Employment Opportunities - Scientific Certification Systems

About Us

Employment Opportunities at SCS

If you are looking for rewarding work in the environmental field, please review the current job listings below. If you do not see the position you're looking for, please feel free to send us your résumé for future consideration. As Scientific Certification Systems grows, we are very interested in reviewing environmentally literate candidates’ credentials.

If you feel SCS is the right fit for you, especially if you are a highly trained environmental scientist, please submit your résumé using our on-line application form.

SCS is an equal opportunity employer and as such, considers individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. We value diversity and are a company that values employees of many backgrounds. Accordingly, SCS does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), national origin, ancestry, age, medical condition, physical disability, mental disability, family care status, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other basis prohibited by law. Further, SCS prohibits the harassment of any individual on any of the bases listed above. This policy applies to all areas of employment, including recruitment, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, discipline, termination, and access to benefits and training.

Current Job Openings

Front Desk Coordinator

Program Manager, Forest Management Certification

SQF Auditor

Field Auditor, FSC Chain of Custody (Maryland/ DC/ Virginia/ Florida/ Canada/ Los Angeles)

Verification Forester

Life Cycle Associate

Front Desk Coordinator

Full Time
Location: Emeryville CA 94608
Reports to: Human Resource Manager

Summary:

The Front Desk Coordinator will be the initial contact for all phone calls and visitors to the Company. It will be the primary responsibly of the Front Desk Coordinator to ensure that all phone calls and visitors are routed to the appropriate person. In addition, the Front Desk Coordinator will perform other duties to ensure the efficient day to day running of the Company. This is a full time position reporting to the Human Resource Manager.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Answer general phone line and direct calls
Greet all visitors to the office
Distribute incoming and outgoing mail
Maintenance of corporate wide schedules and calendars
Work with external vendors to ensure prompt service and technical support
Maintain office supplies and order supplies as needed
Communicate and resolve facility related concerns by working with building management
Facilitate equipment requests
Track mobile equipment
Oversee building, parking and office access by visitors and employees
Assist various departments with projects on an as needed basis

Qualifications:

Bachelors degree preferred but not required
Strong communicator, able to communicate well in person and over the phone
Attention to detail and able to multi-task
Customer service oriented
Highly reliable, able to report to work on a daily basis
Knowledgeable with all Microsoft Office programs, especially Outlook, Word, powerpoint, and Excel.

To Apply:

Please submit a résumé and cover letter, including salary requirements and a description of how your skills and experience fit the needs and mission of our company with our on-line form. Applications submitted without the requested information will not be considered. Please, no phone calls. Due to the volume of applicants we will contact you if your qualifications meet our requirements.

Program Manager, Forest Management Certification

Full Time
Location: Emeryville CA 94608
Reports to: Senior Vice President

Summary:

The Program Manager is responsible for the administration of the company’s Forest Management Certification program. Additionally, the Program Manager is expected to be a forest certification practitioner, actively conducting audits as a Lead Auditor. Position responsibilities and oversight activities include: auditing of and communications with approximately 100 forest management certificate holders and applicants around the world; maintaining Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) accreditation; marketing and business development for new FSC and other forestry related projects; recruitment, training and oversight of full-time employees, regional representatives, and contract auditors; and other related activities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Program Management Oversee certification activities on ~100 forest management operations in 16 countries covering 25 million acres. With the help of staff find, contract, and train audit team members; provide standard interpretations to auditors and certificate holders; review auditors’ work to ensure quality and conformance with FSC accreditation standards.
Auditing Working alone, or leading teams of several professionals, assess forest management operations to the FSC certification standards. Assessments take place on operations throughout the world and involve document review, on-site assessments of field activities, interviews, and extensive report writing.
Business Development/Marketing Generate new business through a variety of efforts including preparing competitive proposals, participating in conferences/trade shows, ensuring affiliates are trained and adequately incentivized to market our services, and establishing partnerships in new regions. Track program revenues, costs and profitability.
FSC Accreditation and Quality Control Prepare for accreditation audits, track FSC developments, and implement programmatic changes necessary to maintain SCS’ accreditation.
Employee/Contractor Supervision Recruit, train, and oversee work of 2 full-time employees, interns, and 25 contract auditors and affiliates in U.S., Latin America, Asia, and Europe.
Other Activities • Design and implement strategies for business development, stakeholder outreach, credibility assurance, and other strategic matters critical to the success of the program. • Participate in development of new/revised standards and modify existing standards to accommodate regional variations in forest management

