At ISCC, this role shapes the standards that verify lower-carbon maritime operations. You will manage the design, implementation, and continuous updates of Alternative Marine Fuels certification schemes, translating complex international policies into practical audit methodologies. Day to day, you will guide technical requirements for chain of custody models, draft scheme documentation, and advise global maritime actors on compliance pathways.
International shipping faces aggressive decarbonization targets under frameworks such as FuelEU Maritime, the EU Emissions Trading System, and International Maritime Organization rules. This position directly determines how renewable fuels, waste-derived energy, and book-and-claim approaches are proven authentic, preventing greenwashing and securing real greenhouse gas reductions across global maritime trade routes.
This suits someone who blends deep familiarity with marine bunkering or fuel supply chains with an analytical grasp of sustainability certification frameworks and international environmental law.
Job FAQs
What are the main missions and responsibilities of this role?
The primary focus involves leading the technical design, maintenance, and periodic revision of ISCC schemes covering Alternative Marine Fuels (AMF). This includes interpreting complex international climate legislation, such as the EU Renewable Energy Directive, FuelEU Maritime, and IMO greenhouse gas mandates, into precise certification criteria. The manager oversees chain of custody rules, ensuring methodologies like mass balance and book-and-claim are auditable, clear, and fraud-resistant across international logistics chains.
On a day-to-day level, the role serves as a subject matter expert for market participants, auditors, and scheme users. Key responsibilities encompass developing system documents, producing audit procedures, and designing technical training for certification bodies. The role also requires active representation of ISCC at international maritime conferences, technical working groups, and regulatory consultations to help align voluntary certification standards with evolving public policy.
Key learning opportunities for this job
This role offers comprehensive exposure to the evolving frontier of maritime transport decarbonization. You can expect to deepen your technical expertise in chain of custody methodologies, emerging e-fuels, advanced biofuels, and mass balance accounting. Navigating the intersection of multi-jurisdictional rules provides an advanced understanding of how regulatory bodies like the European Commission and the IMO translate climate targets into technical compliance.
Additionally, working within an international standard-setter offers extensive opportunities to develop stakeholder diplomacy, public speaking, and specialized standard-setting skills. ISCC provides internal learning frameworks, technical seminars, and language courses, while giving team members visibility into sister initiatives addressing remote sensing, carbon accounting, and agricultural verification.
How does the ideal candidate look like (experience, skills)?
The ideal candidate combines strong technical literacy in maritime fuel operations with an understanding of environmental compliance. A minimum of three years of professional experience post-graduation is expected, including at least two years within a sustainability scheme, certification body, fuel supplier, trading desk, or shipping operator. Practical knowledge of bunkering infrastructure, vessel fueling logistics, or fuel testing provides a distinct advantage.
Candidates should possess an academic background in environmental sciences, engineering, maritime transport, law, economics, or public policy. Strong familiarity with FuelEU Maritime, EU ETS, and IMO frameworks is necessary. Strong analytical capabilities, an autonomous work ethic, and fluent C1-level English are essential to engage credibly with international regulatory and corporate partners.
Advice to stand out and make a successful application
Ensure your application highlights direct experience with fuel supply chains, bunkering logistics, or technical verification standards. Rather than presenting generic sustainability credentials, highlight your familiarity with specific legislation such as FuelEU Maritime, EU RED, and MARPOL, alongside chain of custody accounting frameworks like mass balance or book-and-claim.
In your cover letter, articulate your perspective on the practical bottlenecks facing maritime fuel buyers and suppliers seeking verifiable emissions reductions. Demonstrating how you translate complex regulations into workable operational checklists or audit guidelines will signal immediate value to the technical schemes team.
What aspects of the company's sustainability is this role likely to focus on?
The position concentrates primarily on the decarbonization of deep-sea shipping and inland waterways through verified alternative fuels. This touches the heart of Scope 1 maritime emissions and Scope 3 transport footprints for global cargo owners. By setting verifiable rules for biofuels, hydrogen derivatives, e-ammonia, and e-methanol, the role facilitates the replacement of fossil marine bunker oils.
Traceability and integrity form the core of this work. The role ensures that feedstocks meet strict deforestation-free, biodiversity-protective, and social criteria, preventing indirect land-use change and accounting fraud. Verifying accurate greenhouse gas intensity calculations from well-to-wake guarantees that ship operators claim authentic emissions reductions under international reporting frameworks.
What are the main challenges someone in this role might face?
A primary challenge will be balancing the fast pace of maritime regulatory changes with the rigorous, consensus-driven nature of certification systems. Diverging regulations across jurisdictions, such as regional European policies compared to global IMO baselines, create complexities when designing universal standards.
Another obstacle lies in resolving technical market constraints, such as verifying physical mass balances across fragmented bunkering infrastructure or establishing acceptable book-and-claim registries. Convincing traditional maritime stakeholders, who are often focused on fuel cost and operational simplicity, to adopt rigorous sustainability accounting requires persistent diplomacy and technical precision.
How could a typical day look like for someone in this position?
A regular day might start with reviewing proposed updates to EU maritime rules and assessing their implications for current ISCC scheme guidelines. The morning could involve a working session with internal technical experts to refine an audit guidance paper for certified e-methanol supply chains.
In the afternoon, the manager might lead an alignment workshop with international shipowners, fuel traders, and certification bodies to gather feedback on book-and-claim protocols. The day often concludes with preparing slide decks for an upcoming auditor training module or answering complex inquiries from third-party auditors regarding feedstock verification.
What are the opportunities for professional growth and development in this role?
Within a rapidly expanding organization of nearly 200 specialists, this position provides direct visibility into executive leadership and external industry bodies. Mastery of alternative marine fuel standards establishes the post-holder as an acknowledged industry authority in a niche experiencing massive investment and regulatory pressure.
Career development paths can lead to senior management roles overseeing entire transportation sectors, such as combined Aviation & Maritime schemes, or leading regulatory affairs. The experience gained also provides portable skills highly valued by clean fuel producers, maritime shipping giants, regulatory authorities, and international consulting firms.
The main stakeholders you might be interacting with
Internal collaboration occurs daily with technical authors, regulatory policy monitors, scheme managers, and certification body managers at ISCC headquarters. There is also close coordination with technical teams in sister entities specializing in remote sensing, risk analysis, and agricultural supply chain tracing.
Externally, the role involves extensive engagement with marine fuel producers, bunker suppliers, shipowners, and port operators. Frequent dialogue is required with independent audit bodies, accreditation authorities, maritime trade associations, and governmental regulators shaping marine decarbonization policy.
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