Certification Programme Development Manager

Department: Carbon - Other

Employment Type: Permanente - Jornada completa

Location: Netherlands

Description

About Anthesis
Anthesis is the sustainability activator. Proud to be a B Corp, we seek to make a significant contribution to a world which is more resilient and productive. We do this by working with cities, corporates, investors and other organisations to drive sustainable performance. We develop financially driven sustainability strategies, underpinned by technical expertise and delivered by innovative collaborative teams across the world.

At Anthesis Group, we are truly committed to putting people and our planet at the heart of all we do.

Summary of Role & Key Responsibilities

About the Certification Programme

The Climate Neutral Certification Programme went live on the 1st of January 2021 and has since then grown rapidly. With over 60 mio certified products sold annually to consumers in 14 countries, the Certification Programme is creating real impact. We put the bar high: we require our certified clients to make substantial GHG emission reductions every year in line with the Paris Agreement, and what cannot be reduced yet shall be compensated with the most credible offsets. Certified clients need to go public with their obliged targets and need to report how they have achieved and intend to achieve the targeted reductions. And, all of this is all verified through 3rd party audits by accredited Certification Bodies (CBs). For more information, see here.

With this Certification Programme, we have acquired ‘Topkeurmerk’ (Toplabel) status in the Netherlands, and we were endorsed by ISEAL, the overarching organisation overseeing certification schemes, requiring us to implement the ISEAL Codes of Good Practise.

Continuous reflection and improvement are core to our Programme and the impact we wish to make. We continuously build capacity and provide internal support to our Client Account Managers and Consultants, and we have set up an extensive Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning System as well as a CB Support & Oversight System. An Advisory Committee composed of external stakeholder representatives, as well as an internal Content Standardization Committee have been appointed to oversee consistent implementation of the Programme. In addition, the Certification Team is developing an additional Programme on Insetting to help (certified) clients achieve their reduction targets.

With the continuously changing Voluntary Carbon Market in which we operate, and with major upcoming changes in the regulatory environment in which we operate (a.o. the (draft) Green Claims Directive and Empowering Consumer Proposal) the Certification Programme is up for content revision in 2024/25, also to explore and facilitate new upscale opportunities via Anthesis’ network and client portfolio. We have made a first start already, with a full rebranding of the Certification Programme, including a new name, logo and trademark, narratives, claims, website, marketing material, etc.

Summary of Role
Anthesis currently has a vacancy for a Certification Programme Development Manager to support the Certification Team with a range of responsibilities related to the revision of the Certification Programme. This long term revision trajectory shall be aligned with the ISEAL Codes requiring close alignment with internal and external stakeholders as well as intensive public stakeholder consultation rounds. The end product -a revised Certification Programme version 2.0-, shall aim at achieving highest upscale and impact potential, and therefore needs to:

have an optimal equilibrium between ambitiousness - credibility - scalability - cost-efficiency, to maximize impact potential;
fit Anthesis’ corporate vision and strategy (and their client needs);
be compliant with the regulatory environment in which we operate, meaning aligned with (upcoming) EU Directives but also the CMA and ASA guidelines (UK) and FTC Green Guides (USA);
operate as a competitive and ambitious programme in the continuously changing Voluntary Carbon Market, and
meet accreditation norms ISO 17065 and ISO 17029.

This is a senior role.

Key Responsibilities

Develop and write a new version of the Theory of Change, the Standard, Assurance Protocol, Claims Policy and other Core Programme Documents (if applicable) and contribute to the development of supporting Guidances, Systems and Tools.
Throughout the revision and development trajectory, and to maximize impact potential, keep in mind the right balance between:

1. Ambitiousness: a programme that is distinctive and sets a high (enough) standard to make an actual difference;
2. Scalability: a programme that is sufficiently attractive, practical and flexible for (prospective) clients, allowing for rapid uptake.
3. Credibility: a programme with a certain degree of rigidity, strictness, transparency and consistency, to protect the trustworthiness of the programme.
4. Cost-efficiency: a programme that gives ‘value for money’ for all actors involved, with reasonable verification and certification costs, while allowing Certification Bodies (CBs) and Anthesis to cover their own operating costs.

Extensive dialogue with Anthesians in leadership positions, both in the domain of corporate strategy and agency, as well as in the domain of sales and account management, in order to be able to adopt this programme as an “Anthesis Certification Programme’.
Stakeholder management in line with the ISEAL Codes, including internal and external stakeholder definition, the organisation of (public) stakeholder consultation rounds and the review and transparent management of stakeholder feedback.
Build out and institutionalise stakeholder groups, the Advisory Committee, the Technical Working Group and any other entities pertaining to the governance system of the Programme.
Following trends and developments of the Voluntary Carbon Markets and the continuously changing regulatory environment and upcoming legislation, and align with/ provide stakeholder feedback to key players in these domains.
Close alignment with the Programme Implementation Manager (current vacancy) to build internal and external capacity to facilitate the roll out of the Programme, and close alignment with other team members to align the revised content of the Programme with current CB Oversight and Monitoring & Evaluation activities.

Key Requirements, Skills Knowledge & Expertise

Key Requirements
Skills, experience, technical knowledge, etc are all important advantages, but we really seek one individual that has the right mind-set, attitude, dedication and character. We can train you on the content, but we cannot change who you are. Thus, if you are a bright, result-oriented self-starter, who is passionate to create real change, then please get in touch with us. The right candidate:

has a natural leadership style of humour combined with authority;
is a real relationship-builder, and culturally and strategically sensitive;
is an analytical thinker who can quickly absorb and own a lot of complex information and make meaningful sense out of that;
and able to train and manage him/herself to maximise output;
is willing to travel occasionally.

Desirable skills:

Acquired 7+ years of relevant working experience, either in a programme development and/ or standard-setting role for another certification scheme or company sustainability programme;
Track record that proves you understand the world of auditing and certification, e.g, ISEAL Code of Good Practise, CB accreditations (ISO accreditation norms and procedures);
Knowledge of GHG footprinting and Life Cycle Assessments (GHG Protocol, PAS 2060, ISO 14064-1,2,3, ISO 14044, etc);
Understanding of the (upcoming) green claims legislation.

Benefits

Your Benefits

Work within a highly motivated team in an innovative and rapidly growing global company
Opportunity to have a direct impact and be a key part of the growth and development of the business and the team
Work solely on projects that have an impact on the sustainability and climate change goals/challenges for clients
Opportunity to work with, collaborate with and learn from sustainability SME’s who are passionate about the work they do and the impact Anthesis can have
Exposure to a wide range of clients and projects on a global basis
Competitive salary in line with education, experience and skills
An opportunity to participate in the Anthesis Employee Participation Plan (EPP), an industry-pioneering employee incentive plan that allows all employees to be rewarded for the growth in the equity value of Anthesis.
Cooperative, supportive and open working atmosphere.

Applied

Talent Partner Phone Screen

Hiring Team Interview

Final Stage Interview

Hired