Head of Forest Protection

Systemiq

Company Description: Systemiq is the system change company, working to accelerate the transition to a net-zero, nature-positive and more inclusive economy. As a certified B Corp, we partner with business, finance, policymakers and civil society to transform five interconnected systems: energy, nature and food, materials and circularity, sustainable finance, and urban transformation. We bring together strategy, policy, market design and capital mobilisation to deliver tangible results in the real economy. Founded in 2016, Systemiq has grown to a global team of more than 300 people across Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, Kenya, the Netherlands, the UK and the US, united by a singular focus on sustainability. Systemiq is sharing an opportunity for a Head of Operational Improvement with a leading tropical forest restoration organisation operating in West Africa. Head of Operational Excellence (CEO Office) Reports to: Co-CEO Location: West Africa (Ghana / Sierra Leone) preferred; London considered Travel: Frequent site travel required (minimum ~15 weeks/year if London-based) Contract: Full-time, permanent — individual contributor role About the Organisation A large-scale tropical forest restoration company operating in West Africa, restoring degraded ecosystems through long-term, community-led projects. With 2,000+ employees across multiple countries and thousands of hectares already restored, the organisation is now scaling rapidly towards 100,000+ hectares under management over the next three years. Projects align with leading international standards (e.g. VERRA VCS, CCB), delivering measurable climate, biodiversity, and socioeconomic outcomes. The Role This role sits in the Co-CEO Office and exists for one reason: to make operations work at scale. You will go into parts of the organisation where things are unclear, inconsistent, or breaking — figure out what’s actually going on, and fix it. That means building systems, driving adoption, and holding the line until they stick. You are not tied to a function. You will move across the business — forest protection, restoration, livelihoods, ESG — focusing on the highest-priority problems at any given time. This is not a strategy role in the abstract. It is a hands-on execution role: diagnose → design → implement → embed → repeat The goal is to replace reactive, project-by-project execution with systems that are repeatable, measurable, and owned. There is no team to hide behind. Progress depends on your ability to cut through noise, build trust quickly, and deliver in messy, real-world conditions. Key Responsibilities * Find the real problems: Cut through reporting and surface what’s actually slowing execution down * Build what’s missing: Design SOPs, workflows, and decision frameworks that teams can realistically use in the field * Make it stick: Work side-by-side with teams to implement systems and drive adoption — not just design them * Create accountability: Define KPIs, establish reporting rhythms, and ensure ownership is clear and followed through * Upgrade how decisions get made: Introduce tools and processes that improve visibility and speed * Act as an extension of the Co-CEO: Step into priority issues, unblock teams, and drive cross-functional execution * Represent externally (over time): Engage with senior stakeholders (including government and partners) as a credible operator, not just a messenger Success in 12–18 Months * Core operational processes are no longer dependent on individuals — they run consistently across regions * Leadership has a clear, real-time view of performance (and trusts the data) * Teams spend less time dealing with recurring issues and more time executing against clear plans * Accountability is visible and enforced, not assumed * You are trusted to step into critical issues and represent leadership when needed Who You Are * 4–7 years in top-tier operational consulting or similarly demanding operational roles * You’ve worked on real operational problems — not just slide decks — and have seen implementation through * Strong structured thinker, but willing to get into the detail when needed * Comfortable operating without clear answers or clean data * Able to challenge senior stakeholders and still bring people with you * Equally credible in the field and with leadership * High ownership, low ego, and a bias for action * Resilient — you don’t lose momentum when things get ambiguous or slow * Willing to spend significant time on the ground * Motivated by building something that has long-term environmental and social impact Why This Role You will be working directly on the hardest operational problems in a fast-scaling organisation — with visibility from the top and very little insulation. If you want a clearly defined role with stable boundaries, this is not it. If you want to build systems that actually get used, in a complex, real-world environment, it is. Diversity & Inclusion At Systemiq, we absolutely believe diverse perspectives are essential to driving system change. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where people feel respected, supported and able to do their best work. Click here to view our Data Policy.

