This is a hybrid position which requires 8 days/month in the office. You can be based in our office in Washington DC. Existing work authorization is required at the time of application submission as WRI is unable to sponsor any visa work sponsorship for this position. To be eligible for this position in US, you must be a resident of DC, Maryland or Virginia at the start of employment.
About the Program:
WRI’s Restoration program helps catalyze the restoration of forests, farmland and ecosystems. Our goal is to help restore ecosystem function, economic productivity, livelihoods and hope. The Restoration program is a flagship initiative of the Food, Land and Water program at WRI and works with governments, grassroots community organizations, entrepreneurs and international partners to inspire, enable, and implement restoration on degraded landscapes, returning them to economic and environmental productivity.
Alongside partners, WRI has identified more than two billion hectares of cleared and degraded forest and agricultural lands suitable for restoration – an area roughly twice the size of China. Using this data as a foundation, we work to promote restoration of degraded lands back into natural forests, agroforestry systems, or productive agriculture. Our programmatic work centers on ensuring that restoration practitioners have access to technical assistance, financing, enabling policies and robust monitoring systems. Embracing forest and landscape restoration will allow for a world in which the amount of forest cover grows while the productivity of existing agricultural land increases.
Job Highlight:
Reporting to Director, Forest Restoration Initiative, you will integrate equity into your work. You will work directly with the program’s Director to provide management and fundraising support for a rapidly growing, global team.
You will play a key role in supporting the Director to develop and execute a fundraising, outreach and engagement strategy, with the goal of maintaining, expanding and developing new relationships with key donors and investors. In addition, you will be working with the Restoration program’s Communications teams to gather information and success stories to share with our donors and other stakeholders. This is an exciting opportunity to engage large-ticket donors and investors that are funding work across Africa, India, and Latin America and shape the future of the Restoration program.
You will also support in managing the program by supporting their priorities, executing logistics, creating fit-for-purpose briefings, tracking to-dos, coordinating across the team, and facilitating meetings when appropriate. You will work closely with the program’s Deputy Director and Project Management Office (PMO) to perform these duties.
What will you do:
Fundraising: Donor and Investor Prospecting, Outreach, Engagement and Stewardship (65% time):
- Support the Director in designing and managing a strong donor and investor prospecting and stewardship program in coordination with the WRI Global Development team, with an initial emphasis on the Restore Local project in Africa
- Manage information flow back to WRI staff on intelligence about the strategic priorities of donors and partner institutions
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Ensure fundraising opportunities are up-to-date in relevant Restoration and WRI-wide systems (e.g., Salesforce, Asana) and that institutional standards for constituent relationship management are in place
- Collaborate with Restoration’s PMO team to produce high quality, compelling and timely communication products and progress reports for donors (presentations, reports, updates)
- Convene regular check-in calls between Restoration fundraisers and WRI’s Development team
- Guide or support the development of concept notes, proposals, and budgets with active engagement from relevant Restoration staff and country teams
- Support the conceptualization, development and stewardship of a stronger community of practice among restoration donors and investors
- Coordinate responses to cross-programmatic funding opportunities
- Lead Restoration’s engagement in Large Proposal Review process for new funding opportunities
- Work collaboratively with WRI’s Global Development team on funding approaches involving centrally managed institutional donors to ensure a high level of internal coordination and collaboration on fundraising priorities
- Attend fundraising meetings and road show meetings together with the Director and relevant colleagues
Strategic Management Support to Director, Restoration (35% time):
- Draft memos, replies, and documents on behalf of the Director
- Ensure that the Director is in attendance and properly prepared and briefed for meetings of strategic importance
- Be a delegate for the Director in meetings, when appropriate, providing status updates and sharing relevant information with colleagues and partners
- Manage the Director’s agenda by helping them prioritize, ensuring deadlines are met, and taking ownership over tasks, follow-up items, and information gathering where appropriate
- Support the Director in developing and maintaining key partnerships
- Develop and maintain a broad knowledge of issues related to the entire Restoration portfolio and its strategic ambitions
- Steward special projects as assigned. This will include the development of work plans and timelines with key milestones and developing and tracking budgets.
