Manager, Materials (Program Development)

The International Living Future Institute is a non-profit organization whose mission is to catalyze the transformation toward communities that are culturally rich, socially just and ecologically restorative. ILFI’s flagship program is the Living Building Challenge, the world’s most ambitious and holistic performance standard for resilient, healthy, and green buildings. ILFI offers other certifications, transparency labels, education, and events that enable organizations and individuals to communicate their commitment to a healthier world. 

We believe that the building industry can shift dramatically far faster and more radically than many assume. We also believe that the industry can and should address ecological impact, social impact, health impact and cultural impact as intersecting issues. Living Buildings are beacons for change, data points for skeptics, inspirational stories for young people, and test beds for innovation. We seek to affect change in the building industry by envisioning a Living Future and showing it’s possible to embody that future in practice and policy.

STATUS: Full-time, exempt
REPORTS TO: Senior Manager, Materials 
LOCATION: Remote, within the United States

 
The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) seeks an experienced program manager with expertise in lifecycle assessment (LCA), knowledge of global ESG initiatives, and experience with evaluating the environmental footprint of products across their entire value chain. In this role, the Manager of Materials - Program Development will support the creation and maintenance of a label program focused on measuring, reducing, and ultimately overcoming the environmental impacts of building products, in the pursuit of regenerative manufacturing outcomes. 

Developing and managing requirements and evolving the reach, rigor, and impact of ILFI’s product programs involves collaborating with internal and industry stakeholders; addressing challenges faced by manufacturers; and interpreting and synthesizing relevant scientific research, industry standards and publications, best practices, and regulatory updates to support ambitious environmental goals for products.  An ideal candidate will have successful experience in aligning industry standards’ core principles while also identifying areas where pushing the boundaries of regenerative design are needed.

The successful applicant will have practical knowledge, experience, and understanding of LCAs, Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Product Category Rules (PCRs), embodied carbon reporting, and holistic systems thinking. They should be adept at understanding LCA rules and various datasets, and have experience or a deep interest in learning and applying other environmental impact modeling, such as ecosystem services quantification, biodiversity protection methodologies, and product circularity by design. The applicant will also have a demonstrated passion for the interaction between environment, health, and equity in products in the building industry, and for transitioning to regenerative and circular economies.  Extra consideration will be given for experience in and knowledge of the built environment industry, product design and supply chains, and/or the various systems and certifications available for sustainability-related product and built environment attributes.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
 

Program Development

• Support the development of the new version of the Living Product Challenge - updating the requirements to improve the program’s scope and rigor, and place it at the leading edge of climate, health, and equity within the building industry. This may include gathering internal and external input and feedback; adhering to the scope, timeline, budget, and work plan; collaborating with consultants assigned to the work; supporting internal cross-team coordination; drafting, reviewing, and finalizing written and graphic content; and helping with related external communications.
• Manage periodic updates to ILFI’s Living Product Challenge and other Challenges and Labels, as directed.
• Create educational content and other resources supporting customer success with the Living Product Challenge and other programs.
• Qualify, train, and evaluate program auditors, and help continuously improve the ILFI auditor programs.
• Understand, integrate, and align concepts and strategies between ILFI and external tools, standards, certifications, and rating systems, to maximize the beneficial outcomes of the financial and time investments made by sustainability teams.
• Help create and maintain scientifically-credible, rigorous, and clear guidelines for Handprinting methodologies that are accepted by industry peers and regulatory organizations, to help ILFI evolve its global leadership in this critical area of regenerative design and product manufacturing. 

Cross Group/Team Support and Collaboration

• Support the development of processes, protocols, and guiding principles for Standard and Handbook updates, as well as for gathering data, input, and feedback on ILFI’s programs from diverse internal and external stakeholders. 
• Serve as an internal subject matter expert to other ILFI staff on lifecycle impacts and assessment topics to help respond to technical inquiries, support the development of other related resources, and exception requests from diverse project teams and manufacturers in different sectors and business contexts.
• Support the development of grant proposals and help complete deliverables for existing grants as needed.
• Work closely and extensively with the Materials programs implementation and go-to-market team to provide a keen eye on quality control and program integrity, while recognizing the need for both rapid scaling and adoption.