KAYA Climate Solutions

YOUR MISSION This is a techno-scientific role in the Climate Office at KAYA in which the responsible colleague will lead the conceptualisation and design of forest conservation and reforestation activities within larger landscape projects. They will be accountable for key topics like forest inventory, specie selection, nursery development, tree planting models, and silviculture. Their work will catalyse the implementation and management of the landscape projects. re. Their work will catalyse the implementation and management of the landscape projects. They will report to the Head of Climate and work closely with the Project Development Specialist and the Greenhouse Gas Accounting Specialist. Periodic travel to project sites for monitoring and evaluation will be an integral part of this role. YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES * Analyse forest landscapes and spatial trends under chosen jurisdictions together with earth observation engineers * Perform historical land cover and land use (LCLU) analysis and conduct baseline and project feasibility studies on select landscapes * Evaluate existing inventory data and management plans in conservation initiatives and propose enhancements or additions where necessary * Lead the design and monitoring of earthworks and planting in restoration initiatives * Lead the planning and development of nurseries and production of seedlings * Perform statistical analysis on field data and model tree growth and yield using peer-reviewed methods and tools * Develop maps, diagrams, and graphs to support analysis and documentation in various projects  * Steer evaluation, documentation, and development of potential market value chains originating from project areas * Support Project Development Specialist(s) in developing project documents compliant to certification standards and programs YOUR PROFILE * Deep understanding of forest ecosystems in tropical and sub-tropical climatic zones  * Expertise in remote sensing technologies and GIS softwares  * Knowledge of various global maps and satellite imagery data sets  * Over five years of experience in designing, developing, and managing REDD+ and reforestation projects in tropical or sub-tropical countries with the potential to show samples of work done  * Familiarity with multiple AFOLU methodologies under Verified Carbon Standard, Gold Standard, Equitable Earth and Isometric is a plus  * Willingness to live and work in Berlin * Willingness to travel overseas for work, especially to sub-Saharan Africa * Possibility to contact former employers  * In additional to English fluency, languages desired are Portuguese, French and/or Spanish  * Education in forestry, GIS and/or landscape management is desirable  * Knowledge of relevant scientific tools and methods is desirable  * Knowledge of national regulations and policies regarding forest ecosystems in sub-Saharan African countries is a plus WHAT WE OFFER * We offer you a job with purpose through the opportunity to work for the planet and people.   * You get global exposure everyday through international colleagues and intercontinental work.   * You become part of an organisation in its early phase.   * You get to experience life in Berlin Please send us your latest CV along with a summary on why you would like to take this role on. In case of any questions to aid your application process, please write at work@kaya.global. We at KAYA stand for equal opportunities and recruit based on capability and performance. We welcome everyone who shares our passion and cares about contributing to our vision to hand in their application.

Black Forest Labs

ABOUT BLACK FOREST LABS We're the team behind Latent Diffusion, Stable Diffusion, and FLUX—foundational technologies that changed how the world creates images and video. We’re creating the generative models that power how people make images and video—tools used by millions of creators, developers, and businesses worldwide. Our FLUX models are among the most advanced in the world, and we're just getting started. Headquartered in Freiburg, Germany with a growing presence in San Francisco, we're scaling fast while staying true to what makes us different: research excellence, open science, and building technology that expands human creativity. WHY THIS ROLE You'll split your time between People Partnering and People Operations, with that balance shifting toward more partnering as we grow and the ops layer matures. You'll report into the Head of People and work closely with our existing EU People team member, taking the lead on partnering and providing guidance on ops quality and approach. This role suits someone who can hold a room with senior leaders, thinks commercially, and isn't too precious to roll up their sleeves when it matters. Your background might be in HR, Operations, Consulting, or Programme Management; what matters more is that you bring good judgement, a genuine interest in the people function, and the self-awareness to know what you don't yet know. Tech experience is essential, you'll be supporting engineers, researchers, and commercial teams, and you need to understand how they think. WHAT YOU’LL WORK ON PEOPLE PARTNERING * Serve as a key People Partner for EU-based managers and employees, providing support across performance, team effectiveness, and organisational design * Coach and develop managers across the org, building leadership capability as we scale * Own compensation strategy inputs and lead key employee lifecycle moments, performance cycles, promotions, difficult conversations * Lead employee relations matters in the EU with sound judgement and solid knowledge of German employment law; know when to escalate to external counsel * Be a trusted presence at HQ, the person leaders come to before a situation becomes a problem PEOPLE OPERATIONS * Set the standard for people ops quality in Europe; not doing everything yourself, but ensuring it's done well * Provide guidance to our EU Ops and People Partner, supporting their development and ensuring execution quality * Use data, tooling and AI to make People Ops smooth and scalable, spot inefficiencies and fix them * Own your portion of the People roadmap, from design through to delivery WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR ESSENTIAL * 7–10 years of experience in People, Operations, Consulting, Programme Management, or a related field - with meaningful HR exposure and a genuine interest in building the function * Must have worked in tech (deep tech e.g AI, infrastructure, developer tooling, fintech, or similar would be a bonus) * Must have startup or scale-up experience - you know what it feels like to build, not just inherit * Comfortable moving between strategic thinking and hands-on execution - you've done both and neither intimidates you * Strong coaching instincts with the credibility to influence senior stakeholders * Fluent in German and English. WHILE NOT REQUIRED, IT’S AN ADDED PLUS IF YOU ALSO HAVE: * Hands-on HR generalist experience * Experience being a senior or lead People hire in an early-stage or scaling environment * Experience building or significantly improving People processes from scratch * Working knowledge of German employment law * Exposure to cross-border or multi-entity employment in Europe HOW WE WORK TOGETHER We’re a distributed team with real offices that people actually use. This role will join us in Freiburg at least 2 days a week (or one full week every other week). We’ll cover reasonable travel costs to make this possible. We think in-person time matters, and we’ve structured things to make it accessible to all. We’ll discuss what this will look like for the role during our interview process. EVERYTHING WE DO IS GROUNDED IN FOUR VALUES: * Obsessed. We are a frontier research lab. The science has to be right, the understanding deep, the product beautiful. * Low Ego. The work speaks. The best idea wins, no matter who said it. Credit is shared. Nobody is above any task. * Bold. We take the ambitious bet. We ship, we do not wait for conditions to be perfect. * Kind. People over politics. We treat each other with genuine warmth. Agency without empathy creates chaos. If this sounds like work you’d enjoy, we’d love to hear from you BASE ANNUAL SALARY: €100,000 - €130,000 + EQUITY