Millennium Water Alliance | Carbon Credits Specialist – DRIP FUNDI | Nairobi Kenya

The Millennium Water Alliance (MWA) www.mwawater.orgis a permanent global alliance of leading humanitarian, research, and business organizations that convene a trusted network and serve as a hub for collective impact, accelerate learning, and influencepriorities and funding to scale sustained WASH services and resilience globally. MWA and its members collectively serve over 50 million people in over 100 countries and are leading advocates for greater water and sanitation commitments by governments and the private sector.

Program description

MWA is seeking an experienced Carbon Credits Specialist to support the USAID funded DRIP FUNDI (Fixing Uptime Now and Decision Improvement) program in Kenya. The program, which is set to be implemented in the five counties of Marsabit, Garissa, Wajir, Isiolo and Turkana seeks to increase the borehole uptime across 200 boreholes in the five counties. The underpinning goal of the program is to address the challenge of borehole non-functionality that is prevalent in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) of northern Kenya and rural areas of Kenya at large. Non-functional water systems make it particularly difficult for communities to cope with the recurrent droughts that the region experiences. The program will partner with respective county government borehole repair teams and private sector partners to facilitate the rapid repair of the boreholes. Further, it will also engage selected private sector partners for the provision of the spare parts required for borehole repair. The program aims to set up a carbon financing system to support the continued repair of the 200 boreholes beyond the program’s life. Credits will be generated through avoided emissions from boiling water because households will have more reliable supply of water from the boreholes which will eliminate the need for them to fetch contaminated water.

Job Summary

The Carbon Credits Specialist will oversee the registration of the DRIP FUNDI program with the Gold Standard for Global Goals (GS4GG) Carbon Registry in close collaboration with MWA’s partner Virridy Inc. So far, the formal process toward registering DRIP FUNDI under GS4GG has commenced. There are draft project design documents and initial Gold Standard stakeholder consultations that have been completed. MWA and Virridy aim to ensure the project is certified and credits issued by the end of the program’s life (18 months). The position holder will report to DRIP FUNDI program manager. They will also work closely with the Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning Manager and Data Analyst/Learning officer. The position will be based in Nairobi, Kenya with frequent travel (about 40% of the time) to program sites in the ASAL counties.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

The Carbon Credits Specialist will oversee the following functions.

• Lead the process of securing carbon credit ownership waivers.
• Monitor the performance of the Project Developer and the compliance of the Project Developer with the contract terms.
• Support the finalization and revision of the DRIP FUNDI Project Design Documents (PDDs).
• Support the modelling of emission reductions that will be generated from the DRIP FUNDI program.
• Conduct regular revenue modelling and forecasting to inform management decisions.
• Track and project revenues ring-fenced and utilized for the maintenance and repair of boreholes under the DRIP FUNDI program.
• Support the validation, annual monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) activities as required by GS4GG.
• Conduct site visits, manage stakeholder engagements and feedback rounds and travel to project locations whenever needed.
• Schedule technical reviews and quality checks for the program.
• Keep up to date with developments in the international carbon market.
• Conduct regular reviews of emerging changes and international/national climate change policy and regulations and document their implications for the DRIP FUNDI program.
• Support the acquisition of a corresponding adjustment letter for the program.
• Develop and maintain a network of project developers, verification bodies (VVBs) and standard bodies (e.g. Gold Standard and Verra’s VCS).
• Develop learning documentation on the whole project development process for large scale dissemination.
• Recruit and manage the inclusion of additional water points and Voluntary Project Activities (VPA) into the broader DRIP FUNDI Program of Activities.
• Any other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• A relevant bachelor’s or master’s degree, ideally in Environmental Sciences, Environmental Engineering, Energy Engineering, Economics, or sustainability-related disciplines
• At least four (4) years of relevant work experience in carbon asset development with a proven track record in PDD writing, including managing the full validation, monitoring, verification, and issuance.
• Excellent knowledge of international carbon standards VCS (Verra), Gold Standard for the Global Goals and CDM and the most common carbon methodologies.
• Up-to-date knowledge on developments in terms of the international carbon market and (inter-) national environmental policy, including Greenhouse Gas Protocol, corporate GHG inventory (including scope 1,2 and 3), Science Based Targets and Net Zero, the Kenya Climate Change Amendment Act (2023).
• A strong technical understanding of the water, resourcee management, or renewable energy sectors in order to identify opportunities in the carbon market/ climate change field, including methodologies required for the development of the project.
• Commercial skills, good business sense & target driven; able to identify and seize opportunities in a challenging and competitive market environment.
• Proven knowledge and network in the relevant fields.
• Excellent oral and written skills in English
• Applicants for this position must have the right to work in Kenya.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to work within a team.
• Extreme attention to detail is required.
• Clear and concise report-writing skills are required.
• Ability to work independently and be self-motivated.
• Ability to adjust to changing work environments, priorities, and goals.
• Ability to quickly learn and pick up on new concepts.