deliver the last mile of climate funding to scale up nature-based solutions project implementation at scale. We focus on agro commodity market linkages as a sustainable livelihood model, for landholders to increase their income and earn a return.

Who and what are we looking for?

We have several positions for the right candidates. Are you a revegetation or reforestation expert in Australia that has done:

• rural and remote revegetation projects
• reforestation, afforestation or agroforestry projects
• mine remediation (planting)
• property development (revegetation in construction projects)
• rewilding services

And have senior level (directors, managers, coordinators & team managers) with:

• 7-10 yrs plus of experience
• skills to plan, coordinate, implement
• operations, implementing
• experience in execution for major projects

The Senior Project Manager role (x4) is supporting a large-scale reforestation project in Eldoret, Kenya, advancing strategy; and developing and helping to execute landscape reforestation plans in partnership with local communities; federal, state, and local governments, nongovernmental organisations, and local teams with an emphasis on building a diverse and inclusive collaborative vision. The project is located in six counties in the western part of Kenya adjacent to the Rift Valley.  In these counties, the communities occupy unique locations defined by the distinct ecological zones in the county, i.e. the Highland, the Escarpment and the Valley. The official language is English, and the Earthbanc's local operations company Earthtree is building a talent pool of 40 experts and local management teams with experience in reforestation projects, to work in partnership with the FIFO experts. You will be instrumental in building our project management unit for large scale restoration in Kenya.

The candidate we are looking for will be responsible for providing technical guidance and leadership in the overall planning, design, installation, and maintenance of the phases of revegetation and agro-forestry planting, soil and water conservation practices and prevention of fires with suitable firelines.

The ideal candidate will either have a Diploma, Bachelor degree or Masters degree in a relevant field with experience in large-scale revegetation, agroforestry, or forest project management. You must possess excellent people management skills and be inspired by the idea of working in a small, ambitious team, in a fast-paced environment. The job involves implementing strategies from a ‘square one’ basis and liaising with a wide variety of stakeholders, including local communities and NGO partners. Additionally, a strong background in organisational management and virtual team leadership is required due to the globally distributed nature of the support team. Experience with one of the following project management or program management software tools is ideal but could be trained on the job: MS Project, HIVE, JIRA, Confluence, Trello, or ClickUp, or similar project management tool, the minimum requirements being expert user of MS Excel or Google Sheets, MS Word or Google Docs, and ideally MS PowerPoint or Google Slides for helping to train up or upskill your team in best practices.

The role will also oversee project soil preparation and planting risk management, quality assurance and safety of the project by hiring required personnel and overseeing the development and implementation of new processes. The candidate will use aforementioned software packages to report daily and weekly performance outcomes and ensure the reported performance numbers are integrated into digital workflows to enable reporting at the group level. Ensure that workplaces have adequate personnel to deliver safety, training, and capacity building in partnership with the current Director of Organisational Development & Management who is a FIFO worker based in Sydney.

We welcome applications from revegetation experts, project management experts with experience in revegetation or allied field, engineers with experience in revegetation, agroforestry or forest / bushland management. The required skills sets in project management could be from any field. Ideal candidates will have worked on large scale infrastructure, road or mining projects in order to be able to handle significant logistical complexities in large scale projects. The candidate will have adequate planning and operations expertise at the project planning level, with active hands on project management experience, leading from the front by example.

Main tasks & responsibilities:

• Actively manage the planning and implementation of soil preparation and the planting of tree and plant species from our selected nurseries, ensure fencing and watering is requested to ensure adequate tree survival rates.
• Work in collaboration with Earthbanc and Earthtree’s team and local communities to develop and scale a new largescale tree planting project in Eldoret, Kenya including technical implementation, risk management, and internal and project partner communications. Earthtree is Earthbanc’s local operations company, based in Kenya.
• Support the Director of Operations and CEO in developing from scratch the best practices to optimise field based workflows, ensure adequate communication and reporting of soil preparation, fencing, planting and watering across the different teams.
• Interpret plans and tree planting designs indicating tree row spacing, solve problems at local level in the field as to proper following of tree planting designs, that have been developed by local and also Australian experts in consultation with landowners.
• Serve as the contact point for Earthbanc and Earthtree for the administration of planting activities in the field.
• Make site investigations and feasibility studies; field checks as needed to ensure best practices are being maintained at planting and fencing sites.
• Evaluate risk, including rainfall risk and impacts on watering schedule during the dry season (winter). Utilise best practice approaches to assess and mitigate risks and include new optimisation practices in project implementation, monitoring, and evaluation workflows.
• Perform supervisory responsibilities by providing technical and administrative direction to project staff and contractors, whilst also being hands on and leading by example in the field.
• Support our partners in the development of revegetation and reforestation / agroforestry projects,
• Develop and maintain effective relationships with stakeholders, landholders / farmers, NGOs, and if required, any local government agencies.
• Ensure that project documentation is up to date, accurate, and compliant with internal policies and projects reporting requirements.
• Manage and oversee project activities, ensuring that they are delivered on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards.
• Monitor project progress and identify areas for improvement, making recommendations for adjustments as needed, including field visits to investigate existing conditions against best practices requirements for ongoing tree maintenance.
• Communicate with your colleagues via online workplace app to ensure you keep moving priorities and project deliverables forward, in collaboration with local and global colleagues.

