Background Community Climate Solutions

Community Climate Solutions is a start-up focused on developing holistic and trusted carbon offset projects that benefit both the climate as well as the rural subsistence farmers. Headquartered in Zug and Lusaka, we have a team of over 30 people and are growing rapidly, with the majority of staff permanently residing in and serving over 100’000 farmers in Zambia.

Our carbon capture model is to empower farmers to reduce and remove carbon emissions from their own agricultural land and its surroundings. Our interventions are centered on (i) reducing anthropogenic bush fires by paying local farmers for cutting of the moribund grass, building community cattle herds to graze, and financially incentivizing non-burn, (ii) restoring the ecosystem by protecting existing trees and the natural regrowth, combined with replanting where necessary, and (iii) encouraging climate-smart agricultural practices. This removes carbon through the soil health and biomass growth, which we monetize for the benefit of the communities using the voluntary carbon market. We additionally differentiate ourselves by focusing on direct household payment, with farmers getting paid for the amount of carbon they remove on their own fields and surrounding areas, enabling them to become self-motivated eCO2preneurs.

Job Description

We are now looking to hire a Senior Operating Officer/COO, with the following responsibilities:

• CEO’s right hand in coordinating the Zambian team and roll-out (incl. ops, finance, HR processes)
• CEO’s right hand in rolling out of the above-mentioned interventions to >100’000 subsistence farming households on millions of hectares, including the respective processes and technology
• Manage community development projects in Zambia, including the budgeting, staffing and monitoring
• Manage partnerships with a variety of scientific, commercial and philanthropic partners
• Supporting the sales effort of the voluntary carbon credits

Job Requirements

Please only apply if you fulfill the following requirements:

• Passion for climate action and/or development work
• Strong conceptual thinking, proven project management and organizational skills
• Willingness to work in a start-up setting, with tight deadlines and all-hands-on-deck mentality
• Willingness to frequently travel to Zambia and other Eastern/Southern African countries
• Proven leadership skills, both on an individual and an organizational level
• 5+ years of experience in strategy development, business development or operational leadership functions
• Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in a relevant field

What we offer

• A challenging out of the ordinary opportunity where you can help save the climate while helping hundreds of thousands of farmers out of poverty
• Start-up mentality with strong growth opportunities
• Ability to assume (leadership) responsibility early on, growing with the fast-scaling company
• A state-of-the art working environment in a family office setting in Steinhausen/ZG
• Competitive pay commensurate with experience
• Full-time position (100%), ideally starting as soon as possible.

How to apply

Please apply by sending the following to Write an email (deadline 31 May 2024):

• Detailed CV
• Cover letter detailing your motivation and vision for the role
• Two references (from previous employers or academic references)
• Salary expectation
• Degree certificates