Innovation, Industry Leadership, and Collaboration

• Support ILFI’s Material Health and Energy + Carbon Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) of industry experts. Incorporate TAG contributions toward development and continuous improvement of ILFI standards and technical resources.
• Remain current on the latest relevant research, literature, and industry best practices and provide thought leadership on holistic lifecycle assessment and environmental impacts of building products, and methods for creating net-positive benefits through product manufacturing and usage.
• Conduct research (including interviews, surveys, literature reviews, and other) on topics related to environmental impacts of products, including but not limited to: life cycle assessment, embodied carbon, offsets, and handprinting. 
• Publish and present research results at industry conferences, events, and publications (including ILFI’s blog, Trim Tab) to improve the content and understanding of ILFI’s mission, vision, and Standards in the broader industry. (5% travel)
• Support identifying and establishing organizational partnerships that align with ILFI initiatives in environmental impacts of products; maintain working relationships with external networks that support the Institute’s mission and strategic plan.
   

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
We know that you may not have all the skills listed below, and we encourage you to apply if you meet the majority of the requirements.

• 3-5 years of professional experience in product sustainability, design, and manufacturing, including  lifecycle assessment, or related engineering, consulting, or research, with a strong understanding of sustainable design principles, and preferably familiarity with buildings and building products.
• Bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, product sustainability, environmental engineering, architecture, civil engineering, or directly related field, or equivalent work experience
• Demonstrated familiarity with the scope building life cycle stages for both embodied and operational carbon and other embodied environmental impacts.
• Knowledge of life cycle assessment tools (such as One Click LCA, Tally, or Athena Impact) 
• Knowledge of embodied carbon data tools (such as EC3, Beam Estimator, or One Click LCA Planetary).
• Solid understanding of, and a clearly demonstrated passion for reversing the interconnected, complex, and extensive transgressions of the Nine Planetary Boundaries with a focus in nature-positive and regenerative beneficial outcomes.
• Ability to anchor recommended solutions and rules to widely accepted science, while creating innovative methods and goals that maintain ILFI’s globally recognized “spearhead” status for pushing the boundaries of regenerative design possibilities. 
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and creating an inclusive work environment
• Familiarity with ILFI’s philosophy, certifications, and labels
• Problem-solving skills, such as thinking abstractly about problems, gathering and synthesizing data and information from diverse viewpoints, understanding the effect of decisions, and transferring knowledge from one situation to another
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral
• Proven ability to work both collaboratively in a team and independently, and demonstrated success in working in a fully remote position.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Project management experience
• Experience developing/managing voluntary standards, especially related to sustainable building or the built environment
• Experience working in, or with both for-profit and non-profit organizations or similarly diverse environments.
• Strong affinity for technology with the ability to learn new software applications; experience with MacOS, Google Workspace, Asana (or similar), and Salesforce strongly preferred
• Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite software applications or other handbook software, such as Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Manula, or others
• Experience working across virtual teams and with remote management
• Living Future Accreditation (LFA) and/or LEED Accreditation. Candidates not already Living Future Accredited will be supported in achieving their LFA within one year.
   

Our mission at Living Future is to build a future that is socially just, culturally rich, and ecologically restorative. We are committed to that vision within our organization and work to create a team that is equitable, inclusive, and diverse by hiring and supporting staff from a wide variety of backgrounds. We are committed as an organization to foster better cultural competency, equity and diversity within our culture and policies and work to support staff in every phase of their career.

The salary range for this position is $60,692 - $66,276 and is supplemented by ILFI’s generous benefits package that includes employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents as well as employee life insurance, short-term disability, and a 403(b) retirement plan. Annual time off benefits include three weeks of paid annual leave, 12 days of sick leave, 19 days of paid holidays, and paid volunteer time. 

ILFI offers a collaborative, team-oriented and mission-driven remote-first workplace with staff distributed across the United States. We offer a $50/month stipend to offset home internet costs. 

Please include a resume and cover letter with your application. The position will remain open until filled. We will begin reviewing applicants on October 6, 2024.