Qualifications:

Undergraduate degree in forestry or relevant natural resource discipline; graduate degree in a relevant discipline preferred
Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in forestry or related field
Minimum of 1 year of experience in standards application or certification
Proven ability to work effectively in cross-cultural situations and with a wide range of people with diverse economic, political and professional backgrounds in both public and private sectors
Excellent communication skills in both written and spoken English
Computer skills- proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel required.
Proficiency in Spanish and/or Portuguese is helpful but not required.

To Apply:

SQF Auditor

Full Time
Location: Emeryville CA 94608
Reports to: Director, Food Safety Auditing Services

Summary:

Opportunity for a motivated, organized, and professional individual with auditing experience, superior customer service, an interest in the agriculture industry, agrochemical science and environmental issues to work in the Food and Agriculture Department of Scientific Certification Systems.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Maintain standards and documentation associated with the food safety certification programs
Perform audits in a variety of food safety sectors, generally in a food manufacturing environment
Review Organic applications and perform Organic audits
Maintain an audit schedule to ensure that audits are complete in a timely manner
Complete Audit Reports
Respond to client questions and concerns in a timely manner

Qualifications:

Minimum B.S. degree in a quantitative field, or equivalent work experience.
Previous auditing experience or experience working in the Quality Assurance Department Food manufacturing/factory environment experience is strongly preferred.
Complete fluency in English and experience that involves professional written communication, bi-lingual perferred.
An abiding interest in sustainability, green building, materials use, indoor air quality, and related environmental issues.
Initiative, good judgment, and ability to work independently under pressure in a changing environment.
Must be willing and able to take regular assignments involving extensive travel up to 75%.

Compensation:

Compensation is based on qualifications and prior experience. SCS offers a competitive benefits package including vacation, health, dental, profit sharing, performance bonuses, and 401(k).

To Apply:

Field Auditor, FSC Chain of Custody (Maryland/ DC/ Virginia/ Florida/ Canada/ Los Angeles)

Full Time
Location: Varies
Reports to: Director, Chain of Custody Certification Services

Summary:

SCS Chain of Custody Field Auditors are contract positions who must manage a large number of clients within a geographical region. The nature of this work is that contracts are occasional at first, and the practice quickly builds to regular part-time and perhaps full-time work within a few years. You will travel to the offices, warehouses and manufacturing facilities of our clients. On-site evaluations include a review of company documentation and handling procedures, manufacturing reports and purchase and sales documentation. You will conduct meetings and interviews with relevant staff. Detailed reports of the assessments must be written and submitted within a timely manner. The ideal candidate is willing to work on an as-needed part-time basis, and able to make numerous short trips (typical audits are same-day or overnight trips). You must be able to effectively manage multiple client relationships, and have superb organizational and communication skills. Ongoing training is provided by SCS.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Qualifications:

Minimum B.S. or B.A.
Experience in manufacturing auditing, and/or forestry with a strong preference for individuals with lumber, pulp and paper, and/or commercial printing experience,
Excellent written and oral communication skills,
Basic mathematical and accounting competency, Ability to decipher complex standards and provide clear and concise guidance to clients,
High attention to detail,
Interest in environmental issues, sustainable forestry, and resource conservation,
Ability to travel throughout the US and Canada.
Experience writing/auditing Quality or Environmental Management Systems (e.g. ISO 9001 or ISO 14001)
Knowledge of Green Building/LEED standards

To Apply:

Verification Forester

Full Time
Location: Point Richmond, CA 94801
Reports to: Program Manager, Greenhouse Gas Verification Program

Summary:

The Verification Forester caries out a range of professional activities primarily associated with verification audits related to our ISO-accredited Greenhouse Gas Program, particularly in the forestry and land use sector. The accredited SCS GHG program conducts verification under various voluntary carbon offset standards, including the Climate Action Reserve (CAR), the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS), the Climate Community Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA), and the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). Project types evaluated by the GHG program include improved forest management (IFM), reforestation, reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), agricultural land management (ALM), and others. Forest carbon verification projects are conducted under an array of programs including CCAR, CCX, VCS and CCBA. Assessments include evaluation of management practices, project documentation, growth and yield model outputs, forest inventory data, and other aspects of the project. Assessments take place on forest projects throughout the world and involve document review, data and model review, on-site timber inventory activities, interviews, and reporting. Position requires some travel, fluctuating between 20%-40% time depending on the season.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Auditor: Independently, or with teams of up to five professionals, assess management practices of private and publicly managed forests relative to the GHG verification standards. Assessments take place on operations throughout the world and involve document review, on-site assessment of field activities, interviews, and the writing of reports and verification findings;
Client Management: Coordinate the audit process with clients and other stakeholders; ensure that clients provide necessary data and information; provide high level of customer service throughout the audit process;
Quality Control Related to ISO Accreditation (e.g., tracking of latest GHG and ISO developments and coordination of programmatic changes to keep SCS in compliance);
Marketing/business development: Assist program directors in preparing budgets and proposals for new verification projects. Provide responses to parties interested in verification;
Recruit, train, and oversee work of assessors/technical consultants;
Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications:

Minimum Bachelors degree in forestry or related natural resources field;
Preferred at least 4 years of professional experience in a related field;
Excellent writing and communication skills;
Excellent quantative skills with an emphasis on biometrics, statistics, growth and yield modleing;
Familiarity with remote sensing applications;
Excellent organizational skills;
Computer skills- proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel required, ArcGIS and FileMaker preferred
Initiative and ability to work independently.
The ideal candidate will be well versed in both on the ground forest inventory and assessment and in growth and yield modeling, forest biometrics, and other quantitative aspects of forestry.

Compensation:

Compensation DOE. SCS offers a competitive benefits package including vacation, health, dental, profit sharing, performance bonuses, and 401(k).

To Apply:

Life Cycle Associate

Full Time
Location: Emeryville CA 94608
Reports to:

Summary:

We seek a highly organized, engineer to join our Environmental Certification Technical Services Department. This is a full-time hands-on position working with a small team dedicated to life cycle assessment and related analyses. You will need to be a great communicator (written and oral) both within the team and with a broad variety of clients. This position offers the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects, presents an array of learning opportunities, as well as the opportunity for some travel.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Assist with the operational aspects of Life Cycle Services, including life cycle inventory and life cycle impact assessments, Environmentally Preferable Products declarations and other evaluations for the retail sector;
Provide support for completing scope of life cycle assessment (LCA) contracts;
Assist in the development and maintenance of new and existing client base;
Assist with the tracking of LCA budgets as requested;
Occasional travel as required for client visits and/or tradeshows on behalf of SCS (approximately 10%);
Support to the Program Director and/or Program Manager in communicating with clients and consultants;
Business and market development assistance;
Quality control (e.g., tracking developments of program requirements, and coordination of programmatic changes);
Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Minimum B.S. or B.A. degree in an engineering field with preference for a chemical engineer. Preference will be given to Masters Degree or significant relevant work experience;
Must be willing to learn the technical aspects of SCS’s life cycle inventory and life cycle impact assessment models and methodologies;
The successful candidate will possess a broad-base of environmental knowledge and/or experience with different environmental mediums, pollutants/waste, and ecosystem and human health;
Industrial experience, including process evaluation, and/or knowledge of energy systems is a plus;
Complete fluency in English and work (or school) experience that involves professional written communication;
Superlative organizational skills, ability to prioritize numerous tasks effectively;
Experience with computers, including Outlook, Word, Excel, File Maker and database management;
Strong customer service and teamwork orientation;
Initiative, good judgment, and ability to work independently under pressure in a changing environment;
An abiding interest in sustainability and related environmental issues;
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Compensation:

Compensation is based on qualifications and prior experience. SCS offers a competitive benefits package including vacation, health, dental, profit sharing, performance bonuses, and 401(k).