Requirements:

• Diploma, Bachelor or Masters Degree in Environmental Management, Horticulture, Forestry, Conservation and Land Management, Natural Resources Management or related field.
• A minimum of 7-10+ years of progressive experience in large infrastructure project / reforestation / revegetation projects, related fields or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience ideally with one of the following MS Project, HIVE, JIRA, Confluence, Trello, or ClickUp, or similar project management tool, the minimum requirements being advanced user of MS Excel or Google Sheets, MS Word or Google Docs, and ideally MS PowerPoint or Google Slides for helping to train up or upskill your team in best practices.
• Practical experience in developing or managing existing best practices in the field for soil preparation, fencing, planting and watering and creating systems from scratch.
• Ability to work in an interdisciplinary team, as well as independently, with colleagues based in different locations and time zones around the globe.
• Own a valid driver’s licence and is capable of driving when required (local expert drivers are retained for all transports and logistics.)
• Excellent project and time management skills that leverage digital tools where required.
• Excellent problem solving and critical thinking skills.
• Strong prioritisation, staging, and sequencing skills that ensure critical dependencies are identified and prioritised to keep the project moving forward.
• Result-oriented work approach with the ability to work quickly from concept to the implementation of project activities in the office and field.
• In-depth knowledge of Environmental Regulations/Guidelines.
• Working knowledge of Environmental, Health and Social Impact Assessment.
• Working knowledge of attaining clearances as needed according to state and central regulations.
• Demonstrated experience in, and commitment to, diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, and an ability to represent these values and practices to staff, stakeholders, and the public.
• The FIFO aspect of the role is that there is flexibility to travel back to Australia or other locations 50% of the time and work remotely, and the frequency of the FIFO period shall be developed in consultation with the 4 FIFO hires, to be either every month, two months or three months maximum based in country vs based back in Australia or internationally.

Desirable:

• Experience working collaboratively with multiple stakeholders, landholders, and community organisation.
• Understanding and knowledge of carbon Afforestation, Reforestation and Agroforestry projects is a plus.
• Experience of working internationally in varied cultures and countries, or in Kenya.
• Spoken and written fluent English.
• Experience of communicating to a diverse range of stakeholders or audiences.
• Experience developing and presenting strategies, plans, processes, metrics, and information in a clear and comprehensible manner.
• Ability to remain calm and focused in complex situations.
• Good knowledge of performance analysis of soil preparation, fencing, tree planting, watering and key tree survival performance indicators.
• Experience working with virtual team contexts.

Working at Earthbanc:

• This role is full-time with flexible hours.
• We do not discriminate. We choose candidates with the best skills for the job and ensure every applicant gets an equal chance of success.
• Join our team in Kenya, with opportunities for career progression with our offices in Melbourne & Sydney Australia, Stockholm, Sweden and Shillong, India; and Nairobi, Kenya and work from around the world with a growing global company.
• We support remote work when in Australia completing a FIFO stint, and when in Kenya the role is full time in the office and field.
• We believe in everyone in our team acting like owners so we have a policy in place around staff ownership with employee stock options (ESOP) in Earthbanc or Earthtree.
• Opportunities to travel to projects and career development opportunities globally and in Australia.

Other benefits

• Learning and development: We are on a constant learning journey, and you will receive an annual learning and development budget to help you with this.
• Attractive leave policy of up to 8 weeks per year
• Hybrid work policy.