Working at VCMI

Join our team and help us create a positive impact on the future of the planet

Mark Kenber profile picture
Mark Kenber Executive Director, VCMI

“By joining VCMI, you’ll not only become a valuable member of a collaborative and supportive team, but you’ll be undertaking vital work to develop and advocate for clear norms and standards in voluntary carbon markets. When done well, VCMs can be transformational – providing a meaningful contribution to global emissions reductions and essential finance to where it’s needed most, all while helping companies achieve ambitious climate goals. As a record number of businesses set net zero targets, it is imperative that any claims made accurately reflect real action to cut and remove emissions. The importance of the work we do with our partners cannot be overstated at this critical time. We can’t wait for you to join us.”

Why join VCMI?

Our People Strategy is very simple

  • Hire intelligent, driven, skilled people who share our values and passion
  • Set them clear and challenging goals
  • Provide a supportive environment
  • Give them autonomy
  • And get out of their way

We believe passionately in what we’re trying to achieve – our work could have significant implications for the future of the planet.

This is an exciting stage in our development as we move from being a proof of concept idea to a fully incubated entity. Joining us now means being able to directly influence the way we work beyond your own role and help develop our organisational culture.

We treat our people as individuals and respect them for who they are. We believe that teams with diverse skills, backgrounds and ways of thinking create a more stimulating workplace and deliver higher quality results.

To achieve this, we recruit globally and embrace flexible working, recognising that optimal work/non-work balance is unique to you and that your personal wellbeing is the foundation of performing at your best.

Our offer

  • 28 days annual leave
  • Private Medical Insurance
  • Contributory Pension scheme
  • Personal Wellbeing Allowance
  • Personal Development Allowance
  • Flexible Working Policy 

Why we might not be the right choice for you

We want our people to enjoy their time at VCMI by allowing them to be themselves and placing them in situations where they will thrive. However, that means different things to different people. We may not be a great fit if:

  • You prefer very clear boundaries around your role and responsibilities. 
    We are a small team with a simple structure that relies on flexibility and agility. You’ll sometimes be asked to stretch upwards, responsible for deliverables at the edge of your comfort zone, but you’ll also be expected to “muck in” with a high level of self-sufficiency. Your job description will evolve as the project proceeds.
  • Personal achievements are more important to you than collective efforts. 
    We want everyone to grow and succeed, but the team results always come first. This may mean at times we’ll ask you to prioritise a colleague’s deliverable over your own. Achieving our goals won’t be down to one or two superstars. It will be because we collaborate as a team, support one another, and see the best in each other.
  • You want a clear long-term career path within an organisation. 
    Our size means we cannot promise to promote everyone that joins us, but we do promise to create an environment that helps everyone grow whatever their personal goals. We know and accept that for some of our people the career ladder will lead them to other organisations. We’ll be proud of our contribution to their growth.
  • You would prefer a role with well-established processes and solutions.  
    You are likely to be the first person doing your job at VCMI. There will be an absence of explicit work instructions and process. In fact, we’ll be asking you to create these and determine the best way to deliver on our objectives.

Our Cultural Roadmap 

Our culture deeply matters to us, but we understand how difficult it can be to assess from the outside, particularly for a young, fast-moving organisation. We want our cultural values to be more than nice words – they describe the attitudes, behaviours, and ways of working that we think will enable us to be successful as a group and develop as individuals.

Capturing the entirety of our culture in a job description is hard to do but we have some core beliefs that we build around.

  • Results-Driven, People-Focused: We’re serious about delivering results, emphasizing outcomes and performance within a supportive and positive culture.
  • The Team Comes First: We succeed as a team. Individual wins are great, but what we achieve together matters more.
  • Wellbeing as a Foundation: Personal well-being is essential for peak performance. Staying healthy and balanced enables us to do our best work.
  • Coaching for Growth: Coaching drives our continuous improvement. We learn, innovate, and take risks together, fostering a supportive environment for growth.
  • Quiet Leadership: Leading here means guiding and inspiring, not commanding. We all have a voice and a chance to steer.
  • Guided by Pro-social Behaviours: We act with kindness, collaboration, and responsibility, prioritizing positive impact on the wider community and each other.
  • Diverse Team, Individual Value: We believe in the power of a global team, enriched by the diversity of its individuals. Encouraging everyone to be their authentic self is at the heart of our culture.

We’ve been hugely inspired by this incredible TED Talk by Margaret Heffernan.

If you feel the same, we’d love to hear from you. Check out our current vacancies below.

