WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE (WRI)
Associate I, Natural Infrastructure for Water Project
Location
US-DC-Washington
Type
Regular Full-Time
Program
Food, Forest, and Water (FFW)
Options
World Resources Institute (WRI), an action oriented global organization most recently voted as #1
environment & natural resource think tank in the world is consistently recommended by staff as one of the
"most desired organizations to work for". WRI has over 30 years of experience focusing on the
intersection of the environment and socio-economic development. WRI goes beyond research to put
ideas into action – our mission is to move human society to live in ways that protects Earth’s environment
and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.
WRI has been growing the past five years and now has offices in Washington D.C., India, and China and
a presence in Brazil, Indonesia as well as a dozen other countries around the world. WRI staff not only
have a deep understanding of the issues, but also an understanding of the political and cultural contexts
that shape how decisions are made and how to engage effectively in the countries in which we work and
partner. Our staff represents over 40 nationalities.
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Overview
The Natural Infrastructure for Water Project (NifW) is a targeted multi-year effort of WRI’s Water
Initiative. NifW also works closely with colleagues in other programs and projects across WRI, such as
water, forests, cities, adaptation, and governance, and finance.
NifW’s mission is to catalyze a global movement to transform the way the world secures freshwater for
human wellbeing and economic development. The campaign envisions a world in which governments and
businesses invest in conserving and restoring networks of forests, wetlands, and floodplains as “natural
infrastructure” to secure clean freshwater supplies, reduce flood risks, and support economic
development. Water resource managers worldwide can reduce costs and achieve similar results by
integrating these investments into water management strategies alongside traditional investments in
human-engineered “built infrastructure.”
NifW’s theory of change rests on WRI’s “Count It, Change It, Scale It” framework for impact. Through new
mapping platforms and cutting-edge economic analysis, we will establish the technical basis for change.
Through engagements in pilot watershed efforts as laboratories for innovation, we will light the way for
change. Through bolder partnerships across the public and private sectors, we will deliver change at
scale. Specifically, we will:
Build a sophisticated mapping platform to identify forest and ecosystem-based natural
infrastructure opportunities worldwide—a World Watersheds Map.
Make the financial case for natural infrastructure to key decision makers through convening efforts
and targeted one-on-one engagements with businesses, utilities, development banks and civil society.
Provide critical support to utilities, businesses, municipalities, and development agencies working
to design and implement (policy frameworks, incentives, financing mechanisms, road maps) investments
in natural infrastructure.
Launch a three-pronged partnership and influence strategy focused on the water management
industry, private businesses, and the sources of public finance for water infrastructure (international aid
and development agencies). Recognizing the centrality of political and institutional factors in decision
making, this effort is the first of its kind to systematically convene, enlist, equip, and marshal champions at
all levels of decision making as “natural infrastructure agents of change” within their institutions.
Responsibilities
Project Planning/Implementation
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Play a key role in strategy development and implementation, content creation and partner
engagement for the NiFW campaign.
Assist Program Manager with project administration activities including budgeting, staffing and
planning.
Identify fundraising opportunities, develop proposals, conduct necessary grant reporting, and
manage relationships with donors.
Supervise interns and subgrantees including day-to-day management.
In close collaboration with the Program Manager, serve as lead author on influential analysis,
publications, and other outputs.
Provide review, input, and collaboration with other projects and programs in the institute working
on issues or in countries related to NifW.
Work with Water Initiative team to develop and implement a coherent vision and outputs relating
to global water challenges, building from the Count It, Change It, Scale It framework.
World Watersheds Map
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Provide coordination to development efforts for the World Watersheds Map, which will be built by
technical staff in the Water and Forests Initiatives.
Make the Case
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Co-develop opportunities for WRI economists to apply “green-gray analysis” to high-leverage
watersheds, cities, and businesses worldwide.
Provide strategic direction, data collection and analysis, and stakeholder engagement to
economic analyses.
Support Utilities, Businesses, Municipalities, and Development Agencies
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Identify opportunities to engage one-on-one with key institutions to develop new policies,
programs, and investments as demonstrations for change at broader scale.
Assist Program Manager on targeted engagements, bringing WRI’s full, multi-faceted value
proposition to bear and working to connect individual engagements to broader efforts to deliver
change at scale.
