Director, Sustainability Standards & Compliance

We’re an international AgTech startup pioneering an ambitious mission in a high-growth industry where agriculture meets technology to solve our toughest climate and economic challenges. Through the use of data-driven insights, natural microbiology, and innovative digital technologies, Indigo is partnering across the supply chain, ultimately cultivating a scalable climate solution and enhanced partner ecosystem that beneficially serves farmers, consumers, and the planet alike.

Our mission is unique, and therefore our teams are too: from multigenerational farming experts who understand the land as though it were an extension of themselves, to cutting-edge technologists and scientists on the frontier of innovation, our teams are a reflection of the range of the stakeholders we serve: the Earth, the Farmer, and the Consumer.

The Director, Sustainability Standards & Compliance is a senior advisory role both within the Sustainability Policy team as well as across the wider organization at Indigo. This person is responsible for ensuring strict adherence to the highest standards for Indigo’s sustainability offerings globally. Activities include internal consulting across science, technology, and operations teams, leading the strategy for internal quality assurance of data and methods, support for global project reporting and verification activities, lead reviewer for reports and sustainability claims, and subject matter expert to support commercial activities, marketing, communications, government relations, and corporate development. This role reports to the Head of Sustainability Policy & Engagement. The position may be filled remotely (within the United States), but ability to work regularly in Boston or Memphis is preferred. 

Responsibilities

Internal consulting & subject matter expertise:  

• Become deeply expert in Indigo’s existing MRV (monitoring, reporting, and verification) processes, including the full details of how the Soil Enrichment Protocol (and VM42) are being implemented within our systems. 
• Serve as trusted carbon accounting, policy, and market SME for government affairs, strategic partnerships, marketing, communications, operations, technology, quantification, corporate development, and business development. 
• Systematically work across technology and science teams to identify improvements, innovations, and new approaches that will reduce grower data burdens, increase accuracy, reduce uncertainty, reduce costs, and/or increase efficiency, as well as adapting Indigo’s technology products to meet the requirements of the evolving policy landscape. 
• Participation in external working groups and industry initiatives, with clear and critical communication of relevant information across internal stakeholders. 

Centralize expertise in sustainability standards: 

• Manage the Sustainability Standards Associate in the development and maintenance of an internal reference hub around standards for offsets, corporate claims, GHG accounting, carbon neutrality, and others.  
• Establish a central point of review and approval for development of sustainability claims and the related quantification approaches supported by our various offers. 

Lead reviewer: 

• Review of all project reporting documents, including Monitoring Plans, Monitoring Reports, supporting documentation, Project Design Documents, and model validation reports. 
• Development and review of responses to public consultations. 
• Expert review of publications and draft documents (e.g., proposed legislative text) in order to communicate with internal stakeholders and form the basis of a shared opinion. 

Lead QA/QC strategy for sustainability offers: 

• Develop and communicate centralized approach to internal data QA/QC, with decentralized implementation by individual teams. 
• Proactively assess new opportunities for leveraging technology and evolving science in the QA/QC strategy. 

Validation & Verification Support: 

• Consult with internal teams for comprehensive and efficient preparation for validation & verification. 
• Support the verification lead in all steps related to validation and verification. 
• Respond to findings during the verification process quickly, concisely, and comprehensively. 
• Support Indigo partners through education and advice as needed in preparation for or execution of verification activities. 

Understands and embodies our mission & core values  

• Excited by Indigo’s mission; believes that Indigo can fundamentally change the agriculture industry; can clearly articulate passion for our mission and values 
• Optimistic and innovative; solution-oriented; shows no signs of cynicism 
• Will be widely viewed as someone who personifies our core values, is committed to them, and leans on them when making decisions.  Specifically: 

• Demonstrates a track record of high integrity - doing the right thing, owning mistakes, conducting oneself honestly 
• Values, communicates and interacts with others with high levels of transparency and respect 
• Collaborates well across functions; creates an inspiring and collegial work environment 

Competencies

• Existing subject matter expertise: 

  • GHG accounting and verification, including ISO 14064:2 and 14065 
  • Programmatic processes and requirements of the Climate Action Reserve and Verified Carbon Standard Program (Verra; preferred to include CCBA and SDVISta) 
  • IPCC guidelines for GHG accounting 
  • Design, execution, and documentation of internal audit and QA/QC processes. 
  • Use of modeling, remote sensing, and data science in the service of GHG project development and verification. 
  • Preferred: Knowledge of corporate GHG accounting standards for inventory development, interventions, carbon neutrality, and net zero. 

  Keen attention to detail; ability to identify errors and/or inconsistencies in large documents and datasets and to summarize complex information.  

  Excellent technical writing and/or editing skills. 

  Able to simultaneously assess ideas against existing rules and standards while also developing creative and innovative new approaches, occasionally involving suggested updates to existing rules and standards. 

  Process-oriented critical thinking 

  Adept at working in a complex, collaborative environment, including the use of multiple forms of digital communication and collaboration. 

  Clear communication and facilitation skills; this includes the ability to explain requirements and expectations to multiple teams and establish reference materials to support these efforts.  

  Highly professional demeanor. Able to understand a variety of audiences and adjust communication style and content accordingly. 

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in environmental science, engineering or other scientific discipline. Doctoral degree preferred. 

  At least 8-10 years of relevant industry experience developing carbon projects and/or inventories, verifying carbon projects and/or inventories, developing and/or reviewing methodologies, or related.  

  Ability to travel for periodic meetings, conferences, and site visits, including a valid driver’s license and driving record in good standing. 

  Demonstrated experience in the AFOLU sector required. Soil carbon project experience preferred. 

  Deep expertise with statistics and data science. 

  Competence on the subjects of biogeochemical modeling; model calibration and validation; audit processes; standards for GHG verification. 

  Proficient in the following products: Microsoft Office (esp. Word, PowerPoint, Excel), Overleaf, Confluence, and Slack. Multiple years of experience working in a remote/distributed environment, leveraging cloud-based file storage and digital collaboration tools. 

Indigo is committed to living our values, specifically “creating a work environment where everyone feels respected, connected, and has opportunities to learn and grow.” As part of living our values, we strive to create a diverse and inclusive work environment where everyone feels they can be themselves and has an equal opportunity of succeeding.

 

#LI-KO1