VP of Materials Programs

Company Description

Living Future is a non-profit organization whose mission is to catalyze the transformation toward communities that are culturally rich, socially just and ecologically restorative. Our flagship program is the Living Building Challenge, the world’s most ambitious and holistic performance standard for resilient, healthy, and green buildings. Living Future offers other certifications, transparency labels, education, and events that enable organizations and individuals to communicate their commitment to a healthier world. 

We believe that the building industry can shift dramatically far faster and more radically than many assume. We also believe that the industry can and should address ecological impact, social impact, health impact and cultural impact as intersecting issues. Living Buildings are beacons for change, data points for skeptics, inspirational stories for young people, and test beds for innovation. We seek to affect change in the building industry by envisioning a living future and showing it’s possible to embody that future in practice and policy. We are a fully remote organization, and are not seeking candidates based in the Portland area.

Job Description

The Vice President of Materials at the International Living Future Institute (Living Future) is a key leader who leads the strategy and vision for engagement with our movement, overseeing a diverse team and set of programs and serving as a key relationship-builder for the organization. Overseeing the Materials Team is a role that focuses on creating and maintaining our Declare and Living Product Challenge (LPC) programs. The Materials Team is composed of team members who manage all aspects of our work to create supply chain transparency and certification of regenerative building materials, and who work in collaboration with the other Teams at Living Future (Buildings, Engagement, and Operations) to help advance progress towards a regenerative built world. The VP of Materials drives strategy and provides high-level leadership for a team of highly functional and passionate individuals.

The VP of Materials is accountable for strategy, execution and revenue generation for our Materials programs including leading the upcoming business strategy to scale our impact through a greater harmonization of Declare and the LPC. The role is also a key external ‘face’ for the organization, managing key client relationships and ensuring their continued engagement (philosophical and financial) in our programs. This role also sets and is accountable for the Materials Team revenue and expenses, tracking that budget and providing elegant and accurate reporting of Team impact and financial metrics to the Living Future team including the Board of Directors. The VP of Materials also plays a critical and active role in connecting Living Future to the wider movement for supply chain transparency and good materials in the building industry: the VP maintains active relationships and engagement with peer organizations and key leaders to ensure that Living Future is well-coordinated in our tactics and programs. The VP of Materials is also a member of the Management Team for Living Future, which is the core leadership team of the organization.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
Overall strategic and operational responsibility for the Declare and LPC programs, from research & development, client success, sales, marketing, and partnerships.

Relationship Management

• Create and maintain strategic partnerships that grow the Declare and LPC programs and help Living Future grow its regenerative work and engagement with the movement
• Leverage our community to create and iterate on our programs strategy by effectively co-creating and engaging clients as we consider adjustments to our Declare & LPC programs
• Support corporate membership and sponsorship outreach efforts, playing an active role in relationship building with key Declare and LPC clients to encourage their participation in the larger Living Future movement and our other programs (including membership and events)
• Serve as an eloquent and knowledgeable spokesperson for the organization at industry events and in strategic conversations with stakeholders.
• Lead R&D fundraising efforts for the Materials Team, including relationship building with key collaborators (including philanthropic organizations where appropriate), drafting concept notes, developing pitch decks, and seeking opportunities for creative partnerships with peer NGOs and others to create mutually beneficial partnerships for the development of our movement.

Business Strategy

• Lead the development of a practical and thorough business strategy (in written form, for Board and staff participation) for the evolution of our Materials programs, including a 2027 full plan towards a harmonized program structure for the Materials team (i.e. along the lines of our ‘three sisters’ concept).
• Maintain effective and simple pricing systems and structures that ensure staff time is properly valued in our pricing and that allows us to scale our impact in line with our mission.
• Maintain awareness of key industry trends, global regulations and funding opportunities that could impact our Declare and LPC programs.
• Continuously assess and measure business operations, staff bandwidth and expertise, client sentiment, resilience and team strengths/gaps to ensure smooth operations and happy teammates as our programs scale.
• Serve on the Management Team for Living Future, proactively contributing to coordination across teams, strengthening Living Future’s interdisciplinary approach to market transformation and movement building, and ensuring organizational health and smooth operations.

