Project Coordinator, Deep Dives Initiative

This position will be hybrid requiring a few days per week in office. You can be based in our office in Washington DC or Mexico City. Existing work authorization is required at the time of application submission as WRI is unable to sponsor any visa work sponsorship for this position.

About the Program:

In the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, the Urban Development team provides technical and policy support to help cities to create livable neighborhoods that build resilience, improve health, and equitably connect people and opportunities. Under Urban Development, the Deep Dives (DD) Initiative focuses on locally driven strategic projects as entry points to foster long-term, cross-sectoral and transformative change. Through the initiative, WRI provides strategic funding and additional technical capacity to support a wide range of projects, from decarbonizing transportation and enhancing climate action, to strengthening disaster preparedness and urban resilience. The initiative also allows WRI to share lessons learned from across its network of partner cities.

Job Highlight:

Reporting to the Research Analyst II, Transformative Urban Coalitions, you will coordinate the main activities of the Deep Dive Initiative, a multi-year, multi-city initiative that works across each of WRI’s country offices to drive cities toward sustainable and equitable futures. You will work with the Project Manager and the Director of Urban Development to ensure project deliverables are met, high quality research and documentation is delivered, and teams are supported as they work toward urban transformation.

What will you do:

Project Coordination, Deep Dives Initiative (65%):

• Support the DD project manager on day-to-day activities, including scheduling and creating agendas for strategic meetings, creating templates and structures for project reporting, raising challenges that arise with project teams to be addressed by project team, and ensuring teams adhere to project deadlines
• Collect quarterly reporting information from project teams and country offices and track major successes and lessons learned
• Identify project risks and seek support to manage them with the Project Manager
• Coordinate with the Grants and Finance Specialist to align project activities with budgets and assist with annual cost planning
• Assist the research, data, communications, and capacity development teams to achieve global deliverables, including coordinating a series of workshops and knowledge exchanges across the cohort of cities, and assisting with the drafting of workshop reports
• With the project manager and Urban Development Director, guide the overall strategy of the initiative to ensure the highest impact for cities and communities

Urban Development (UD) Team Support (35%):

• Attend wider Urban Development team meetings and identify opportunities for collaboration with other workstreams
• Assist with preparation of agendas and presentations for internal UD calls
• Support the Project Manager and UD Global Director to coordinate between external partners and internal teams on other large multi-year projects as needed. This can include collating information for proposal development, preparation of high-level presentations, and development of event briefing notes for the Global Director.

What will you need:

• Education: You have completed a Bachelor’s degree. Relevant work experience in lieu of degree is accepted
• Experience: You have 2+ years of relevant full-time work experience
• Experience in assisting in the delivery of projects
• Experience monitoring and analysing data to assist in decision-making
• Experience using organisational skills to track and manage projects
• Experience working with use of MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint and Adobe
• Experience working across countries and with a variety of cultural contexts is desirable
• Languages: Proficiency in English and at least one language (Spanish or Portuguese)
• Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position is based. WRI is unable to authorize visa work authorization.

Potential Salary: 

If based in the US office: $57,000 - $62,000

Please note that the salary if based in Mexico will not be a direct conversion and will be discussed with our local HR lead.

Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

How to Apply:

Please submit a resume with a required cover letter by 28 October 2024.

You must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.

What we offer:

• 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
• The chance to have an impact and to develop your career within a mission driven organization with access to varied learning and training opportunities
• A workplace that strives to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of our work
• The opportunity to join and get involved in different working groups and affinity groups to shape the future of WRI
• Commitment to hybrid working model with flexible working hours
• Generous leave days that increase with tenure.

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.