Process Excellence and Implementation Lead (Consultant)

About Verra. Verra is a global leader helping to tackle the world’s most intractable environmental and social challenges. As a mission-driven non-profit organization, Verra is committed to helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve livelihoods and protect natural resources across the private and public sectors. We support climate action and sustainable development with standards, tools and programs that credibly, transparently and robustly assess environmental and social impacts and enable funding for sustaining and scaling up projects that verifiably deliver these benefits. We work in any arena where we see a need for clear standards, a role for market-based mechanisms, and an opportunity to generate significant environmental and social value. Verra manages a portfolio of standards, including the: Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) -- the world’s leading carbon crediting program, with more than 2000 registered projects in 80 countries, and accounting for two-thirds of all voluntary carbon market transaction volume. Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta) -- a flexible framework for assessing and reporting on the sustainable development benefits of project-based activities. Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards -- to identify projects that simultaneously address climate change, support local communities and smallholders, and conserve biodiversity. Plastic Waste Reduction Program -- to enable robust impact assessment of new or scaled-up waste recovery and recycling projects around the globe. Title: Process Excellence and Implementation Lead (Consultant) Location: Remote – US Based Reports to: Chief Executive Officer Duration: 6-12 month contract role with potential to extend Consultant Opportunity. Verra is a global leader in the development and management of high-integrity, high-impact programs for climate, sustainable development, and environmental projects. We have a long legacy of managing programs spanning standard-setting, validation/verification body management, project review, credit issuance, and registry operations. As project volumes and methodological complexity increase, we are seeking to improve cycle time, consistency, and reviewer efficiency while maintaining environmental integrity and governance rigor in our review process. We are transforming how we operate our programs by modernizing the end-to-end project review ecosystem, linking upstream readiness, digital submission and triage, and internal review execution. This role will lead operational transformation through process audits, implementing clear ownership and controls, and practical governance that reduces cycle time while protecting quality and integrity. You will convene and align cross-functional partners (including Verra’s Registry, Certification, Audit & Accreditation, Technology Solutions, Program Development, and Market & Client Relations teams) to identify and resolve friction points, bottlenecks, standardize ways of working, and ensure changes translate into measurable improvements in review times, throughput, transparency, and stakeholder experience. The Role. Deliver transformation of the project review and associated Verra processes and tools, in collaboration with staff, to significantly reduce project review duration while maintaining the integrity and quality of decisions. Process mapping and intervention: Identify and manage the implementation of high-impact interventions that reduce review times, including: Synthesize and validate review process mapping exercises already undertaken, and translate findings into an implementable improvement backlog Implement improved role clarity, handoffs, automation, and decision points to increase throughput and reduce wait states Recalibrate the interface between Verra reviews and independent audits performed by validation/verification bodies to reduce duplicative effort and rework Eliminate sources of rework, delay, and manual overhead to sustainably improve cycle time Digital review process improvement: Evaluate and enhance Verra’s digital tools for usability and customer experience; implement improvements that raise project submission quality, streamline reviewer task execution and decision support, reduce preventable errors, and embed guardrails, guidance, and structured workflows. (Verra’s Project Hub is our primary platform for digital project submission and reviews; it connects to our registry and several other internal databases.) Deliver a more resilient system that appropriately shifts accountability from individuals to the platform, recognizing this will require sustained dialogue, alignment, and change adoption. Automation & AI opportunities: Partner with tech services and project reviewers to identify, size, and implement high-value automation and AI use cases (e.g., completeness checks, requirement alignment and risk flagging, reviewer decision support, comparison to precedent, and structured comment/response management) that reduce manual effort and improve decision consistency. Change management: Design and deliver pragmatic change plans that convert improvement ideas into adopted ways of working using clear delivery plans, disciplined follow-through, and rapid issue resolution in partnership with the teams operating each part of the system. Engage affected team members to diagnose root causes, co-design improvements, and enable smooth transitions to updated processes Establish and operationalize an improvement cadence (intake, prioritization, sprint/backlog management, communications, training, and adoption tracking) so changes land consistently across teams Serve as the escalation point for review bottlenecks and readiness issues, working directly with internal teams and external partners to remove blockers, improve submission quality, and sustain faster cycle times. Revenue debottlenecking: Identify and implement workflow improvements that unlock revenue and increase efficiency across revenue-impacting processes, partnering with relevant departments to deliver measurable gains. As a Verra consultant, you will work primarily with the CEO, Program Management Department and Tech Solutions team with opportunities to engage with all departments to improve interrelated processes. Verrans: Come from diverse locations and backgrounds, including carbon market experts, project developers, consultants, climate negotiators, researchers, and auditors. Are committed to advancing climate action and sustainable development through high-quality standards and programs. What we’d like to see. 10+ years of relevant experience with process optimization to achieve transformational improvements to operational systems, including process redesign and operational efficiency, ideally across a variety of organizations Demonstrated experience with process overhaul in regulatory or certification-related review processes Prior experience leading process improvement initiatives using Kanban, Lean Six Sigma, and other industry best practice continuous improvement methodologies. Hands‑on experience with automation and applied AI to improve process efficiency Experience analyzing operational data to identify constraints and scale proven process patterns that drive greater efficiency and throughput Ability to work embedded with business and technical teams to apply proven change management approaches Highly effective written and verbal communication skills . Note: As a global organization based in the US, we’ve adopted English as a standard business language for written and verbal communication A pragmatic, delivery-oriented approach that effectively and iteratively priorities and implements improvement opportunities Passion for climate action and sustainable development and knowledge of carbon and sustainability markets in either a voluntary or regulatory context is desirable in Verra’s context, this includes the role of project proponents, validation/verification bodies, standards bodies and credit buyers How to Apply. Please send us a Cover letter (not to exceed one page) and your Resume/CV (not to exceed two pages) via our careers page. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Verra provides equal opportunity for all job applicants and employees and is committed to providing a work environment free of discrimination. As such, we conduct our recruitment and hiring without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, genetics, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, and local law. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform crucial job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact [email protected] to request accommodation.