Senior Program Manager, Cultivo
$120-130k
+ Equity options and annual bonus
Senior and Expert level
New York
More information about location
Nature-focussed investment firm
Be an early applicant
Nature-focussed investment firm
21-100 employees
B2BArtificial IntelligenceSustainabilityInvestingNature
Be an early applicant
$120-130k
+ Equity options and annual bonus
Senior and Expert level
New York
More information about location
21-100 employees
B2BArtificial IntelligenceSustainabilityInvestingNature
Company mission
To unlock investment in nature, at scale.
Role
Who you are
- This role requires genuine program management expertise, not just project management background
- You need to be someone who can hold the full picture of a complex, multi-workstream program: managing interdependencies across technology, science, finance, legal, and field operations; maintaining alignment with external partners who have different incentives and timelines; and making tradeoff decisions that keep the overall program on track even when individual workstreams hit obstacles
- This is a role for someone who thrives in ambiguity, moves fast without sacrificing rigor, and takes deep personal ownership of outcomes – staying true to the overall ambition to deliver impact and regenerate land
- 7+ years of experience in program management, with meaningful time spent managing large, complex, multi-stakeholder programs – ideally in environments involving multi-national corporate clients, government partners, and/or NGOs
- Track record of owning end-to-end delivery of programs with budgets in the tens of millions of dollars or more, with multiple concurrent workstreams and diverse external partners
- Demonstrated experience managing programs that span technology delivery, field/operational execution, and scientific or technical components – you don’t need to be an expert in each, but you need to be able to hold the full picture and drive integration
- Experience working directly with senior client stakeholders (C-suite, VP-level) and representing your organization in high-stakes external settings
- Proven ability to bring structure and momentum to inherited or in-flight programs – including programs where the scope, roles, or deliverables are still being defined
- Experience in one or more of the following is strongly preferred: Scope 3 insetting programs, agricultural supply chains, carbon markets, sustainability/ESG programs, land management, conservation, or natural resource management
- Exceptional at managing complexity – you can track dozens of moving parts across multiple workstreams without losing the thread, and you know when to zoom in versus zoom out
- Outstanding communication skills, both written and verbal – you can run a crisp executive meeting, write a clear status update, and have a candid conversation with a frustrated partner, all in a couple consecutive hours
- Flexibility and openness to lean in to work that needs to get done, even if outside direct area of responsibility
- Strong judgment and decision-making under ambiguity – you don’t need a fully defined playbook to make progress, and you’re comfortable making tradeoff calls and adjusting course
- High agency and ownership – you operate with minimal oversight, creatively problem solve, anticipate what needs to happen next, and drive things forward without waiting for permission or consensus
- Ability to build trust and influence across diverse stakeholder groups – corporate partners, scientists, ranchers, engineers, and executives alike
- Bachelor’s degree required
- Graduate degree in a relevant field (MBA, environmental science, public policy, engineering) is a plus
- PMP, PgMP, or equivalent program management certification preferred but not required if experience speaks for itself
- Based in the United States, with a preference for candidates near our Berkeley or New York City hubs
What the job involves
- We’re hiring a Senior Program Manager to lead the execution of Cultivo’s most complex and high-profile natural capital programs, including corporate scope 3 programs
- This is a senior individual contributor role that sits at the intersection of program delivery, client partnership, and cross-functional coordination – and it’s critical to how we deliver on our commitments to the world’s leading corporations, NGOs, and government partners
- Your initial focus will be leading Cultivo’s role in a flagship, multi-million-dollar grassland resilience program
- This program spans technology platform delivery, carbon MRV (measurement, reporting, and verification), rancher engagement, operations and payments, protocol development, and scientific partnerships – with a diverse group of stakeholders that includes mulit-national corporations, environmental NGOs, government agencies, research institutions, and hundreds of ranchers across the United States
- That said, as Cultivo’s portfolio of managed programs grows, you’ll be expected to take on additional natural capital programs and help define what excellent program management looks like at the company
- You’ll shape how we plan, resource, and deliver across multiple concurrent engagements – building the operational muscle that lets us scale
