This is a hybrid position which requires 8 days per month 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, you must be a resident of DC, Maryland or Virginia at the start of employment.

About the Program:

WRI’s Global Restoration Initiative informs, enables, and invests in people that restore degraded land. The team’s flagship investment program for locally led enterprises and community non-profits, TerraFund, currently finances, trains, and monitors 200+ growing organizations across Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. The program operates three funding windows: In Africa, TerraFund for AFR100 finances 200+ organizations through grants and low-interest loans, with a focus on the Lake Kivu & Rusizi River Basin in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda; the Greater Rift Valley of Kenya; and the Ghana Cocoa Belt. In India, Harit Bharat Fund, a new landscape restoration fund, is funding its first cohort of restoration champions in the states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. And globally, the Priceless Planet Coalition is financing large-scale restoration projects that benefit the climate, biodiversity, and communities. These portfolios are built through the TerraMatch platform, an end-to-end system that hosts open calls for proposals, connects champions with technical assistance, and tracks the progress of funded projects through a standard monitoring, reporting, and verification protocol. With targeted investments in locally led champions, the Global restoratoin initiative seeks to demonstrate the impact and investability of restoration economies around the world.

Job Highlight:

Reporting to the Director, Restoration Finance, you will develop projects, tools and partnership that result in additional finance for tree-based land restoration for these champions. With respect to carbon finance, to date, partnership with carbon project investors, potential off takers and technical partners are in place. A recent screening consultancy assignment to scan the carbon finance potential of the projects in the current portfolio resulted in a significant percentage of projects showing medium to high carbon finance readiness. In relation to this, initially focused on Africa, you will design and manage TA projects that enable transactions that will bring robust and measurable results and capital to local organizations and communities. You will also analyse and support other results-based finance innovations that are under development, including outcome-based payment schemes and blended finance investment partnerships. As the program is developing innovative finance and supply chain partnerships that enable restoration champions to mobilise more private sector funding for land restoration.

What will you do:

Program Management (75%):

• Manage WRI’s carbon and results-based finance strategy for locally led land restoration projects, coordinating staff and partners to deliver through clear work-plans
• Validate the carbon readiness vetting framework, and select (clusters of) promising projects, and explore their potential and interest for carbon finance
• Contribute to the development of a “carbon readiness technical assistance revolving fund
• Develop and manage Technical Assistance projects for carbon readiness
• Contribute to building, structuring and deepening partnerships with carbon and blended finance operators, standards, developers and advisors
• Work with the TerraMatch product team to integrate carbon finance data into the product suite
• Work with the director restoration finance on identifying, developing and managing other (results-based) innovative finance mechanisms

Research initiatives(25%):

• Monitor which projects have the most effective strategies and which landscapes are best positioned to benefit, and share insights and lessons
• Shape WRI’s institutional position on carbon finance within the Nature & Carbon Markets task force, ensuring consistency and leading strategic discussions with leadership and, while mitigating risks to WRI’s institutional reputation
• Contribute to publications and research to develop standards and benchmarks for local organizations, including how carbon finance projects nest within jurisdictional carbon crediting schemes

What will you need:

• Education: You have completed a bachelor’s degree in business, forestry, agriculture, data science, or other related field.
• Experience: You have a minimum of 5 years of relevant, full-time work experience including professional history working directly in carbon finance and other result-based finance markets
• Knowledge of carbon finance and relationships with stakeholders in the space
• Experience operating or advising carbon projects that restore land, preferred
• Experience managing multi-stakeholder partnerships, mobilizing partners toward a common vision
• Experience working with people from different cultures and backgrounds and coaching them to deliver timely results
• You have experience owning and managing work plans through online project management tools, such as Air table and Monday.com
• Languages: Written and verbal proficiency in English, with additional fluency in Spanish, Portuguese, and/or French considered an asset.
• 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 84,000 and 92,000 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 24 July 2024. We are unable to consider your application without a cover letter.

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 drivenorganizationwith 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
• Medical Coverage, Dental Coverage, Vision Coverage, retirement plan access and employer contribution, Paid Time Off

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.