Green-Gray Infrastructure (GGI) Accelerator Associate

This position is hybrid requiring a few days per week in a WRI office in either Nairobi, Addis Ababa or Kigali. 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 spearheading the Green-Gray Infrastructure (GGI) Accelerator to build resilience in African cities by promoting the use of nature-based solutions (NBS). GGI Accelerator partners with cities in Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Africa, DRC, ROC, and Ghana. The cities we work with benefit from customized technical assistance, implementation of proof-of-concept projects, regional peer learning, capacity building, and increased dialogue with investors. WRI supports the partner cities in four main work streams: (a) identifying and analyzing climate risks and NBS opportunities, (b) designing and implementing socially inclusive and multisector project plans, (c) business case development and accessing financial resources, and (d) institutionalizing NBS in city planning and policy. Taken together, these work streams help cities move ideas into investment-ready project plans, and from plans into funded and implemented initiatives. This work is housed under the new African Cities Climate Resilience (ACCR), a program that builds on the ongoing work of WRI’s Urban Water Resilience Initiative and Cities4Forests Initiative. Together, these initiatives and teams bring ample experience in creating accessible, equitable, healthy, and resilient urban areas for people, businesses, and the environment. We work with governments, financial institutions, and civil society to ensure a climate-resilient future by harnessing the multiple benefits nature provides in and around cities.

Job Highlight:

As the GGI Accelerator Associate, you will play a critical role in leading and coordinating Green-Gray Infrastructure Accelerator activities across the 11 selected cities in 7 countries. You will be an anchor coordinator for the GGI Accelerator, helping to plan, execute, and track activities associated with the GGI Accelerator to ensure high quality delivery of activities and timely reporting to donors and investors. You will help design and prepare city-specific funding/financing and policy landscape assessments, support content creation for a webinar and workshop series to increase awareness and buy-in for NBS projects in the region, and coordinate regional and city networking meetings with investors, donors, government officials, and other NBS champions. You will frequently be interfacing with WRI city leads, external investors and donors, government agencies, NGOs, and communities.

You will report to the Resilience Africa Cities Lead.

What will you do:

Program Management and Research (85%):

• Plan and execute GGI Accelerator activities by coordinating with WRI staff and partners across the 11 selected cities
• Coordinate with ACCR colleagues to collect, create, and curate content for a webinar and workshop series that showcases lessons learned, policy and project successes, and gender, social equity, and inclusion processes to increase awareness for NBS project development. These webinars and workshops will be tailored to enable peer-to-peer learning opportunities between cities across the region
• Work with the Senior Environmental Finance Associate to design city-focused funding/financing and policy assessments to support tailored investment frameworks for NBS projects
• Orchestrate annual meetings with regional network of investors and donors and support city leads on coordinating local investor/funding working groups
• Support the Senior Environmental Finance Associate to coordinate with partners, including investors, donors, development and private sector banks, and funders
• Conduct outreach and communications including authoring or co-authoring reports and articles, and presenting at meetings and conferences
• Lead GGI Accelerator donor reporting requirements and contribute to WRI’s monitoring, evaluation, and learning frameworks
• Collaborate across WRI programs and ensure linkages with WRI Africa’s New Climate Economy /National Climate Action (NCE/NCA), AFR100, and African Cities Water Adaptation Fund (ACWA), among others
• Coordinate different WRI technical team’s inputs and liaise with WRI global Urban Water Resilience and Cities4Forest teams to problem solve and generate solutions to project implementation issues

Fundraising and Operations (15%):

• Collaborate with senior staff on the strategic development and management of the urban resilience and financing work in Africa
• Support new project opportunities and prospective donors, and contribute to and prepare funding proposals.

What will you need:

• Education: You have completed a bachelor's degree in business administration, Finance, economics, urban planning, climate resilience, or natural resources management
• Experience: You have 5+ years of full-time relevant work experience in the field of climate, development finance or sustainable infrastructure
• Experience in coordinating and managing large grants across multiple locations
• Demonstrated stakeholder engagement and partnership management skills, particularly with cities and subnational governments
• Experience technical concepts to non-technical audiences
• Experience consulting with public sector institutions, financial institutions or private sector
• Willingness and ability to travel 15-30% of the time
• Languages: Written and verbal proficiency in English with knowledge of a second language desirable
• Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position is located. 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 1 March 2024. 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
• 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.