Specialist, Materials

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.

STATUS: Full-time, exempt
REPORTS TO: Senior Manager, Materials
LOCATION: Remote, United States 

The International Living Future Institute (Living Future) is seeking a Materials Specialist to join our dynamic Materials Team. This team inspires, supports, and celebrates hundreds of manufacturers that are making a positive impact in the world through their pursuit of our programs, which currently include Declare and the Living Product Challenge.

Declare is Living Future’s material health transparency program that serves as a “nutrition label” for building products. Manufacturers voluntarily disclose product ingredients and information on easy-to-read Declare labels, which are publicly available in our free online database. This helps architects, designers, and consumers easily identify and specify healthier building materials. The Living Product Challenge (LPC) is Living Future’s science-based certification for products that help to restore our planet and improve the quality of human life. As the world’s most advanced standard for healthy, sustainable products, LPC uses a holistic framework and third-party verification to push manufacturers to create products that are healthy and give back more than they take.

The Materials Specialist will serve as a primary point of contact for manufacturers pursuing Declare labels. The Specialist is responsible for providing technical support and guidance to customers, and the careful review of submitted documentation to ensure adherence to the program requirements. The Specialist will also support and assist in sales and other efforts of the Materials Team to successfully grow and implement the programs. While the Specialist primarily focuses on Declare, they occasionally support other Living Future material programs. The successful applicant will have successful customer service experience, knowledge of the built environment and/or manufacturing industry, and a passion for sustainable, restorative, and regenerative design and products.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
CUSTOMER SUCCESS (40%)

• Provide excellent customer service by maintaining expertise on Declare to answer customer questions by email, video, or phone. Questions may range from general to highly technical.
• Work directly with manufacturers to overcome limitations and challenges with Declare submissions.
• Manage client feedback, working directly with the team leadership to build relationships, resolve customer concerns, and support program development.
• Understand clients’ current and future needs to identify how Living Future can address them through Declare and other Living Future Programs.
• Ensure label review and publishing turn-around times are within Declare program guidelines.
• Act as first liaison for international clients and affiliates, directing inquiries to the appropriate global team members to help maintain excellent customer service and program reputation.

LABEL INTEGRITY (40%)

• Carefully review Declare label submission materials to ensure adherence to program requirements.
• Flag and review areas of question with the Senior Manager, Materials to determine a ruling.
• Draft and issue Declare labels.

IMPACT MEASUREMENT (10%)

• Track success stories, roadblocks, and lessons learned shared by customers.
• Collaborate with staff to bring customer support insights to our program development process.

PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION (10%)

• Maintain the database of Declare labels.
• Utilize project and customer management tools (i.e. Asana and Salesforce) to manage applications and tasks.
• Support lead development and sales of various Living Future programs and offerings.
• Collaborate with Living Future teams and staff members to strengthen cross-program and organizational success.
• Continuously monitor, and effectively document and report to the team any developing trends in the marketplace or in daily interactions that may pose a risk or new opportunity for Living Future programs.
   

We know that you may not have all the skills listed below and we encourage you to apply if you meet the majority of the requirements.

• At least 2 years of experience and demonstrated excellence in customer service, and the ability to guide clients through complex data entry and calculations software,
• Excellent time-management skills and a proven ability to prioritize high-volume emails, inquiries, and data entry,
• Meticulous attention to detail, and critical review skills with an eye for spotting potential problems in data or reporting, 
• Demonstrated success with continuous improvement, and skills to proactively flag recurring problems, and propose creative solutions to improve programs and processes,
• Ability to stay self-directed and motivated in a remote position, while continuously acting to improve the resiliency, health, happiness, and success of the team,
• At least one year experience with sales, business development, or outreach, preferably in the field of sustainability certifications, product sustainability, or in the sales of intangible goods or services,
• Knowledge of product sustainability issues, trends, and programs,
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills (written, verbal, public speaking, social media, press relations),
• Desire to learn about material sustainability and grow the impact of Declare, the Living Product Challenge, and other Living Future Materials programs,
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with a variety of stakeholders representing different organizations, backgrounds, and perspectives,
• Familiarity with Google Workspace and project management systems using Mac-based software.

DESIRABLE

• 2-5 years of proven excellence in high-volume customer service,
• Established experience and professional network in the building products manufacturing sector, and/or ADC community, and/or business sustainability arena,
• Proven ability for professional networking and quickly establishing professional rapport and trust among peers and clients,
• Experience with Salesforce or a similar CRM platform, 
• Basic understanding of materials specifications in the built environment,
• Knowledge of the architectural, construction, or manufacturing industry,
• Living Future Accreditation. Candidates who are not already Living Future Accredited will be supported in achieving their LFA within one year.
   

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 $59,161 - $64,323 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 September 8, 2025. Due to the volume of applications we will closing this posting EOD 9/8.