Position: Climate Change Program Director

Program: Climate

Location: São Paulo/SP – Brazil

WRI Brasil seeks a Director for its Climate Change Program. The Director will be responsible for the Program’s overall leadership, management, outreach and fundraising.

The position requires strong vision and experience, a strategic mindset, interpersonal skills, fundraising talent, and extensive knowledge of climate change and how it intersects with the economy, development, social issues, human wellbeing and technology, especially in forest and land use and cities. In addition, the candidate should thrive operating in a results-focused culture. This is a challenging position that offers a unique opportunity to have a major impact on the Brasilian and the global environment and development issues.

 Program Overview

The Climate program works to boost the country’s transition to a new low-carbon economy, which reduces social inequalities and reconciles the conservation of ecosystems with the generation of jobs and income.

We seek to strengthen technical capacity in the formulation of public policies, governance and transparency for climate in Brazil.

We develop analyzes and studies to identify possible paths for a fair economic transition for the country, sectors or biomes – especially the Amazon. We are also mobilizing groups of key stakeholders in government, business and civil society to accelerate this transition and ensure its success.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy

• The primary responsibility of the Climate Change Director will be to review and develop a new climatestrategy for WRI Brasil
• The development of WRI Brasil’s Climate Change Program has a compelling vision, strong research foundation, clear priorities and a bold, coherent strategy that drives the national, subnational, and international agenda, working closely with WRI’s Global and Latin American offices
• Lead WRI Brasil in its work with key partners to create the enabling conditions to shift Brasil towards a climate resilient, net zero emissions pathway
• Lead WRI Brasil in supporting initiatives to inform a long-term strategy for the country that is in line with the Paris Agreement’s long-term goals, positioning Brasil as one of the leaders in decarbonization by 2050
• Support the building of a dynamic roadmap for de-carbonization of the Brasilian economy through a multi-stakeholder group approach
• Support efforts to improve climate governance in the country and mandatory MRV systems for GHG emissions
• Promote adoption of practical tools within the urban, agriculture and forestry sectors to monitor GHG emissions reductions, using the GHG Protocol and other available tools
• Support the Cities and Forest Programs in their climate related work
• Support adoption of an adaptation strategy for WRI Brasil.

Leadership

• Lead development of WRI Brasil’s Climate Change Program has a compelling vision, strong research foundation, clear priorities and a bold, coherent, strategy that drives the national, subnational, and international agenda, working closely with WRI’s Global and Latin American offices
• Keep the WRI Brasil Climate Change Program and its initiatives focused on critical issues and high-impact opportunities where WRI’s tools, analyses, and partnerships can lead to real results
• Foster a culture of excellence and diversity in all aspects of the program; Inspire and engage the team of professionals to implement WRI Brasil strategy; Serve on WRI Brasil’s management team;
• Lead strategic planning, including development and planning of a major cross-institutional initiatives
• Build coalitions and convene successful partnerships on climate policy research;
  Communicate the Program’s findings and recommendations, internally at WRIat the Global, National, and Subnational levels as well as to external audiences.
• Ensure the program’s activities lead to meaningful results that promote sustainable development, and lead reporting on impacts and successes to internal and external audiences
• Ensure the strategy’s “theories of change” are robust and a monitoring/evaluation system is in place;

Outreach

• Serve as one of the primary voices of WRI Brasil’s Climate Change Program; externally, publicly and within WRI
• Communicate the Program’s findings and recommendations to key partners and stakeholders, internally at WRIand to external audiences.
• Give presentations at public speaking events, national and international fora, one-on-one meetings, and within WRI;
• Lead/oversee research, write briefs, publish blogs and Op-eds, and conduct media interviews
• Collaborate to develop communications and engagement strategies in partnership with WRI Brasil Communications and Engagement team, to set public and private sector agendas, influence decision-makers and key audiences’ perspectives, and communicate the program findings and recommendation.

Management

• Attract, motivate, and retain world-class staff
• Grow manage and supported the team , delegating authority, ensuring effectiveness , and ensuring deliverables and results are achieved
• Oversee budgetary performance of the program;
• Engage WRI Brazil’s senior managers as well as peers from other WRI offices, on institutional strategic and operational issues to advance the interests of the program and of WRI as a whole
• High-profile communication being developed by Program staff to ensure they meet WRI’s high standards for quality.
• Serve on WRI Brazil’s management team.

Fundraising

• In partnership with the Executive Director, Senior Development Manager, and Global Development team, develop the fundraising strategy for WRI Brasil.
• Direct and oversee investments and fundraising efforts.
• Actively cultivate and manage relationships with existing donors, nationally and internationally, securing funding renewals.
• Mentor staff to broaden their fundraising skills, help them manage existing fundraising relationships, and cultivate new funding prospects.

 Required Qualifications:

• Master or PhD degree in the field in natural/environmental, economic or social sciences
• Minimum of 15+ years’ experience in field relevant to climate change and 10+ years of program management and/or project implementation
• Demonstrated ability to successfully motivate and manage teams to reach their full potential and achieve on-the-ground results
• Strong team player with ability to work across institutional departments/programs
• Ability to manage effective partnerships with multiple actors;
• Proven ability to provide vision and superb strategic thinking skills
• Demonstrated capability to secure funding from donors;
• Outstanding ability to communicate clearly, passionately, and compellingly to a wide range of audiences, especially high-level decision-makers from government, the private sector, media and civil society;
• Proficiency in oral and written communications in Portuguese and English. Spanish would be a plus
• Strong network of relationships and partners;
• Experience overseeing and managing budgets;
• Ability to travel, nationally and internationally;
• Resourceful, ability to think out of the box, deal with ambiguous situations and come up with solutions where there are none apparently visible;
• Ability to make solid decisions based on available information;
• Adaptability, flexibility and ability to lead in an environment of transitions and changes;
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking capabilities

Things you should know before applying to this post

• English is required for day to day work.
• Candidates will be asked to submit CVs and will be interviewed in English.
• We are committed to the principle of Equal Employment Opportunity for all employees, regardless of sex, marital status, nationality, religion, age, sexual orientation and any other characteristics unrelated to the performance of the job. Selection will be in accordance with objective, job related criteria and the appointment will be on the basis of applicant’s merits and abilities.

 How to Apply

If you qualify for the position, apply online at https://jobs.jobvite.com/wri/jobs/ by 06/03/2023. Only applications submitted through this site will be considered in the selection process.

 Promoting Diversity

WRI Brasil seeks to incorporate diversity in its actions and projects. Therefore, if you wish, please indicate in your Letter of Intent information that you consider relevant for consideration in your application, including, but not limited to: race/ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, regional origin, links with traditional populations, physical disability or specific needs.

 About WRI Brazil

WRI Brazil is a research institute that transforms big ideas into actions to promote environmental protection, economic opportunities and human well-being. It works to develop studies and implement sustainable solutions in climate, forests and cities. It combines technical excellence with political articulation and works in partnership with governments, companies, academia, and civil society.

WRI Brazil is part of the World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research institution operating in over 50 countries. WRI counts on the expertise of more than 1,700 professionals in offices in Brazil, China, the United States, Europe, Mexico, India, Indonesia, and Africa.