Reporting To: Founder & CEO

Environment: We’re hybrid (London)

Travel: Some travel is required (visiting customers/projects/conferences/team gatherings)

Opna’s Vision

Imagine a thriving, equitable planet where everyone actively participates and benefits from building projects that contribute to a low-carbon economy, safeguarding our environment, and combating climate change. At Opna, we are on a mission to make this vision a reality, becoming the world's most trusted platform for climate finance. Our goal is simple: to ensure that funding for essential initiatives, from preserving rainforests to extracting carbon, is accessible to all.

The Urgent Challenge

We stand at a pivotal moment in the fight against climate change. We must rapidly undo the centuries-long impact of fossil fuels. This demands an unprecedented infrastructure revolution - carbon projects that remove and reduce carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. High-quality carbon projects encounter formidable barriers in accessing necessary financing. Lengthy project realisation timelines, extractive finance terms, and a considerable share of funding being absorbed by intermediaries jeopardise the well-being of communities and biodiversity.

Opna's Solution

That's where Opna comes in. We exist to eliminate the obstacles that hinder high-quality carbon projects from receiving timely and fair financing. Our mission is to unlock capital for these crucial climate initiatives, driving impact at scale and with equity.

Building the Future of Climate Finance

Our platform directly connects corporates and financiers to high-quality, vetted carbon projects, driving them towards their net-zero goals. By closing the financing gap, we accelerate the deployment and supply of game-changing climate solutions. Carbon removal needs to scale to a $1 Trillion/year market, up from a few hundred million $/year today. We embark on an audacious journey to address climate change meaningfully and with unwavering trust from our project development partners, corporate customers, investors, and an exceptional team, success is within reach.

Join us in shaping a sustainable world for generations to come.

Your Role

As the Lead for Carbon Markets (Policy/Strategy) at Opna, you will spearhead the evolution of credible carbon markets and drive innovative carbon market policy initiatives. Your strategic insight will revolutionise market standards and position Opna as a pioneer in climate finance. Collaborating closely with Shilps, Opna's founder and CEO, you will lead Policy and Strategy efforts while contributing to a sustainable world.

You’ll experience the profound impact and unparalleled reach of your work daily. You’ll be part of empowering FTSE 500 companies to reach their net-zero targets, unlocking timely and equitable financing for our project partners and their communities. Your contributions will ripple through the communities protecting our forests and biodiversity and will shape climate commitments in corporate boardrooms.

Responsibilities

Your responsibilities include:

• Policy Visionary: Understand International Carbon Markets' regulatory and policy landscape, translating complexities for diverse audiences.

• Project Proficient: Grasp diverse carbon market project types, from removal to reduction, driving innovative solutions.
• Internal Stakeholder Engagement: Work directly with the Opna’s Business Development and Product teams to translate policy and regulatory developments into product and client offerings.
• External Stakeholder Engagement: Build and maintain relationships with regulatory bodies, industry associations, and policy influencers.
• Advocacy and Influence: Represent the company's interests in policy discussions and initiatives.
• Policy Development: Contribute to the formulation of our policy positions and recommendations, based on industry knowledge and insights.
• Risk Management: Assess potential regulatory risks and recommend proactive measures to ensure compliance and mitigate any adverse impact.
• Educational Initiatives: Develop internal and external educational resources to increase awareness and understanding of evolving policy and regulations.

Required Skills and Qualifications

To thrive in this role, you should have the following:

• Market awareness: In-depth comprehension of voluntary carbon markets, encompassing value chains, challenges, and due diligence criteria.
• Regulatory Expertise: Proven experience in policy and regulatory affairs, preferably in the climate or environmental sector.
• Policy Analysis: Ability to analyse complex policy documents, understanding their implications on business operations and strategy.
• Stakeholder Management: Strong networking and relationship-building skills with the ability to collaborate and influence effectively.
• Strategic Insight: A knack for translating regulatory developments into actionable insights and strategies.
• Clear Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills for engaging internal and external stakeholders.
• Adaptability: Capability to navigate evolving regulatory landscapes and adapt strategies accordingly.

Nice-to-Have:

• Industry Connections: Considerable engagement with key carbon market players (e.g., Verra, IETA, ICVCM).

Personal Traits

You will thrive in this role if you:

• Are self-motivated and can work Chief of Staff, Roxanne Pryor with team members.
• Enjoy the dynamic nature of an early-stage startup, embracing a fast-learning and fast-moving environment.
• Are curious, open to differing opinions, and enjoy sharing your domain knowledge and perspective.
• Value working in diverse environments with people from different backgrounds and experiences.
• Find fulfilment in collaborating with and building relationships with peers.

Our Interview Process

We’re swift at moving things along for you. We need you to meet several people (onsite/virtually) because of the responsibility that comes with this role and ensure this is right for you.

• Quick video call with our Chief of Staff, Roxanne Pryor
• Video call with our CEO, Shilpika Gautam
• Carbon Markets Task (onsite in London, preferably) which is reviewed with our extended team of carbon experts
• Meet the team
• Call with a board member/investor
• Final meet with Shilpika
• Carbon Markets References

Competitive salary, generous options, 25 days holiday + bank holidays, pension, homeworking set-up allowance.

Our Team

Today, we’re a small and agile team across London, Berlin and Barcelona. Collectively we have deep experience and expertise across capital markets, carbon markets, climate finance and FinTech. We keep each other accountable. We rely on regular and open communication. We share our optimism for finding solutions to climate change. We’re gritty and actively practise empathy. We are serious about our work but don't take ourselves too seriously!

Diversity & Inclusion

We know that diversity is multifaceted and intersectional, and we want to build a company where different identities and perspectives can come together to deliver on our mission and vision. We are a venture-backed company founded and led by a woman of colour. 100% of our team today has their roots in the global south, and over half of our pre-seed investors identify as women. We speak English, Hindi, Spanish and French across our team.