Program Oversight

• Provide leadership to the Materials Team, fostering a collaborative and inclusive work environment, optimized systems, and thoughtful programs that strengthen our movement.
• Proactively and continuously foster the identification of program evolution opportunities (e.g. introducing new pathways, metrics, crosswalks, processes like third-party verification) and oversee the process and prioritization of these evolutions.
• The role has 3 direct reports: a go-to-market leader and two R&D leaders. The VP will provide oversight, professional development and coordination for all of these individuals.
• The role will serve as the primary contact for our Declare platform technology partner, Geofund, as well as other business partner organizations (including Living Future Oceania) for the Materials team. This involves negotiating and maintaining contracts with these entities, ensuring that all expectations are met on both sides, etc. 
• Set and maintain an annual Team budget, regularly track and report on revenues and expenditures in partnership with our Operations Team, and ensure that the team maintains alignment with the budget through establishment of and reporting on clear objectives and key results (OKRs).
• Ultimately, this role is accountable for the revenue and impact of the Materials Team, which brought in roughly $1.25M in revenue in 2025.
• Foster a positive and productive work environment for a group that is accountable, inclusive, and innovative.
   

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS

• 15+ years of experience in the nonprofit and/or sustainability sector, including 10+ years in a leadership capacity with revenue responsibility in the $1-3M range
• Broad knowledge of green manufacturing, CSR, and DEI issues, trends, and programs.
• Strong familiarity with business development, sales, customer service, and certification processes including comfort and willingness to use CRM platforms like Salesforce and customer service platforms like HelpScout. 
• Familiarity with Living Future’s labels and certifications, including familiarity with the broader theories of change in the building materials supply chain transparency movement.
• Demonstrated strategic planning skills and experience, including business planning 
• Demonstrated organizational leadership and management experience including managing a growing team of direct reports
• Demonstrated success in team leadership including thoughtful performance management processes and fostering growth and empowerment for team members.
• Proficiency with financial management at the department level including the use of invoicing softwares, budgeting platforms and processes and efficient financial metric tracking.
• Demonstrated operational experience, success in building out repeatable processes, quality assurance systems, staff training 
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to encourage ideas and feedback from a diverse range of customers, funders, and other stakeholders.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and creating an inclusive work environment.
• Background and passion for sustainable design and development and values-driven business operations are highly desirable.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

• Undergraduate or graduate degree in a related field.
• Strong connections with leaders in the building materials industry, including manufacturers, architects and engineers, construction, key industry groups and others.
• Experience with administering programs/standards, establishing third-party audit systems, adhering to best practices for program development and governance
• Experience with and affinity for working across virtual teams and with remote management.
• Living Future Accreditation. Candidates who are not already Living Future Accredited will be supported in achieving their LFA within one year.

Additional Information

Our mission at the Living Future is to build a future that is socially just, culturally rich, and ecologically restorative. We are committed to that vision within our organization and work to create a team that is equitable, inclusive, and diverse by hiring and supporting staff from a wide variety of backgrounds. We are committed as an organization to foster better cultural competency, equity, and diversity within our culture and policies and work to support staff in every phase of their career. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the application and interview process. If you require any accommodations, please contact our hiring team at employment [at] living-future.org.

The salary range for this position is $111,981 to $122,445 annually and is supplemented by Living Future’s generous benefits package that includes employer-paid health, dental and vision insurance for employees and dependents as well as employee life insurance, short-term disability, and a 403(b) retirement plan. Annual time off benefits include three weeks of paid annual leave, 12 days of sick leave, and paid volunteer time. 

Living Future offers a collaborative, team-oriented and mission-driven remote workplace. We offer a $50/month stipend to offset home internet costs.

Please include a resume and cover letter with your application. We will be reviewing applicants starting on November 30, 2026.