Executive Manager, Science and Technical Services, Carbon & Nature Projects

About us

Pollination is a specialist climate change investment and advisory firm, accelerating the transition to a net zero, nature positive future.

Our people are the key to unlocking change. Brought together from across industries, we are global leaders in finance, investment, technology, business, law and policy.

We combine our diverse expertise to connect dots and see around corners where others can’t. With strong relationships at the highest levels of government and the private sector, we shift barriers and catalyse transformative partnerships.

Our clients span governments, businesses and public and private capital. Using our broad experience, we help navigate the climate transition and design and invest in breakthrough ideas that deliver financial returns.

About the Role

Pollination is seeking an Executive Manager, Science & Technical Services to lead the scientific and technical integrity of our Carbon & Nature Projects portfolio across Asia Pacific. This is a senior, platform-wide leadership role operating as a matrix function across our Asia platform and our Australian carbon and biodiversity projects.

This role connects deep scientific rigour with commercial and investment insight, a balance that defines Pollination’s approach to nature-based solutions and underpins investor confidence in our platform.

You will govern portfolio-wide carbon integrity, ensure origination aligns with emerging science, regulatory and market direction, standardise MRV systems and modelling frameworks, and provide technical sign-off at investment stage-gates; all while leading and developing a growing technical team.

About Your Impact

Portfolio de-risking & technical governance

• Provide technical governance and formal sign-off across the portfolio at investment stage-gates, supporting Investment Committee decision-making
• Own verification readiness for priority projects, including monitoring reports, carbon models, QA/QC, SOPs, evidence packs and VVB engagement
• Ensure ongoing alignment with evolving standards and methodologies (e.g. Gold Standard, VCS, JCM, ACCU Scheme, Isometric, Equitable Earth)
• Hold overall technical responsibility for a portfolio of projects progressing through feasibility, FID, and registration/development across Southeast Asia and Australia.

Technical systems & codification

• Develop and deploy standardised carbon modelling architecture, templates and checklists across priority projects
• Design and implement a modern geospatial platform and analysis protocol (Google Earth Engine and partner tools)
• Formalise QA/QC and uncertainty protocols across the technical function
• Drive digital MRV integration across priority projects
• Develop technical due diligence standards and checklists for Investment Committee stage-gates and capital investment strategy, in alignment with the broader Projects team.

Team leadership & capability building

• Lead, manage and coach the Science & Technical Services team, with clear roles, accountabilities and development plans
• Design and deliver technical training, both internal and external-facing, covering topics such as methodologies, MRV, modelling and/or geospatial analysis
• Foster and maintain a high-performing, engaged and productive team culture.

Stakeholder, investor & standards engagement

• Take primary carriage of technical due diligence matters for capital raise and investor engagement processes
• Engage directly with standards bodies, registries and third-party validation/verification bodies (VVBs)
• Support commercial teams by integrating technical inputs into financial models, investment papers and origination materials
• Represent Pollination’s technical credibility externally, including with corporate buyers, offtake counterparties and standards’ bodies.

Cross-functional collaboration & innovation

• Partner with investment, legal, commercial and origination teams to align project assumptions and de-risk deal execution
• Contribute to methodology innovation and cross-business technical knowledge-sharing, including ad-hoc support to other business units as required

About You

• Degree in environmental science, forestry, geospatial science, geography, carbon accounting or a related field; postgraduate qualification highly regarded
• 10+ years’ experience in carbon project development, GHG quantification or land-sector project delivery, including demonstrated leadership of technical teams
• Deep expertise across carbon methodologies (e.g. ARR, REDD+, IFM, WRC) and major standards and frameworks (VCS, Gold Standard, ACCU Scheme, JCM, etc.)
• Proven experience leading and developing technical staff, including performance management and structured capability-building
• Track record of engaging directly with standards bodies, registries and third-party auditors/VVBs at a senior level
• Strong technical writing and communication skills, with experience leading preparation of PDDs, monitoring reports and verification packages
• Proficiency with project management skills and experience
• Experience supporting Investment Committee processes and capital raising, including leading investor technical due diligence
• Comfortable operating across interdisciplinary teams and diverse geographies, in a matrixed, platform-wide capacity
• Operates with enterprise-level thinking about platform risk and technical governance
• Thrives in an entrepreneurial, fast-scaling environment through curiosity and a problem-solving approach
• Demonstrates resilience under regulatory and capital pressure

Highly desirable

• Experience with remote sensing, geospatial platforms (e.g. QGIS, Google Earth Engine, spatial SQL, Python and cloud-native processing), and digital MRV systems
• Familiarity with biodiversity and natural capital accounting frameworks, such as the UN SEEA, Accounting for Nature (AFN), the HCV approach and/or the TNFD
• Familiarity with scripting or data analysis tools (e.g. Python, JavaScript, R)
• Experience translating and integrating carbon and nature project features and data into materials fit for investment decision-making
• Experience with fundraising for carbon projects, including supporting philanthropic, debt, equity and/or offtake transactions.

This is a permanent, full-time role with the flexibility to work outside of standard office hours when necessary. We work flexibly with a minimum of three-days in office time across your working week.

You must possess the Right to Work in Australia.

Location – Sydney or Melbourne. For exceptional candidates, Singapore will be considered.

How to apply

Please apply by submitting a cover letter and CV. You must hold the right to work in Australia (or Singapore as relevant).

We are managing this recruitment process internally and will not be engaging agency support. We kindly ask that recruitment agencies refrain from contacting us regarding this role.

Applying with Pollination

Pollination is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity and inclusion. We encourage people of all backgrounds to apply. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of application. We will then work with you to identify the best way to assist you through the recruitment process.

Ways of working

We love to collaborate and connect in person where possible. We have a minimum 3-day in office way of working and have flexibility to accommodate our global workforce.