Senior Director, Transaction Advisory

Environmental Defense Fund, Inc.; Mexico (MO); Remote; USD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Environmental Defense Fund, Inc. seeks a Senior Director, Transaction Advisory to lead cross-country advisory work across four Latin American and Caribbean nations under a World Bank–funded program.

You will manage a small team, coordinate with senior government actors, and drive strategic transaction execution from planning through close. The role requires a native Spanish speaker with English fluency, 10+ years in advisory or carbon markets, and a strong track record of multi-stakeholder

Qualifications

• Native or fully bilingual Spanish speaker with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• English fluency required.
• 10+ years of relevant professional experience in management consulting, investment banking, transaction advisory, or carbon trading.
• Bachelor's degree required.

Responsibilities

• Serve as primary government-facing counterpart across participating countries.
• Lead transaction-oriented diagnostics and commercialization planning.
• Manage end-to-end transaction execution in priority jurisdictions.
• Provide portfolio-wide commercial advisory across all participating countries.
• Lead Latin America Carbon Advisory Function and coordinate stakeholders.
• Travel up to 30% and coordinate with EDF and World Bank stakeholders.

Skills

Spanish language

English language

Project management

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

LocationMexico Remote (Monterrey, Guadalajara or Mexico City preferred).DurationThis is a 2-year fixed-term position with full benefits and the possibility of extension.Application InstructionsPlease include a cover letter.Provisional HiringThis position is contingent on an anticipated grant award with the World Bank.EDF Forests OverviewEDF’s Forests Focus Area is one of EDF’s 8 global impact areas, whose goals rise to the level of the enormity of the climate and nature crisis. Through demonstrating proof of concept for large-scale forest conservation, engaging key Indigenous peoples and local communities forest policies and programs, and scaling access to finance for these solutions, EDF seeks to contribute global-scale contributions in support of meeting global targets to halt and reverse global forest loss by 2030 while boosting local livelihoods and forest restoration.Protecting forests that regulate climate, preserve biodiversity, and support the livelihoods and climate adaptation of millions of people is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Recognizing the urgency, and in anticipation of a grant award with the World Bank, EDF and key partners will support jurisdictional REDD+ programming and transaction advisory, deploying a transaction-focused delivery model, grounded in direct advisory support to governments and designed to move jurisdictions from readiness to executed carbon market transactions.Overall FunctionEnvironmental Defense Fund, Inc. (\"EDF\") seeks to hire a Senior Director, Transaction Advisory. This position will serve as the day-to-day transaction lead across four Latin American and Caribbean countries (Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala) under a World Bank-funded program to mobilize 8 and 9 figure carbon transactions to support ongoing jurisdictional-scale forest protection programs.They will report to EDF’s AVP, Jurisdictional Alliances & Market Dev, Forests and directly manage a small team and coordinate a multi-stakeholder group of advisory partners, senior government actors, and World Bank stakeholders.Key ResponsibilitiesServe as the primary government-facing counterpart across all participating countries, building trusted relationships with senior government stakeholders, translating government priorities into actionable workplans, and ensuring continuity across jurisdictions.Lead transaction-oriented diagnostics and commercialization planning across all four countries during Phase 1 (~6 months), assessing policy, legal, institutional, commercial, and supply-side readiness and delivering Country Support Plans that define actionable, time-bound pathways to market.Lead end-to-end transaction execution in priority jurisdictions during Phase 2 (~18 months), including commercial strategy, buyer engagement, market sounding, pricing and deal structuring, negotiation support, due diligence coordination, and support through commercial close.Provide portfolio-wide commercial advisory across all participating countries, including market intelligence, commercialization strategy, buyer engagement support, and strategic advice on evolving compliance and voluntary carbon market opportunities.Lead Latin America Carbon Advisory Function and stakeholder coordination, directly managing a Senior Transaction Manager and serving as the central coordinator across advisory partners, senior government counterparts, and World Bank stakeholders to ensure disciplined execution across all workstreams.Participate in advancing EDF’s Organizational Effectiveness and Culture (OEC) goals, so people from all backgrounds and experiences feel connected, included and empowered to address environmental and organizational challenges in ways that align with EDF values.Manage program risk management and donor-facing accountability, proactively identifying commercial, operational, institutional, and coordination risks, resolving execution bottlenecks, and ensuring project outputs meet EDF and World Bank expectations.Additional relevant responsibilities as assigned.QualificationsNative or fully bilingual Spanish speaker with excellent written and verbal communication skills. English fluency required.10+ years of relevant professional experience in management consulting, investment banking, transaction advisory, or carbon trading and a Bachelor’s degree required.Passionate about conservation, and a strong belief in market-based approaches to provide more equitable financing for forest landscapesDemonstrated experience advising senior government officials, multilateral institutions, or business executives on complex strategic or commercial issues, ideally in emerging market or Latin American contexts.Strong people and project management skills, including managing multi-stakeholder and multi-country engagements.Experience leading negotiations involving commercial or public-sector transactions, whether M&A, infrastructure deals, sovereign advisory, or carbon/commodity trading.Experience working in emerging markets, with a demonstrated capacity to navigate institutional complexity, build trust across cultures, and deliver in environments where processes are non-linear.Proactive, attentive to detail, and highly organized.Strong verbal and written communication skills.Demonstrated experience and understanding of carbon markets — or a clearly demonstrated capacity and willingness to rapidly develop this knowledge.Demonstrated self-awareness, cultural competency and inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across all cultures and backgrounds.Must be willing and able to travel up to 30% of the time across Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala and to the EDF’s New York office.