Certification Programme Implementation Manager

at  Anthesis Group

ABOUT ANTHESIS

Anthesis is the sustainability activator. Proud to be a B Corp, we seek to make a significant contribution to a world which is more resilient and productive. We do this by working with cities, corporates, investors and other organisations to drive sustainable performance. We develop financially driven sustainability strategies, underpinned by technical expertise and delivered by innovative collaborative teams across the world.
At Anthesis Group, we are truly committed to putting people and our planet at the heart of all we do.
Summary of Role & Key Responsibilities
About the Certification Programme
The Climate Neutral Certification Programme went live on the 1st of January 2021 and has since then grown rapidly. With over 60 mio certified products sold annually to consumers in 14 countries, the Certification Programme is creating real impact. We put the bar high: we require our certified clients to make substantial GHG emission reductions every year in line with the Paris Agreement, and what cannot be reduced yet shall be compensated with the most credible offsets. Certified clients need to go public with their obliged targets and need to report how they have achieved and intend to achieve the targeted reductions. And, all of this is all verified through 3rd party audits by accredited Certification Bodies (CBs). For more information, see here.
With this Certification Programme, we have acquired ‘Topkeurmerk’ (Toplabel) status in the Netherlands, and we were endorsed by ISEAL, the overarching organisation overseeing certification schemes, requiring us to implement the ISEAL Codes of Good Practise.
Continuous reflection and improvement are core to our Programme and the impact we wish to make. We continuously build capacity and provide internal support to our Client Account Managers and Consultants, and we have set up an extensive Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning System as well as a CB Support & Oversight System. An Advisory Committee composed of external stakeholder representatives, as well as an internal Content Standardization Committee have been appointed to oversee consistent implementation of the Programme. In addition, the Certification Team is developing an additional Programme on Insetting to help (certified) clients achieve their reduction targets.
With the continuously changing Voluntary Carbon Market in which we operate, and with major upcoming changes in the regulatory environment in which we operate (a.o. the (draft) Green Claims Directive and Empowering Consumer Proposal) the Certification Programme is up for content revision in 2024/25, also to explore and facilitate new upscale opportunities via Anthesis’ network and client portfolio. We have made a first start already, with a full rebranding of the Certification Programme, including a new name, logo and trademark, narratives, claims, website, marketing material, etc.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

Skills, experience, technical knowledge, etc are all important advantages, but we really seek one individual that has the right mind-set, attitude, dedication and character. We can train you on the content, but we cannot change who you are. Thus, if you are a bright, result-oriented self-starter, who is passionate to create real change, then please get in touch with us. The right candidate:

• has a natural leadership style of humour combined with authority;
• is a real relationship-builder, and culturally and strategically sensitive;
• is an analytical thinker who can quickly absorb and own a lot of complex information and make meaningful sense out of that;
• and able to train and manage him/herself to maximise output;
• is willing to travel occasionally;
• can prioritise tasks and feels at ease with a fast-moving environment.

Desirable skills

• Acquired 7+ years of relevant working experience, either in a programme development, quality management, and/or auditing or oversight role for another certification scheme or company sustainability programme;
• Track record that proves you understand the world of auditing and certification, e.g, ISEAL Code of Good Practise, CB accreditations (ISO accreditation norms);
• Knowledge of GHG footprinting and Life Cycle Assessments (GHG Protocol, PAS 2060, ISO 14064-1,2,3, ISO 14044, etc);
• Understanding of the (upcoming) green claims legislation.

Benefits

Your Benefits

• Work within a highly motivated team in an innovative and rapidly growing global company
• Opportunity to have a direct impact and be a key part of the growth and development of the business and the team
• Work solely on projects that have an impact on the sustainability and climate change goals/challenges for clients
• Opportunity to work with, collaborate with and learn from sustainability SME’s who are passionate about the work they do and the impact Anthesis can have
• Exposure to a wide range of clients and projects on a global basis
• Competitive salary in line with education, experience and skills
• An opportunity to participate in the Anthesis Employee Participation Plan (EPP), an industry-pioneering employee incentive plan that allows all employees to be rewarded for the growth in the equity value of Anthesis.
• Cooperative, supportive and open working atmosphere.

About Anthesis Group

Anthesis currently has a vacancy for a Certification Programme Implementation Manager to support the Certification Team with a range of tasks related to the implementation of the (revised) Certification Programme at all levels in our organisation (mainly Client Account Managers and Consultants) as well as with external stakeholders (Certification Bodies, Advisory Committee). This is a senior role aiming to lift overall performance and credibility of the Programme to a higher level. You will detect issues and inconsistencies, build capacity where needed, align different parties towards the same direction, and support all actors involved throughout the audit preparation and certification process. You are always just one step ahead of the rest: you foresee where issues may occur or things may ‘fall between the cracks’ and signal opportunities for improvement. For this, you make also use of our first version of our Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning system. With your seniority, you pro-actively initiate and implement these improvements and prevent larger escalations: you get the different involved parties around the table, use data to draw conclusions for improvements, and you steer the process towards the right direction. This means you will have to become an expert on the content of the Core Programme Documents (i.e. the Standard, Assurance Protocol and Trademark & Claims Policy) and will need to understand good auditing and certification practices.
This is a senior role.

Key Responsibilities

• Assure consistent and adequate implementation of the Core Programme Documents in line with ‘the spirit of the Programme’, by facilitating that Certification Bodies conduct high quality audits, Consultants are well equipped to provide effective services and Client Account Managers manage client expectations adequately;
• Training and capacity building of all current stakeholders, including Consultants, Client Account Managers and CB staff, but also new stakeholders (e.g. resulting from the upscaling via the Anthesis network) so that they are all aligned.
• Further improve and institutionalise our Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning System, including the improvement of data input and output flows, KPI management and annual impact reporting;
• Signal, initiate, implement and oversee process improvements throughout the entire audit and certification process;
• Further improve and implement our Quality Management System, comprised of quality manuals and tools as well as Standard Operating Procedures;
• Annual internal assessment to check compliance with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice, and where not, initiate and implement improvements;
• Complaints handling and grievance management;
• Management of complex claim approval requests;
• Following trends and developments of the Voluntary Carbon Markets and the continuously changing regulatory environment and upcoming legislation, and align with/ provide stakeholder feedback to key players in these domains;
• Close alignment with the Programme Development Manager (current vacancy) to roll out the revised version of the Programme, and close alignment with other team members.

Note that the content of this role may be re-shaped (TBD internally with all team members), once the Certification Programme scales up further.
Key Requirements, Skills Knowledge & Expertise