This position is Hybrid or remote based in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia; WRI Africa Regional Office. 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 is leading the African Cities Climate Resilience (ACCR) Program, a major initiative to build urban resilience in African cities by promoting the use of nature-based solutions (NBS). The ACCR Program will work with 5+ African cities to reduce climate-induced heat and water risks and shocks, boost social equality, and protect biodiversity by improving the health and coverage of ecosystems that provide benefits to communities. We partner with cities in Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Africa, and cities in DRC, ROC, Burundi, and Ghana. This initiative builds on the ongoing work of WRI’s Urban Water Resilience Initiative and Cities4Forests Initiative.

Cities4Forests is an alliance of 95 cities, representing more than 297 million residents, acting to conserve, restore and sustainably manage nature for human well-being. Cities4forest supports local champions to influence policy, prepare projects, and unlock finance for nature across the world. The initiative has developed world-class guidance on NBS project preparation, social equity plans, and financial analysis approaches, and has piloted new financing models and institutional structures to promote NBS on the ground. It runs NBS project accelerators in three world regions.

The WRI Urban Water Resilience initiative works with city partners to help address their water risks and vulnerabilities through research, technical assistance, and capacity building to undertake strategic planning, identify place-based interventions, and secure funding and financing resources to implement solutions. It advocates for the Africa Cities Water Adaptation Platform (ACWA Platform), a partnership of 25 organizations dedicated to supporting cities to achieve water. Together, these plans and teams bring ample experience to create accessible, equitable, healthy, and resilient urban areas for people, businesses, and the environment. We work with governments, financial institutions, and civil society to provide a climate-resilient future by harnessing the multiple benefits nature provides in and around cities.

Job Highlight:

The Cities4forest and Urban Water Resilience Initiative seek a full-time Nature-based Solutions (NBS) Specialist working towards mainstreaming NBS in urban planning and infrastructure investment projects across cities in Sub-Saharan Africa to address water and heat risks and enhance biodiversity benefits. In this role:

You will contribute to WRI’s research and advisory work on NBS across Sub-Saharan Africa, establish new partnerships and collaborations in the region to increase our capacity and support-the-ground impacts to meet WRI’s impact targets. Provide project management support for discrete city-focused projects. This will also include providing support for the operationalization of the African Cities Water Adaptation Platform (ACWA Platform). Provide technical support to guide the management and execution of project activities and outputs and ensure implementation of the tree-based restoration and other NBS Project activities implemented in the Dire Dawa Administration. You will also help develop the Initiative’s regional strategy and source new opportunities to grow our impact. You will work with the global Cities4Forests and Urban Water Resilience team of 25+ staff worldwide and the WRI Africa Thriving Resilient Cities program.

What will you do:

Coordination and Project Management (40% of time):

• Support the project management of existing Cities4Forest and UWR projects underway in Ethiopia
• Contribute to the design and implementation of a Project Accelerator to mobilize financing and technical support to develop a pipeline of NBS projects for urban resilience
• Support the ACWA Platform
• Develop new knowledge products and recommendations on thoughtful strategies for enhancing NBS design and implementation, operations and maintenance, and monitoring
• Manage project implementation, monitor work progress, and ensure delivery of outputs in the project city according to the requirements of the Scaling Urban NBS for Climate Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SUNCASA) project in Dire Dawa
• Provide input for the baseline assessment on the state of NBS integration into urban planning in the city, including an estimation of the feasibility of NBS integration into urban planning processes
• Communicate with and promote dialogue between City administration, provincial and local partners, ensuring that important actors in the implementation of NBS processes are involved in the project’s development
• Engage with Dire Dawa City Administration, and coordinate the work of the partners, local experts and consultants

Technical Support (40% of time):

• Provide technical guidance to local partners on the implementation of Gender responsive NBS restoration activities and ensure that work is harmonized across partners, community members and project consultants
• Provide technical input to working documents, studies and technical reports in the framework of project activities on the topics of NBS restoration activities
• Support fundraising, including encouraging new project opportunities and prospective donors and preparing proposals
• Collaborate with internal staff and project team members and create solutions to project implementation issues.

Report, Monitoring and Evaluation (10% of time)

• Help prepare progress reports in compliance with relevant guidelines, including periodic status/progress reports, annual project performance reports including monitoring of project: Performance Management Framework; Financial data; Risk’s assessment; Project indicators; Lessons learned; Project Results
• Help document lessons learned from the project and provide recommendations
• Support the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) experts in developing a comprehensive monitoring and reporting system

Communications (10% of time):

• Conduct outreach and communications including presenting at internal/external meetings and conferences, co-authoring reports, and blog posts, leading convening with important decision-makers, and other activities
• Participate and promote dialogue in the community of practices and/or webinars that will be implemented within the project
• Support with the sharing of materials and activities related to the community of practice with important partners

What will you need:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in urban studies, urban/regional planning, environmental science, natural resources management or related
• Experience: 6 years’ work experience in the field of urban planning, Natural resource management either in a project implementation or research capacity
• Minimum 3 years of experience working with national or local institutions and government
• Prior experience in designing, evaluating, and/or implementing NBS for climate resilience in cities, infrastructure, and the urban water sector
• Prior experience working with city or national governments; ability to navigate pathways to public policy
• Knowledge of Nature based solutions (NBS), land use regulations and urban planning regulations
• Knowledge of ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change, ecological restoration and sustainable use of natural resources is required
• Knowledge of Ethiopia’s environmental and climate change policies is required
• Ability to develop technical documents (publications are an asset)
• Ability to read and interpret geographic maps, familiarity with ArcGIS and GIS tools
• Excellent Management skills
• Prior experience working in the international NGO sector
• Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position is based. WRI is unable to authorize work visa.

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 October 30, 2023. You mustapply 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.
• 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.