- Similarly, this role combines program management with hands-on partner support– you won't just track delivery, you'll develop practical resources that help partners to effectively engage with ranchers
- You’ll work closely with senior leadership, including our co-founders and commercial leads, and will need to operate with a high degree of autonomy, judgment, and executive-level communication skills
- This role reports to our Senior Manager of Project Success based out of San Francisco
- Program leadership & delivery:
- Serve as the central point of coordination for Cultivo’s role in assigned programs – owning overall program delivery, timeline management, risk identification, and cross-workstream alignment
- Manage program-level planning across multiple concurrent workstreams (e.g., platform delivery, MRV/protocol, scientific partnerships, rancher operations, financial administration) and ensure interdependencies are tracked and resolved
- Drive the program rhythm: set and run internal and external cadences, prepare for and lead stakeholder meetings, maintain program documentation, and ensure decisions are captured and followed through
- Proactively identify risks, blockers, and resource gaps; develop mitigation plans and escalate with clear recommendations when needed
- Own program budgets and ensure Cultivo’s deliverables are executed within financial and contractual commitments
- Client & stakeholder partnership:
- Act as Cultivo’s primary program-level interface with external partners, including corporate clients, NGOs, government agencies, research institutions, and others
- Build and maintain trusted relationships with senior stakeholders across partner organizations – navigating competing priorities, different organizational cultures, and complex governance structures
- Represent Cultivo with credibility and poise in external meetings, steering committees, and working groups
- Translate between external partner needs and internal execution capacity; manage expectations proactively and ensure Cultivo is always a step ahead
- Develop practical resources and support systems for external program partners – including onboarding materials, training guides, and operational playbooks – so partners can execute effectively and independently
- Provide ongoing support and coaching to program partners, iterating on materials based on feedback and field learnings
- Cross-functional coordination:
- Coordinate across Cultivo’s functional teams — product & technology, research & compliance, finance, legal, growth, project operations, etc. — to ensure aligned execution and clear accountability
- Work closely with product leads to ensure technology deliverables are scoped, prioritized, and delivered in line with program commitments
- Partner with science and carbon teams to align protocol development, modeling, and monitoring activities with program timelines and partner expectations
- Collaborate with commercial and finance leads on invoicing, revenue tracking, and contract management for your programs
- Operational excellence & scaling
- Help define, develop, and refine Cultivo’s program management frameworks, tools, and best practices – building repeatable systems that can scale across multiple programs
- Contribute to company-wide operational planning, including resource allocation, capacity management, and quarterly planning processes
- As the program portfolio grows, help onboard and mentor more junior project and program managers
Our take
The World Economic Forum has suggested that protecting nature and biodiversity could generate $10 trillion in annual business opportunities, creating around 400 million new jobs across diverse sectors. Investing in natural assets is a well appreciated space given the climate crisis, and Cultivo is a nature investment firm facilitating this.
The company has cultivated a portfolio of sustainable investments that prioritise not just financial returns, but also eco-friendly initiatives. Driven by its AI and technology platform, Cultivo marshals funding pools for projects such as land regeneration and improving water storage. In a nutshell, the company establishes connections between green projects and financial institutions
Recent funding will allow Cultivo to continue expanding its operations moving forwards, as it advances its mission to prove that profits and sustainability can thrive hand in hand.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Company
Funding (2 rounds)
Jan 2024
$14m
SERIES A
Feb 2021
$1.4m
EARLY VC
Total funding: $15.4m
Company benefits
- The opportunity to make a real impact around the world
- Equity options and annual discretionary bonus
- Access to health insurance and retirement plans
- Remote working with co-working space opportunities
- Flexible work hours with emphasis on results
- International office locations
- 6 months paid parental leave
- Unlimited paid vacation
Company HQ
Pleasanton, CA
Leadership
Manuel Pinuela
(Co-founder & CEO)Also Non-executive Director at SIME. Previously Founder and Managing Director of Coyo Partners.
James Clifton
(Co-founder & CSO)Prior work includes Founder and Chairman of Toucan, and Head of Digital Ventures of ESG Book.
Pablo Castellanos
(Co-founder)Also Co-founder of Bright. Previously a Partner at Sustainable Energy Choices.
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