Project Specialist, Restore Local

This position will be hybrid requiring a few days per week in the office. You will be based in our WRI Africa office in Kigali, Rwanda.

This will be a 12 month, limited-term contract with the possibility of renewal.

About the Program:

WRI’s Global 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, 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. Since 2023, WRI has been supporting landscape-focused restoration in three anchor landscapes in Africa; Ghana’s Cocoa Belt, Kenya’s Greater Rift Valley and the Lake Kivu and Rusizi River basin in Burundi, DRC and Rwanda. 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. Restore Local is a WRI-led flagship project that contributes to realizing the goals of AFR100. The four-year project will work to restore Africa’s vital landscapes by investing in locally led restoration at scale, providing local communities and businesses across the continent with the support they need to revitalize their landscapes. Restore Local will align its work with a four-part blueprint, creating training and mentorship opportunities, directly funding restoration champions, securing policies that reward farmers, and helping communities track their restoration progress with the right monitoring, reporting, and verification protocols. Collaborating with key partners and stakeholders, it will focus on delivering this blueprint in the three anchor landscapes and readying important infrastructure for replication and scaling across AFR100.

Job Highlight:

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Africa Restoration and the Lake Kivu and Rusizi River Basin Landscape Manager, you will provide day-to-day project management support for WRI’s restoration work in Africa, while also providing key logistical and administrative support to project activities in the Lake Kivu and Rusizi River Basin Landscape (LKR) of Rwanda, Burundi and DRC. You will be based in Kigali, Rwanda and the role will involve 30% travel to LKR and regionally.

What will you do:

Project Management (80%):

• Help coordinate restoration activities, ensuring alignment with project goals, timelines, and budget constraints across different restoration projects in Rwanda and LKR landscape
• Maintain a comprehensive tracking system for managing tasks, including deadlines, responsible parties, and status updates to ensure timely completion using WRI tools (e.g., Asana, Sharepoint)
• Manage project documentation, including contracts, reports, and other relevant materials, ensuring they are organized and readily accessible to team members
• Support communicating project updates to key stakeholders
• Help monitor project progress and evaluating outcomes by collecting and analyzing data, preparing reports, and identifying areas for improvement
• Manage project stakeholder databases
• Maintain an active Asana board, reflecting key discussions and resolutions made by the Africa Restoration Executive Team (AFRET)
• Take meeting minutes and draft workshops reports, tracking follow-ups as necessary
• Maintain a list of key AFR100-wide events and associated staff’s activities, such as planned presentations and others
• Provide day-to-day project management and administrative support to the LKR Landscape Manager and Africa Restoration Senior Manager

Logistical and Administrative support (20%):

• Coordinate conference and event logistics for domestic and international meetings and workshops, including venue and catering, equipment or translators, travel and visa support for team
• Coordinate event participant travel, accommodation, and any per diem support, including the proper documentation and compliance with any grant terms
• Handle cash advances, reimburse participants costs and make expense reports as per WRI Africa financial policies.

What will you need:

• Education: You have completed a bachelor’s degree in the field of management, business administration or natural resources management or another relevant academic discipline
• Experience: You have 3+ years of work experience in project management and logistics support, preferably within international organizations.
• Experience working in an international organization with multiple offices or departments
• Demonstrated experience managing and improving processes
• You are a proficient user of the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Experience using Asana will be an asset
• Languages: You have written and spoken proficiency in English, French and Kinyarwanda. Knowledge of Kirundi and Kiswahili will be an asset
• Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position is based. 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 a cover letter by 5 July 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.