This position is remote based in Bukavu, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Existing work authorization is required at the time of application submission. WRI is unable to sponsor any visa work sponsorship for this position.

About the Program:

WRI’s Restoration Initiative informs, enables, and invests in people that restore degraded land, converting them to socially, economically, and environmentally productive lands. WRI’s restoration work in Africa supports the goals of the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative, African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), where with other partners; we have identified more than 700 million hectares of cleared and degraded forest and agricultural lands suitable for restoration across Africa. Done well, landscape-scale restoration can revitalize African landscapes, while enhancing human well-being through food, energy and water systems, which conserve, restore and sustain the continent’s rich natural heritage while generating evidence for scaling within and across landscapes.

In WRI Africa, restoration is anchored within the Vital Landscapes Pillar that aims at revitalizing and protecting landscapes for people and the planet. The Vital Landscapes Pillar aims to build the resilience of our natural ecosystems to sustainably provide vital ecosystems services such as food, water, carbon sequestration and climate regulation. Through Restore Local, WRI is accelerating locally led land restoration across three priority landscapes, including in the Lake Kivu and Rusizi River Basin in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

Job Highlight:

Reporting to the Lake Kivu and Rusize River Landscape Manager and to the Africa Restoration Policy Lead, you will ensure effective day-to-day field coordination and delivery of Restore Local activities within the DRC part of the Lake Kivu and Rusizi River Landscape (LKR). You will coordinate field activities with minimal supervision, engage in restoration technical work comprising themes on finance, capacity building, food security, monitoring, and policy, and facilitate government and non-government stakeholder engagements at subnational level within the DRC part of LKR to achieve the shared goals of landscape restoration.

You will be the landscape restoration focal point in the DRC part of LKR supporting the landscape manager and a diverse team of restoration experts with field-based planning, implementation, and oversight of WRI Restore Local activities in DRC part of LKR. You will particularly support WRI’s restoration policy work in the DRC part of LKR through informing the technical content and supporting the execution of the restoration policy program in collaboration with restoration policy experts. You have the right to work in DRC and are willing to be fully based in Bukavu within the Lake Kivu & Rusizi River Basin landscape.

What you will do:

Field Coordination and Stakeholder Engagement (70%):

• Support the day-to-day coordination and follow-up of Restore Local activities in the DRC part of the Lake Kivu and Rusizi River Landscape
• Coordinate field implementation of activities with partners to ensure effective delivery of landscape restoration objectives
• Mobilize and lead local restoration partnerships including community-based organizations, small and medium enterprises, registered women and youth groups, local governments, development partners, and technical collaborators at sub-national levels in the DRC part of the landscape
• Support processes to tailor WRI’s Restoration programs and tools to fit the context in the DRC part of the landscape
• Support the deployment of WRI’s Restoration programs and tools in the DRC part of the landscape
• Guide, support and supervise consultants to provide technical assistance in the development and implementation of the Forest Landscape Restoration activities taking place in the DRC part of the landscape
• Organize and support the planning of key events related to land restoration in the DRC part of the landscape
• Represent the landscape manager in meetings with sub-national government, project consortia, and other partners in the DRC part of the landscape
• Perform any other duty as assigned by your supervisor

Policy Accelerator (30%):

• Work with LKR Landscape Manager and Africa Policy Lead to engage with sub-national government officials and other local leaders to understand existing restoration policies, their policy challenges, and systemic constraints impeding changes
• Support the identification of restoration policy bottlenecks in collaboration with government officials, local leaders, and policymakers
• Coordinate with LKR Landscape Manager and Enable team to determine which policy bottlenecks to prioritize and design road maps addressing them
• Participate in processes to define relevant capacity-building needs on restoration policies to improve the design, capitalization, and implementation of good restoration policies
• Support the planning and implementation of landscape, national, and regional Policy Accelerators in Africa (in-person and virtual workshops)
• Support cross-institutional collaboration amongst Policy Accelerator participants and unite them towards a common goal and bottleneck to be addressed in the Program
• Nurture and grow a network of policymakers to support the implementation of landscape restoration policies

What you will need:

• Education: You have completed a Bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences, social science, natural resource management, forestry, agriculture, rural development, geography, or similar field

• Experience: You have minimum of 6 years’ of work experience at the landscape and field level supporting implementation of natural resource management, forestry, agriculture, environmental management projects, or related fields
• Experience forging, facilitating partnerships and collaboration at local and sub-national level across government, donors, private sector, NGOs and local community-based organizations
• Understanding of policies and regulations on restoration and natural resource management in DRC and particularly in South and North Kivu Province of DRC
• Willingness to live and be based in Bukavu, work and travel to remote areas in South and North Kivu Provinces , with occasional travel to other parts of DRC and countries within the priority landscapes, mainly Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya
• Good analytical skills both qualitative and quantitative desirable
• Languages: Proficiency in verbal and written French, English and Swahili
• Requirements: Existing work authorization is required at the time of application. WRI is unable to authorize visa work authorization

Potential Salary: Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

How to Apply: Please submit a resume with cover letter by the date of 21 December 2023. You must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.

What we offer:

• A competitive salary
• 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
• Long-term 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, aswell 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.