Current Vacancies

Technical Associate (Finance) – Markets and Standards 

Salary: circa £50,000 plus benefits
Location: Flexible, Global
Hours: 37.5 hours per week, flexible pattern

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) is looking for a dynamic and dedicated individual to join our team as an Associate within the Markets and Standards team. The candidate will contribute to the development of key products aimed at advancing climate action and finance through a high-integrity voluntary carbon market. The ideal candidate will have a good understanding and experience in financial sector climate strategy development and target setting, as well as strong stakeholder engagement skills. Experience within the carbon markets is also desired, but not a requirement.

Reporting to the Technical Director, the successful candidate will play a crucial role in developing and finalising key products, including guidance for financial institutions (FI) on how to credibly make use of high quality carbon credits as part of their climate strategies. Once the technical guidance development is well advanced, the candidate will also be expected to work closely with the Engagement team at VCMI.

Key responsibilities include:

Guidance development: Support the development of FI specific guidance which will consider FI specific challenges and opportunities to engage in a high integrity VCM. The candidate will also assist the Technical team with updating the Monitoring, Reporting and Assurance (MRA) Framework to align with guidance and provisions developed for financial institutions. In particular, the candidate will be expected to review current guidelines on climate target setting, carbon credit use, and reporting for financial entities as well as crafting an initial Financial Sector Claims Code guidance draft.

Stakeholder engagement: Contribute to the implementation of a robust stakeholder engagement plan to test and refine the draft version of the FI guidance, which after published and launched will undergo public consultation and road test for finalisation in 2025. Additionally, collaborate with financial stakeholders to foster collaboration and build strategic partnerships.

Market trends and insights: Analyze market trends and evolving regulations, providing insights to integrate into guidance development. Further, the candidate shall stay informed about corporate climate target setting and relevant standards in the financial sector.

Collaboration and teamwork: Work collaboratively across all teams within VCMI to contribute to the organisation’s overall goals and outputs.

THE PERSON WE’RE LOOKING FOR 

You will have:

  • A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as economics, finance, or environmental science.
  • A good understanding of the financial sector and corporate climate target setting. The candidate should have a minimum of 2-3 years of professional experience.
  • A good understanding of international standards such as GHG Protocol, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), and other financial sector specific climate related frameworks.
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills, both written and spoken in English
  • A willingness to listen and understand competing perspectives and retain an objective position when assessing and summarising them
  • Experience of managing advisory groups, multi-stakeholder groups, and contractors providing external analysis
  • Proficiency in data management, including handling large datasets
  • Ability to analyse market trends and evolving regulations to provide insights and integrate them into guidance development
  • A genuine interest in how carbon markets and other forms of beyond value chain mitigation that can accelerate and deepen greenhouse gas mitigation
  • A proven ability to be a team player but also to work independently under your own initiative and meet challenging deadlines.

In addition, the ideal candidate would also be able to demonstrate:

  • A good understanding of the voluntary carbon markets, demonstrated by previous engagement in voluntary carbon market initiatives or projects.
  • Experience with engaging financial stakeholders to foster collaboration and build strategic partnerships. Financial stakeholders will include banks, TCFD, GFANZ, and others.
  • Knowledge and experience in implementing robust carbon emissions accounting methodologies for corporates within the financial sector.
  • Experience serving on the Secretariat of a governance body or international initiative
  • Knowledge of more than one language
  • Experience working across multiple regions and cultures

HOW YOU WILL MAKE AN IMPACT

  • Contribute directly to development of VCMI FI guidance and to the expansion of the VCMI Claims
  • Code of Practice which will enable companies to engage in the voluntary carbon markets with high integrity and so channel additional finance to where it is most needed for greenhouse gas mitigation and sustainable development.
  • Develop valuable relationships with financial sector stakeholders, to unlock greater climate finance for high quality carbon removal and reduction projects globally
  • Contribute directly to the continuous improvement of the VCMI Monitoring, Reporting and Assurance Framework which will enable scrutiny of corporate climate claims and provide confidence to investors, consumers and other stakeholders.
  • Develop work on other forms of Beyond Value Chain Mitigation
  • Represent VCMI in public fora and meetings with stakeholders.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, please send a copy of your CV along with a cover letter to recruitment@vcmintegrity.org.

Download Job Description

Don’t see the role for you?

We’re always on the look out for highly-talented, driven people that share our values and passion. If you’re interested in future roles please email your CV and cover letter to recruitment@vcmintegrity.org.

Interested in making a claim? We welcome you join our Carbon Integrity 101 webinar series.

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