Vice President Environmental Assessment

Rosemont,Illinois,United States (in-office-Tuesday through Thursday; visa sponsorship and relocation are not available for this position)

People. Planet. Community.

Dairy’s journey starts on the farm, and the road we travel demonstrates our unwavering commitment to sustainable nutrition, as our farmers provide lasting and meaningful nourishment to people, the planet and our communities, both urban and rural.

We are a nonprofit organization located in the greater Chicagoland area and we're always looking for talented people to join our team who share the passion and motivation to promote the goodness of dairy.

The individual in this role will evaluate, design, conduct and collaborate on scientifically rigorous environmental assessments as part of DMI’s Environmental Research Team, collaborating closely with colleagues at DMI and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. She/he will lead execution of a program focused on science-based assessments of environmental topics that are material to the U.S. dairy industry, by contributing to the development and application of models and tools that use life cycle assessment methodologies or similar analytical approaches.

The Lead will report to the SVP, Environmental Research Strategy, and will work closely with the DMI Environmental Research team, external research collaborators and contractors to execute scientific projects and assessments aligned with high‑level industry wide environmental measurement strategies. They will oversee relevant engagement with internal experts, external scientists, contractors and other stakeholders. The position may work closely with colleagues at partner organizations including the National Milk Producers Federation.

She/he will support engagement with industry stakeholders.

• Evaluate, design, conduct and collaborate on scientifically rigorous assessments concerning environmental topics that are material to the U.S. dairy industry.
• Supervise and monitor coordination of the environmental assessment workstream in consultation with DMI colleagues, subject matter experts, external scientists and consultants/contractors.
• Explain and communicate the results and implications of environmental assessments to DMI colleagues and other stakeholders, where relevant.

• Monitor and advise on accepted and emerging methodologies, frameworks and standards for conducting environmental assessments.
• Advise team members on the potential opportunities and challenges of integrating emerging environmental assessment methodologies into currently available models, tools and other resources.
• Build relationships with external environmental assessment scientists and practitioners.

Technical Expertise:

• Deep technical expertise and demonstrated proficiency in evaluating, designing, conducting and collaborating on environmental assessments such as life cycle assessments (LCAs), GHG emissions inventories, and environmental models.
• Excellent reasoning and problem‑solving skills; ability to critically evaluate and assess models, technical assessments and reports.
• Experience with principles of research study design.

Management

Experience:

• Experience supervising employees, graduate students and/or consultants/contractors.
• Experience managing and contributing to multi-author analyses, studies, reports and scientific articles.
• Demonstrated capacity to be self‑directed within a team and have passion for collaborative efforts.
• Experience managing proposals/SOWs, contracts and invoices.

Communication

Skills:

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

New Hire Salary Range -- $138,000-$165,000 annually. This is a salary range that DMI believes, at the time of this posting, that it might be willing to pay for the posted job in the location specified.

• PhD degree in environmental science, sustainability assessment, LCA science, or related field, with work experience in agriculture strongly preferred
• Direct experience with environmental assessment methodologies required
• Demonstrated…