Regenerative Agriculture Carbon Specialist

Regenerative Agriculture Carbon Specialist  

Based in Paris, France or Toronto, Canada

Full time position, local contract 

Starting date: ASAP 2025 

PUR Description 

PUR is a global, impact-focused B-Corp specializing in the development of environmental restoration projects, known as ‘nature-based solutions' (NbS). Since 2008, we have been helping the world’s largest organizations meet their ESG targets, reduce their environmental footprint, and regenerate the ecosystems they depend on across complex supply chains. Having developed over 45 projects in more than 30 countries, PUR is recognized as both a pioneer and leader in a sector that is now at the forefront of global efforts to address the ongoing climate and biodiversity crisis. 

At the heart of our mission is a commitment to fostering and operationalizing insetting strategies—interventions by companies within their own value chains designed to reduce GHG emissions while creating positive impacts for communities, landscapes, and ecosystems. By championing this insetting approach, we aim to create a holistic range of benefits that extend beyond ecological restoration, encompassing social and economic dimensions through enhanced agricultural yields and resilience to climate change-induced stresses, among others. 

One of the distinctive features of our work is our ability to tailor projects to the specific needs of different regions and communities. By recognizing the unique characteristics of each ecosystem and the cultural context of the communities involved, we ensure our initiatives are contextually relevant and have a meaningful and sustainable impact. All our projects are developed in close collaboration with local actors, including cooperatives, NGOs, governments, and corporations.Today, we employ 200 staff across 16 countries with key offices in Paris (HQ) and Toronto. 

Industry 

PUR operates within the dynamic and rapidly evolving sector of environmental consultancy services and nature-based solutions markets. These markets are closely linked with the voluntary carbon markets (VCM) when NbS projects produce carbon credits that can be traded on the VCM. The NbS market has recently gained traction as society recognizes the invaluable services provided by nature and the need to preserve, restore, and harness these services to mitigate and adapt to environmental challenges. To be considered a nature-based solution, projects must effectively address real societal challenges and offer strong environmental, economic, and social benefits for local communities. 

Market KPIs: 

• If combined with deep decarbonization efforts, NbS projects could provide up to 30% of the mitigation needed to limit global warming to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels by 2030 (World Economic Forum, 2023). 

• 5,307 companies have set science-based targets—a 4.2x increase since 2022—and are a significant driver of demand within the NbS and VCM markets (SBTi, 2024). 

• To meet their SBTi targets and mitigate their climate-risk exposure, organizations around the world will need to invest in the type of projects PUR develops. Today, very few market players have a proven track record in NbS project implementation, and PUR is therefore well-positioned to benefit from the market’s expansion. 

Role 

PUR is seeking a technical specialist with experience and expertise in the quantification of carbon; setting carbon reduction targets and monitoring plans in agricultural landscapes. This person will be asked to lead the evolution of PUR’s regenerative agriculture offering as its related to baselining; quantifying interventions and monitoring. The successful candidate will have experience working with international technical teams, remotely and in person, and have the ability to digest and manage complex topics related to project design, relevant industry frameworks and carbon monitoring. They must be able to manage large amounts of data and have a solid understanding of key tools on the market for quantifying carbon such as the Cool Farm Tool.  

The successful candidate will report to the Head of Carbon+ based in Europe. 

The main responsibilities in a non-exhaustive manner of this ambitious role will be: 

Product Development and management  

• Drive PUR’s offering in emission reduction MRV from regenerative agriculture practices; including developing: 

• Approach for conducting baseline assessment;

• Monitoring and evaluation process;  

• Approach to conducting land use change assessment;  

• Options for working with 3rd parties on soil organic carbon;  

• Reports that can be used by clients and their supply chain actors;  

• Ensuring alignment with key frameworks such as the GHG Land Sector and Removals Guidance; SustainCert and Verra/ Gold Standard  &,

• Develop project budgets and proposals in collaboration with the Commercial teams.

Regenerative carbon project support  

• Responsible for all aspects related to carbon in PUR’s regenerative agriculture projects, this may include but not limited to: 

• Designing field level data collection sheets and reviewing data collected from external partners;  

• Mapping out different farm archetypes to develop the sampling plans; 

• Coordinate field level data collection in collaboration with the in-field country teams;

• Carrying out calculations of carbon emissions from the project area (baseline or post-intervention) using the most relevant quantification tool;  

• Develop the sampling design for collecting field level data;  

• Research and develop reduction targets for regenerative agriculture interventions;  

• Design the methodology for conducting a land use change assessment using farm-level polygons; 

• Develop the monitoring plan to track emission reductions;  

• Write the report or support a third party audit/ verification &,

• Support on-going carbon projects focused on agroforestry: development of risk assessments; other ad-hoc support as needed. 

Research and innovation  

• Conduct an assessment of the key carbon quantification tools to be used in PUR’s projects ensuring alignment with best practices, frameworks (GHG LSRG; VCI) and relevant to specific crops and geographies;  

• Conduct research and build a library of carbon reduction potential for different interventions in different geographies and crops;  

• Develop tools; protocols and training materials to standardise the work across projects;  

• Train PUR’s teams and external suppliers on carbon emissions and data collection; 

• Research and identify external 3rd party suppliers for soil organic carbon support.  

We are looking for a candidate with: 

• Master's or equivalent degree from a broad range of disciplines will be considered including environmental/ resource management; agriculture development, or similar;

• At least 8 years of experience in carbon topics related to agriculture; experience in insetting/offsetting project development experience and/ or consulting;

• Experienced in carbon reduction project design; quantification and monitoring in the agriculture sectors;  

• Proven experience working with the GHG LSRG; SustainCert and other relevant carbon accounting tools;  

• Experience in soil organic carbon considered an asset; 

• Strong experience in project management across different geographies and time zones at an international level;

• Strong ability to work independently and collaborate with PUR’s project teams’; 

• Looks for impact by making decisions based on facts and critical thinking; 

• Strong sense of accountability and commitment/follow-through; 

• Strong communication skills (clear, precise, and constructive); 

• Fluent in English; Spanish and French are considered an asset. 

Recruitment process : 

• HR interview 

• Interview with the Head of Carbon 

• Case study interview with the Carbon team  

• Interview with the Chief of Product & References check 

At PUR, we strive to build inclusive teams and an equitable workplace where our employees feel respected, supported, and empowered. As a global company operating across six continents, we recognize that diversity in the workplace is essential to achieving our mission.  

We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of age, race, gender, colour, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or any other aspect that makes them unique. 

PUR is dedicated to providing an accessible environment for all candidates during the application process and for employees during their employment.  If you require accommodation or consideration throughout the interview process, let us know, and we will do our best to support you.