- Provide clear guidance and coordination to internal WRI teams and external partners to ensure their compliance with WRI’s internal processes, systems and work plans
- Contribute to external strategic communications products and help draft internal communications to key internal stakeholders on behalf of the Director
- Support the Director to plan, coordinate, and facilitate team-wide meetings, working group meetings within the Program, and other recurring meetings hosted or attended by the Director
- Work with the Restoration team’s PMO to ensure programmatic cohesion and maintain internal planning and coordination systems
- Support the Director in communications and outreach tasks
- Work with the Restoration team’s Knowledge Management Officer to provide updates from the Director into internal information-sharing and coordination systems
- Work with the PMO to establish internal decision-making frameworks for the Program
- Proactively communicate with teams within Restoration and across the WRI to ensure the right people know the right information at the right time
What will you need:
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Education: You have a completed a bachelor’s degree such as environmental studies, economics, policy, sustainability, or engineering or a related field. Relevant work experience in lieu of degree is accepted
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Experience: You have minimum 3 yr of relevant experience in project management or fundraising, preferably in large, non-profit organizations
- Experience working in non-profit organizations and prior engagement on environmental or international development
- Ability to manage a complex workload remotely and meet deadlines
- Experience working with people from different cultures and backgrounds and coaching them to deliver timely results
- Exceptional writing and proofreading skills; ability to translate technical information into lay language
- Excellent interpersonal, communication and collaborative skills; managing complex situations with tact, respect and diplomacy
- Demonstrated ability to be strategic and flexible on changing priorities
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office 365, SharePoint and CRM systems (preferably Salesforce)
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Languages: Verbal and written proficiency in English required. Fluency in any of WRI's other core languages is a bonus (French, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.)
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Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position is based. WRI is unable to authorize visa work authorization
Potential Salary: US salary range is between 69,000 and 78,000 USD. Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.
How to Apply: Please submit a resume with a required cover letter by the date of 17 December 2024. We may close for applications sooner if we receive a high volume of qualified applications.
We are unable to consider your application without a cover letter in addition to your resume.
You must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.
What we offer:
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Access to the WRI global network with the opportunity to exchange with and learn from passionate colleagues working at the cutting edge of their fields across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the US
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The chance to have an impact and to develop your career within a mission driven organization with access to varied learning and training opportunities.
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A workplace that strives to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of our work
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The opportunity to join and get involved in different working groups and affinity groups to shape the future of WRI
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Commitment to hybrid working model with flexible working hours
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Generous leave days that increase with tenure
- Medical Coverage, Dental Coverage, Vision Coverage, retirement plan access and employer contribution
About Us:
Founded in 1982, World Resources Institute (WRI) is an independent, nonprofit global research organization that turns big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity, and human well-being. We are working to address seven critical challenges that the world must overcome this decade to secure a sustainable future for people and the planet: climate change, energy, food, forests, water, sustainable cities, and the ocean. WRI has a global staff of over 1,800 people with work spanning 60 countries. We have offices in Africa, Brazil, China, Europe, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia and the United States, as well as a growing presence in other countries and regions.
The foundation of our work is delivering high-quality research, data, maps, and analysis to solve the world’s greatest environment and international development challenges and improve people’s lives. We work with leaders in government, business, and civil society to drive ambitious action and create change on the ground. Equally important, we bring together partners to develop breakthrough ideas and scale-up solutions for far-reaching, enduring impact.
Our mission and values:
WRI’s mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.
Our values are shared ideals that bind us together: Integrity, Innovation, Urgency, Independence and Respect.
Our culture:
WRI is committed to advancing gender and social equity for human well-being in our mission and applies this principle to our organizational and programmatic practices. We are committed to providing equal opportunities in employment; we embrace all diversity and encourage women, the LGBTQ+ community, persons with disabilities, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous people to apply. Recognizing our strong commitment to gender equality, WRI has also been awarded EDGE certification.
Our team in Human Resources carefully reviews all applications.
