Forest Chain-of-Custody Assistant, Canada Region

The Rainforest Alliance (RA) is an international nonprofit organization that works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. Based in New York City, with offices throughout the United States and worldwide, the Rainforest Alliance works with people whose livelihoods depend on the land, helping them transform the way they grow food, harvest wood and host travelers.

SmartWood, a program of the Rainforest Alliance, is the world's leading Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest management certifier, setting the international gold standard for credibility in auditing environmentally and socially responsible forestry. SmartWood offers a diverse set of certification and verification services, including FSC certification, legality verification, SmartLogging, carbon certification validation and verification and chain of custody certification services. Chain-of-Custody (CoC) certification verifies the flow of certified forest products through the supply chain, from the forest to the point of sale, assuring consumers and forest product companies that the wood they buy comes from certified forests. Today more than 2,700 operations spanning 68 countries have been certified by the Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood program.

Position Summary

Under the supervision of the CoC Coordinator, the CoC Assistant will be responsible for providing general administrative support for the execution of SmartWood CoC certification services for new and existing SmartWood clients in Canada. S/he will be directly involved in various administrative aspects of CoC certification assessments and audits, including scheduling, assisting CoC Associates in the preparation of cost proposals and client communications, and providing preliminary review of reports.

Responsibilities

• Assist with the execution of CoC assessments and audits in Canada to include budgeting, development of service agreements, auditor assignment, logistical planning, and support to auditors and clients;
• Assist with the implementation of annual audit schedules;
• Respond to inquiries relating to chain of custody certification as requested;
• Support CoC Associates and other SmartWood staff in the administrative aspects of CoC client recruitment;
• Provide administrative support (i.e. data gathering) to CoC Coordinator, CoC Associates and other Region staff for the development of client recruitment strategies;
• Assist CoC Associates with client invoicing and auditor reimbursements;
• Provide trademark review and approval process for SmartWood Canadian clients;
• Ensure compliance with FSC and Rainforest Alliance trademark requirements; and
• Other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree required;
• 1 - 3 years of administrative experience;
• Strong computer skills (Microsoft Office, Outlook, Internet);
• Ability to work independently, multi-task and work under tight deadlines;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, proficiency in French a plus;
• Background or interest in forestry and/or forest products preferred;
• Background or interest in environmental conservation preferred;
• Dependability, diplomacy, good organizational skills, attention to detail and ability to work as part of a team; and
• Strong customer service skills.

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