WHY IMPERATIVE
Imperative is building one of the world’s most ambitious and scientifically rigorous portfolios of nature-based carbon removal projects. Operating across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, we develop large-scale reforestation, mangrove restoration and other ecosystem-restoration project assets under a build–own–operate model—ensuring scientific integrity, operational excellence, and long-term accountability.
We aim to set the global benchmark for quality, transparency, and durability in the markets for nature-based removal credits. Our projects integrate major-projects project execution capabilities, best in class reforestation capabilities, applied field ecology, and an advanced technology stack, to deliver true, infrastructure-grade carbon removal outcomes.
As Imperative scales across geographies, project types, and capital partners, we are seeking to add capacity to our executive leadership team to help drive the planning and delivery of our project portfolio. This role sits at the centre of that strategy.
If you have strong project management expertise in major projects from highly professional industries and have a passion for applying those skills to do something great, this role could be for you.
OUR VALUES
- Integrity: We act honourably and are guided by a strong moral compass. If things go wrong, we put our hand up, admit it, and adapt.
- Momentum: Speed matters. We have a bias to action. We think quickly, plan tirelessly, mitigate risks, and above all, take action.
- Purpose: We are driven by our desire to make the world better with every interaction, process, and project.
- Accountability: We do what we say and deliver. We seek to be the best at what we do.
- Collaboration: We celebrate diversity of thought, values, and backgrounds, harnessing the strength of our people and partners to achieve more together through teamwork and creativity.
- Tenacity: We are highly ambitious, driven, and hardworking. We persist until we deliver impact.
POSITION PURPOSE
Imperative is seeking an exceptional project executive to serve as Global Head of Project Management. This role has responsibility for the Project Management function across Imperative’s global portfolio of projects.
This is a mission-critical role reporting directly to the Chief Operations and Projects Officer and working closely with the executive team. The mandate includes:
- Providing oversight, guidance and leadership to our global project teams in the Pre-FID planning phases and during project execution.
- Capturing Imperative’s learnings and best practices from project development and institutionalising them as durable processes, governance frameworks, tools, templates, and internal platforms that materially increase execution consistency, quality and efficiency and reduce project execution risk across the portfolio.
This is a rare opportunity to apply project management skills in an emerging asset class at massive scale and with a mandate to help shape a best-in-class business.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Project Leadership & Oversight
- Provide executive level leadership, direction, and decision support to all project teams across Imperative’s global portfolio, from early scoping through execution and longterm operations.
- Ensure disciplined project development in the PreFID phase, including rigorous feasibility assessment, risk mitigation, schedule development, cost estimation, and readiness for investment approval.
- Oversee PostFID execution to drive predictable delivery of scope, schedule, budget, quality, and HSSE outcomes across the portfolio.
- Chair or participate in regular project review and governance forums, providing objective oversight, challenge, and support to project teams.
- Lead structured project reviews, assurance activities, and readiness assessments prior to major commitments, investments, or phase transitions.
- Work closely with the project leadership teams when issues arise to agree and deliver mitigation and recovery plans.
- Champion Imperative’s standards of operational excellence, embedding a culture of integrity, accountability, momentum, and highperformance throughout all project organisations.
- Support the Chief Operations and Projects Officer to create capacity and bandwidth for him and to assist in driving the results of the business.
2. Systems, Processes, Tools & Templates
- Work with other members of the leadership team to capture and institutionalise Imperative’s learnings -technical, operational, and organizational -into durable, repeatable processes and governance frameworks.
- Develop, maintain, and continuously improve core project delivery systems, including stagegates, project controls, risk management frameworks, and assurance processes.
- Partner with the technology and project control teams to ensure project systems integrate seamlessly with Imperative’s advanced data and analytics stack, enabling realtime monitoring and enhanced decisionmaking.
3. People Leadership & Talent Development
- Assist to build and develop a worldclass global project management organization, attracting top talent from majorprojects industries and highperformance environments.
- Provide coaching, mentorship, and development opportunities to project leaders, strengthening capability across planning, execution, controls, and stakeholder management.
- Instil Imperative’s values, drive execution discipline, and maintain a high bar for quality, judgement, and accountability across all project roles.
4. Strategic Partnerships & External Interfaces
- Cultivate and manage relationships with partners, contractors, suppliers, and other strategic delivery partners to healthy and productive relationships.
5. CrossFunctional Leadership & Enterprise Value Creation
- Work closely with the Chief Operations & Projects Officer and the executive team to shape Imperative’s project strategy, global scaling model, and portfolio buildout.
- Participate in industry forums and actively consider and incorporate industry learnings in project management.
- Drive enterpriselevel initiatives that materially strengthen Imperative’s project delivery capability, organizational maturity, and competitive advantage.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS & ATTRIBUTES
- Project management: Strong understanding of project management methodologies and best practices and an ability to draw on proven practices from adjacent, more developed industries.
- Major project leadership: Experience leading large-scale projects in emerging markets and remote locations in hydrocarbons, infrastructure, or other highly professional, capital-intensive environments.
- Range and humility: Imperative is still a young business, and executives are required to roll their sleeves up on detailed tasks as well as over-arching strategic work.
- Drive: Diligence and a can-do attitude with a commitment to ownership and outcomes.
- Innovation: The ability and willingness to think innovatively around how practices and knowledge from the major projects world can be integrated and applied into ecosystem restoration to drive best-in-class outcomes.
- Executive presence: Strong judgement and executive presence, with the ability to work directly with the executive leadership team.
- Quality and detail focussed: High standards for output quality and strong attention to detail, including investor-grade written materials.
- Communication: An excellent written and verbal communicator at multiple levels in the organization and with external stakeholders.
- Collaboration: The role will require close collaboration with other teams within the organization, and this must be a core competency.
- Integrity: Demonstrate a high level of personal integrity and be passionate about making a positive difference to the world.
- Financial acumen: Strong financial and commercial acumen and budget management skills.
- People management: A proven ability to attract, develop, and retain top talent and build high performing teams and a willingness to provide coaching and mentoring to project teams to enhance their skills and capabilities.
- Data analysis: A knowledge and passion for high quality, effective, data management.
- HSSE commitment: An unshakeable commitment to health, safety, security and the environment.
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
- This position requires a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and preferably an MBA or other relevant post graduate degree from leading universities.
- The position requires at least 15 years’ experience in relevant project related roles in top tier international project organizations.
- Significant experience delivering major projects, overseeing major project portfolios and having profit and loss responsibility for major project businesses in a range of international locations.
LOCATION
- Global with a preference for Europe/Africa time zones and with frequent travel to project sites.
WHAT WE OFFER
- A career-defining opportunity to lead a portfolio of projects for one of the world’s most ambitious nature-based project development platforms.
- Direct partnership with the Chief Operations and Projects Officer and the executive team.
- Impact at scale: your work will shape how large-scale restoration and carbon removal projects are planned and delivered globally.
- Outstanding colleagues: a highly motivated, mission-driven global team spanning science, project development, finance, and operations.
- Competitive compensation, commensurate with global top-tier talent, with meaningful long-term upside.
- Flexible, remote-first working environment with purposeful in-person engagement.
