Project Associate, Colorado

Preferred Application Deadline: July 26, 2024
Location: Remote; Colorado required

Reports to: Project Development Manager

Direct Reports: 0

Salary: $70k-$78k, dependent on experience

Travel: Up to 25% - 50% of the time, primarily within Colorado and, to a lesser extent, other Colorado River Basin states

Preferred Start Date: September 16, 2024

Employment Status: 16-month term position mid-September 2024 - mid-January 2026 (extension pending funding and performance)

About Blue Forest

Blue Forest is a conservation finance non-profit founded in 2015 that is focused on advancing ecosystem restoration through scientific research, financial innovation, and collaborative partnerships. Since 2018, Blue Forest has managed investor capital through its flagship financial product, the Forest Resilience Bond (FRB), which deploys private capital to finance forest restoration projects to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires. More recently, Blue Forest has also established Blue Forest Asset Management (BFAM), an investment management platform connecting investors to compelling, mission-aligned opportunities in a broader set of asset classes beyond FRB projects, such as private equity and private credit investments. 

Blue Forest is made up of an interdisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, foresters, finance, and communications professionals committed to the mission: “To accelerate ecological restoration through conservation finance, enabling climate resilience for ecosystems and communities”. Employees at Blue Forest are:

• Committed to Continuous Learning

• Driven by Collaboration

• Thoughtful Innovators for Impact

• Ground in Science

• Passionate about Restoring Earth’s Ecosystems

As we grow and develop new financial solutions to pressing environmental problems, we are seeking to amplify and collaborate with those historically excluded in conservation finance. We recognize that a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization is not only vital but also a key driver of strength, resilience, and success.  

Position Summary

Project Associates at Blue Forest focus on the development of conservation finance projects while coordinating and contributing to other aspects of Blue Forest workstreams including research and science efforts, communications, education and capacity building, and partnerships. This role involves scoping early-stage project development in the Colorado River Basin and Colorado’s Front Range.

Position responsibilities include leading execution and day-to-day operations for the portfolio of Colorado projects, fostering and managing relationships with project partners, facilitating the advancement of working relationships between Blue Forest and beneficiary organizations, and partnering with Managers and Directors to connect day-to-day operations with long-term strategy. Associates play a key role in project development by creating written materials, delivering presentations, and developing relationships with partners in coordination with Managers and Directors. In addition, Associates also spend their time coordinating special projects within the project development department at Blue Forest.

Position Responsibilities

Individual FRB Project Development in Colorado (90%)

• Support the expansion of Blue Forest’s conservation finance project development work into Colorado and other Colorado River Basin states

• Support the development of multiple conservation finance projects from conception to execution, including helping project managers bring structure and processes to innovative and ambiguous projects. Project workstreams include:

  • Partnering with land managers (such as the Forest Service) to create implementation strategies for priority restoration projects

  • Researching and supporting the engagement of potential project beneficiaries including utilities, corporations interested in nature-based solutions, and local and state governments

  • Working with Blue Forest’s science team and science partners to quantify and communicate project benefits

  • Supporting proposal development to secure funding commitments from beneficiaries

  • Supporting the project team with relationship management of community stakeholders, Native nations, and potential project collaborators

• Develop project materials such as presentations, two-pagers, and memorandums to support project development

• Coordinate project tasks to help move the project development process forward, including scheduling meetings, advancing conversations with partners, documenting project progress, and supporting project management (using tools like Asana, Slack, and Google Drive)

Partnerships, Operations, and Communications (10%)

• Support site visit planning with project partners, executing grant reporting, enhancing internal knowledge sharing, and developing system processes and organization

• Develop communications materials like 2-pagers, story maps, and explainers for projects, initiatives, and research project deliverables

• Contribute to the newsletter and other email and social media campaigns where appropriate and where material can elevate key partners and/or project visibility

Desired Qualifications & Experience

An ideal candidate will have 1-4 years of relevant work or equivalent experience. Blue Forest will prioritize the following qualifications in the hiring process; however, we do not expect candidates to fulfill all criteria and encourage all interested candidates to apply.

• Active contributor: Ability to work independently with minimal supervision; detail-oriented, executes assigned tasks, follows through, manages time effectively, owns workstreams. Identifies and communicates bottlenecks with support, proactively researching and identifying solutions to bring to the team.

• Communication: Strong written and oral communication skills, including distilling and communicating complex ideas into presentations and written memos, facilitating collaborative discussions, creating effective storytelling products, etc.

• Partnerships & Collaboration: Developing experience collaborating with internal and external stakeholders and Native Nations. Strong active listening skills, inclusive approach, and values engaging diverse perspectives to design effective solutions and projects

• Conservation Finance, Ecosystem Services, Utilities, or Forestry Expertise: Passionate about and some understanding of conservation finance, modeling ecosystem services, water and electric utilities, forestry, or other relevant fields. Experience working with the USDA Forest Service or utilities is a plus but not required.

• Continuous learner: Committed to continuous learning, including: seeking opportunities to incorporate feedback and learn from others, actively listening and taking note of opportunities to improve project development processes, documenting best practices, and exploring ways to promote engagement approaches anchored in historical place-based context that empower and support diverse communities within the conservation and financial communities.

Additional Information

Blue Forest is a fully remote company with staff located across all four continental U.S. time zones. You will generally be expected to be online during Mountain Standard Time standard working hours in order to collaborate with partners and other team members. Blue Forest also hosts an in-person team retreat each year.

Benefits

• 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision coverage; subsidized coverage for dependents

• Access to a 401k retirement plan with a 4% employer match

• Starting 3 weeks paid vacation and 17 paid holidays; paid sick leave and volunteer time

• 3 months of paid family leave

• Employer-paid life and long-term disability insurance

• Access to Dependent Care FSA

• Public Lands Exploration stipend (reimbursements for visits to National Forests, county parks, etc.)

• Monthly Home Office stipend or co-working space provided

• Travel and partial dependant care costs provided for business travel

• Additional stipends for health & wellness; home internet and cell service

• Financial support for professional development
  

Covid Vaccine Requirement

All Blue Forest staff are required to be “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines that term. Proof of full vaccination shall be a condition of employment and must be provided prior to starting work, except where prohibited by law. Blue Forest is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and the company will engage in the interactive process regarding reasonable accommodations for candidates who cannot be vaccinated due to a disability/medical condition; a sincerely held religious belief, practice or observance; or a claimed exemption under applicable state law. 

How to Apply

To apply to this position, please submit an application through recruitee. People from historically underrepresented populations and candidates with non-traditional career paths are especially encouraged to apply. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, and those submitted by 7/26/2024 will be given priority consideration.

If participating in the interview process would require you to incur additional expenses to participate, such as childcare, please let us know and we are happy to reimburse for reasonable expenses incurred up to $30/hour for twice the length of each interview in which you participate. There will be space to request this reimbursement upon offer of an interview.

Blue Forest provides equal employment and opportunities for advancement, compensation, training, and growth according to individual merit, without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, genetic information, disability, veteran-status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable Federal, state, or local law. Applicants must have authorization to work in the United States.