About Aurora Sustainable Lands

General Summary: Aurora Sustainable Lands (Aurora) is seeking a Biodiversity Intern to support the company’s Forest and Carbon Operations team. This intern will work to refine existing remote sensing data and identify new sources of relevant data to develop a portfolio-wide metric tracking system that captures the biodiversity present on our lands. A successful candidate will have a unique mix of technical and practical skills including familiarity with remote sensing data, knowledge of forestry and nature-based climate solutions, and data management. Success will require strong technical and interpersonal skills. This is an excellent opportunity for a graduate student seeking experience in geospatial and remote sensing analysis, nature-based solutions, and exposure to forest carbon markets and large-tract management.

Primary Responsibilities and Competencies:

• Finding and refining existing data to use for biodiversity indicators developed by Aurora’s team
• Building internal capacity to support data collection, analysis, management, and future reporting
• Working with Aurora’s Systems & Inventory team to develop a system to manage and host data in-house
• Working with Anew’s sales team to create sample scorecards to present to potential buyers
• Producing a capstone memo and presentation detailing internship experience and an “action plan” to be shared with Aurora’s executive team

Required Education, Experience and Certification:

• In pursuit of or having completed a bachelor's program or in a master's program with studies focused on environmental sciences, geospatial sciences, natural resource management, and/or a closely related subject
• Strong geospatial, remote sensing, and statistical skills are required
• Strong skill set and experience in independent research and analysis
• Experience with GIS and/or remote sensing
• An enthusiasm for using environmental markets to address critical climate challenges
• Strong communication and organization skills

Preferred Education, Qualifications & Experience:

• In pursuit of or having completed a graduate degree relevant to forestry and/or natural resources (e.g., Master of Forestry, Master of Environmental Management, or Master of Science with a Forestry or Geospatial focus)
• Awareness of trends and developments in biodiversity monitoring frameworks
• Familiarity with forestry concepts and terms
• A demonstrated strong background, keen interest, or past work experience in collecting and synthesizing ecological data of natural ecosystems
• Proficiency in managing and operationalizing remote sensing datasets

The successful candidate must report to Aurora’s Chapel Hill office where the intern will regularly interact with a variety of Aurora team members and executives. The position is expected to work 40 hours per week.

General Summary: The Portfolio and Systems Analyst is a remote position that will report to, Aurora’s Senior Director of Portfolio Management. This position will have the opportunity to develop analytical and professional skills in a fast-moving company focused on innovative forest management and land stewardship practices.

Primary Responsibilities and Competencies:

• Lead on - and work with Portfolio Management and Carbon Operations teams - in advancing forest management tools, timber inventory and growth projections, and support the development of a climate adaptation and resilience strategy across the Aurora portfolio
  • Create tools and systems to manage timber inventory and growth and yield
    • Develop growth and yield modeling systems
    • Integrate inventory update and maintenance systems across the organization
  • Develop processes and code (e.g. R) to improve systems and integration of our forest information system (Forest Information Portal (FIP)) and other data systems
  • Manage and administer Forest Accounting in the FIP platform
  • Support spatial team in the integration of data and systems
  • Support special projects and strategy
• Timberland and Portfolio modeling – harvest strategies and value optimization
• Contribute to initiatives of other Aurora teams, such as data visualization, dashboards, modeling, and property performance metrics with the Transactions team
• Forest inventory design, analysis, and reporting

Secondary Responsibilities:

• Evaluate and support modeling of silvicultural prescriptions, harvest locations, and volumes for timber planning in coordination with carbon team
• Work with portfolio management and carbon teams to optimize revenue mix between carbon credits and timber harvesting while ensuring compliance with existing carbon project protocols
  • Support strategy on developing proactive applications of the harvest analysis process, incorporating spatial, financial, and biometric forest and carbon data to optimize harvest activity and support harvest decision-making
• Engage with Transactions and Carbon teams on forest inventory, forest management direction, carbon analysis, and valuation
• Assist with annual FSC audit efforts
• Work with Portfolio Management team on generating and facilitating partnership opportunities benefiting value growth, biodiversity, wildlife, habitats, community education, and more

Required Education, Experience and Certification:

• Bachelor’s degree in forestry, environmental science, economics, or a related field
• A graduate degree in Forestry or Forest Sciences with an emphasis in biometrics is preferred by not required.
• 3+ years of experience in forest analytics, growth and yield, valuation, and timberland modeling. Experience in carbon project modeling/program maintenance, and ecosystem service markets is preferred.
• The ideal candidate will be experienced with FVS (Forest Vegetation Simulator), FIA (Forest Inventory and Analysis) datasets, carbon modeling, remote sensing and ESRI mapping software, and carbon project programs.
• Experience in programming languages such as, R and Python are also preferred.
• This is considered a mid-level role with immense opportunities for growth and development.

Skills:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Comfortable presenting to an audience
• Highly effective analytical skills
• The Portfolio and Systems Analyst must be self-directed, goal-oriented, and accustomed to time and budget constraints.
• The candidate must be comfortable interacting with outside investors, consultants, and contractors and be willing and able to travel, as necessary.
• Finally, the successful candidate must be client service oriented and will have the professional presence and demeanor to be a member of one of the country’s leading timberland investment and management companies.