[Hiring] Carbon Finance Manager @One Acre Fund

Role Description

One Acre Fund is currently implementing four agroforestry carbon programs with a total of close to 40,000 active farmers. Each program enrolls new farmers in cohorts every season and plans to generate carbon credits for sale in the next one to three years. It is critical that each of these programs has a viable financial pathway and that leaders in each program utilize financial modeling to understand the benefits and tradeoffs of strategic decisions.

The objective of the Carbon Finance Manager/Lead is to ensure that One Acre Fund’s intensive agroforestry carbon programs have strong, accessible, and useful financial modeling. Operational financial models should be highly reliable and reflect on-the-ground realities, and this role is responsible for the integrity and accessibility of these models to program leaders so that they can make informed decisions around program performance. The Carbon Finance Manager will also be responsible for translating operational financial models into investment-grade financial statements in order to support the development of AMC, funding, and financing partnerships. You will build on One Acre Fund’s existing financial modeling to create a comprehensive picture of the entire portfolio. This role reports into the Payments for Ecosystem Services team in the Impact and R&D Division, but it is a cross-functional role that liaises often with colleagues in Business Development, Finance, and Program Operations.

An ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of nature-based carbon financing, ideally at the smallholder level, as well as experience using financial models to make strategic decisions. We are looking for a proactive and communicative leader to help take these programs from pilot stage into scalable carbon financing.

Responsibilities

• Own Financial Modelling and Analysis (40%)
  • Build, maintain, and stress-test complex financial models of carbon projects, including carbon credit production, issuance volumes, operational costs, and financing structures and costs.
  • Maintain program- and portfolio-level rollups for leadership to use in strategic decision-making.
  • Support or conduct analysis to identify opportunities for performance improvement and financial viability.
• Improve Org-Wide Fluency of Carbon Finance Strategy (30%)
  • Build fluency and utility of financial models with program teams in order to guide operational decisions.
  • Align financial forecasts with country program teams, central Finance team, and partnerships / Business Development team.
  • Prepare materials for leadership calls to update senior stakeholders on fundraising progress and financial health of the carbon projects.
• Support External Fundraising and Partnerships (30%)
  • Support the partnerships team in evaluating financing options and produce 3-statement financial summaries for discussion with carbon buyers and investors.
  • Conduct sensitivity analysis to inform pricing strategies and risk management for carbon credit generation.
  • Support Business Development team with investor due diligence.

Qualifications

• Relevant academic background in finance, economics, PES, or other relevant field.
• Advanced proficiency in financial modeling and accounting standards, with a proven ability to build dynamic models from scratch for project finance or structured finance across multiple regulatory jurisdictions.
• Understanding of the operational and financial realities of implementing high-integrity PES programs, ideally demonstrated through practical experience with the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM).
• Proven ability to build team fluency in models & identifying and summarizing practical insights from complex financial models.
• Experience setting complex multi-year budgets and managing performance to those targets.
• Strong project management skills and experience leading complex initiatives with diverse stakeholders.
• 5+ years of professional experience with 3+ years in climate finance, project finance, accounting, or a related field.
• 1+ years of professional experience in one of our countries of operation (particular focus on Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi, and Tanzania).

Benefits

• Health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits.
• Contract Duration: 1 Year Renewable.

Eligibility

This role is only open to citizens or permanent residents of Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Burundi, and Nigeria.

Application Deadline

Please note that we hire on a rolling basis which means that applications are reviewed and processed on a continuous basis until a hire is made.