Tupande Biochar Compliance Specialist (Fixed-Term)

One Acre Fund is a nonprofit organization that supplies smallholder farmers in East Africa with asset-based financing and agriculture training services to reduce hunger and poverty.

Tupande Biochar Compliance Specialist (Fixed-Term)

About The Role

• Owns the facility’s Compliance function, combining leadership of the Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) programme with responsibility for facility Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) programme design and oversight. Designs and runs the data system that captures feedstock, production, quality, and end-use data to the standard required by the external verifier. Owns HSE programme design, training, documentation, and audit readiness. Serves as the primary interface with external verifiers, auditors, and regulators (NEMA, DOSH, third-party carbon verifiers). Reports to the Biochar Lead.

Responsibilities

Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Leadership

• Design and maintain the facility’s HSE programme, including risk registers, emergency response plans, and safety-critical procedures

• Design and deliver HSE training for all facility staff, including inductions, toolbox talks, and emergency drills

• Ensure PPE distribution, safety signage, and site safety infrastructure are in place and maintained

• Support the Production Shift Supervisors, who carry shift-level safety accountability, with the programme, tools, and training they need to enforce safety on shift.

• Coordinate scheduled third-party HSE testing and audits (fire safety, emissions, occupational health)

Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) Leadership

• Design, implement, and manage the facility’s MRV system covering feedstock inputs, production outputs, quality measurements, and carbon removal calculations.

• Ensure data collection processes across all shifts are accurate, consistent, and traceable to the carbon standards the facility reports against

• Oversee and support the Lab and Quality Technicians in their data recording responsibilities to ensure the standard required for verification

• Develop and maintain data management systems, dashboards, and reporting templates for MRV purposes

• Stay current on evolving carbon standards, methodology requirements, and MRV best practices in the biochar sector

Audit Readiness

• Serve as the primary point of contact with external verifiers, auditors, and certification bodies during verification and audit cycles (carbon, HSE, environmental)

• Prepare and submit monthly and quarterly reports required for carbon credit verification

• Prepare the facility for audits, including documents, site walkthroughs, and evidence for the verifier

• When auditors flag issues, own the corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs) through to closure