Agroforestry Specialist

Agroforestry Specialist

Maternity Leave Coverage (1 year)

Beginning : ASAP

Location: Toronto

PUR Description

PUR is a global, impact-focused B-Corp specializing in supply chain sustainability. We design, develop, and implement nature-based solutions projects to help our corporate partners reduce their environmental footprint and meet their ESG targets. Many of PUR's projects fall within the categories of insetting, regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, forest conservation, and landscape restoration.

These projects aim to introduce more sustainable agricultural practices, regenerate and preserve ecosystems, and socially and economically empower local communities. Today, we employ 200 staff across 16 countries, with key offices in Paris (HQ) and Toronto.

www.pur.co

ROLE

PUR is seeking an agroforestry specialist with a global interdisciplinary perspective for a limited-term contract (Maternity Leave coverage) to work within the Product Team based in Toronto. This position will support all PUR Teams with technical agroforestry/reforestation knowledge and market intelligence by contextualizing scientific knowledge to the nature-based solutions industry, translating this knowledge into a variety of formats and for variety of audiences (including clients and regional field partners), and applying this knowledge to inform key internal and client-facing decisions and communication materials.

This person will work with the Product Development Team and Outcome Specialists, as well as closely collaborate with the Commercial Teams and Global Operations Team, to ensure alignment and the inclusion of technically sound agroforestry components in ongoing key decisions.

The successful candidate will have expert agroecological knowledge and a thorough understanding of the underlying mechanisms that shape multi-species interactions in complex agroforestry and reforested systems. They will be able to apply their scientific knowledge to a variety of environments (tropical and temperate), to a variety of commodities (dominantly coffee and cocoa), and to a variety of audiences (expert and non-experts, different cultural backgrounds, internal and external collaborators, etc.). They will also maintain an interdisciplinary perspective, considering non-scientific contexts, such as socio-cultural contexts, economic needs, and/or operational constraints.

TEAM

The Agroforestry Specialist will report directly to the Chief Product Officer as part of the global Product Team. The Product Team is based in Toronto and includes PUR’s global team of technical intervention specialists (including regenerative agriculture, agroforestry/reforestation) and outcome specialists (including carbon and livelihood impacts).

The Agroforestry Specialist will interact dynamically with several of PUR’s global teams, including but not limited to:

Commercial Teams: to provide market intelligence and support teams as needed with client-specific requests and client-facing decisions, such as advising on scientific topics, presenting technical perspectives to clients, and ensuring adherence to client-specific requests.

Global Operations Team: to support as needed on operationalizing technical agroforestry/reforestation product components, such as in-field data collection protocols and farmer training materials.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Agroforestry/Reforestation Insights

• Review proposed planting designs of global agroforestry and reforestation projects from a technical and market perspective, offer feedback to Operations Teams, and support Commercial Teams in communications with clients

• Understand unique project contexts beyond scientific principles and integrate specific circumstances into decision process (e.g., on-farm labour restrictions, nursery supply limitations, funding client requests)

Tool & Guidance Development

•  Continue the collaborative development of key agroforestry/reforestation tools, protocols, and guidance materials for global teams that adhere to scientific standards, global industry frameworks, and/or operational realities

Educational Materials

• Develop educational content related to agroforestry/reforestation for internal and/or external use (for clients or farmers)

• Required content can vary from theoretical content (e.g., the variable impact of shade in agroforestry systems), to very operational content (e.g., how to collect specific data in the field, how to prune a shade tree)

Global Team Support and Collaboration

• Act as global support for Commercial and Operations Teams regarding technical aspects of agroforestry and reforestation and prevailing market perspectives

• Ensure relevant collaborative initiatives incorporate technical agroforestry/reforestation input and the product strategy

The successful Candidate will report to the Chief Product Officer, Andrew Nobrega, who is based in Toronto; and will collaborate with PUR’s Global Operations and Commercial Teams.

 The successful Candidate will also be expected to closely collaborate with a number of colleagues in any of PUR’s 10 global offices.

• Advanced degree in Environmental Sciences, Geography, Plant Sciences, Biology, or similar field with strong familiarity with agroforestry systems.

• Thorough technical understanding of multi-species interactions through an agroecological lens is required. Applying this knowledge to coffee or cocoa agroforestry systems is considered an additional asset.

• 2-3 years of experience in related fields working with agricultural communities or ecosystem monitoring.

• Experience or confidence in conducting scientific literature reviews, translating scientific information for a variety of audiences, and applying scientific information into operational materials.

• Highly organized, must be comfortable learning new tools, working with databases, and collaborating with multiple global teams

• Exceptional ability to communicate scientific information to general audiences, including rural farmers, internal staff, external implementing partners, and regional organizational leadership.

• Experience working cross functionally with various teams and disciplines, and remotely with international offices. Experience tracking and executing within assigned project timelines and parameters should be demonstrated.

• Ability to clearly articulate strategic direction among multiple groups, to influence and drive collaboration while working creatively to solve problems. Strong interpersonal skills will be seen as a strong asset due to the nature of the work.

• Fluent in English. French and/or Spanish is considered an asset.

Recruitment Process:

1/ HR interview

2/ Case study

3/ Reference check