Launch a Partnership & Influence Strategy (Champions Club)
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Help Program Manager coordinate the expanding network of NifW partner organizations.
Help convene strategic meetings with global, regional, and local partners to advance a natural
infrastructure agenda.
Spearhead efforts to develop common principles and commitments for individual champions to
take back to key institutions for buy-in.
Work with Program Manager to set up WRI to be a leading expert, convener, and driver of
change at scale in the natural infrastructure and freshwater security space.
Qualifications
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Advanced degree in environmental resource management, public policy, business, development
studies, economics or other relevant field. Familiarity with natural resource economics and
finance (expertise a plus).
Excellent speaking, writing, research and qualitative analytical skills.
Portuguese, Spanish, French, Francophone African Hindi, or Chinese language skills a plus.
Minimum two to four years relevant experience working on issues related to watershed services,
land use issues, sustainable investing, cost benefit analysis and/or incentive-based conservation.
Well-organized self-starter with proven ability to manage in a fast-paced environment and juggle
multiple tasks and deadlines, and ability to work in Washington, DC, while supervisor is based on
the West Coast.
Experience engaging with and convening with government and civil society sectors worldwide.
A sound understanding of water resource management, forestry and related decision making
processes, especially those relating to international development banks and aid agencies.
Proven ability to work on a team and a project including to:
o Develop and implement project strategies and adapt as opportunities and circumstances
unfold;
o Motivate staff, manage contractors, and ensure that expected deliverables are completed
on time; and
o Deliver on-the-ground results on time and on budget.
Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with teams of individuals and colleagues at all
levels inside and outside the organization.
Familiarity with GIS analysis (expertise a plus)
Willingness to travel both domestically and internationally.
Final candidates will be required to take a writing test.
Salary and Benefits
Salary is commensurate with experience and skills. WRI offers a generous, comprehensive benefits
package.
Location
Washington, DC
Qualified applicants should apply online at www.wri.org/careers. All applications must be submitted
online through this career portal in order to be formally considered.
The World Resources Institute (http://www.wri.org/wri) is an environmental and development research
and policy organization that creates solutions to protect the Earth and improve people’s lives. As an Equal
Opportunity Employer, it is WRI’s policy to recruit, hire, and provide opportunities for advancement in all
job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, citizenship, marital
status, sexual orientation, parental status, or disability. WRI’s global agenda requires a staff that is
diverse – with respect to race, gender, cultural, and international background. Diverse perspectives and
experience enhance the way WRI selects and approaches issues, as well as the creativity and
applicability of WRI's policy research and analysis. WRI, therefore, encourages applications from U.S.
minorities, persons from other countries (especially developing nations), and from women of all
backgrounds.
About WRI
The World Resources Institute is a global environmental think tank that goes beyond research to put
ideas into action. We work with governments, companies, and civil society to build solutions to urgent
environmental challenges. WRI’s transformative ideas protect the earth and promote development
because sustainability is essential to meeting human needs and fulfilling human aspirations in the future.
Established in 1982, WRI is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization respected globally by policymakers,
NGOs, and corporate leaders because of the rigorous quality, balance, and independence of its work.
With its think-tank roots, WRI values innovative ideas, working collaboratively, and thinking
independently. WRI employees see the results of their hard work and have the satisfaction of making a
significant difference in the world.
Currently a $50 million organization with an international staff of approximately 250, WRI works with more
than 400 partners in 50 countries. WRI provides objective information and practical proposals for policy
and institutional change that foster environmentally sound, socially equitable development.
Values
In its day to day work, WRI is guided by several core institutional values:
Innovation: To lead change for a sustainable world, WRI is creative, forward thinking, entrepreneurial, and
adaptive.
Integrity: Honesty, candor and openness must guide WRI’s work to ensure credibility and to build trust.
Urgency: WRI believes that change in human behavior is urgently needed to halt the accelerating rate of
environmental deterioration.
Independence: Our effectiveness depends on work that is uncompromised by partisan politics,
institutional or personal allegiances, or sources of financial support.
Respect: Our relationships are based on the belief that all people deserve respect.
Approach
Everything WRI does is built on four key elements:
Focus on Results: WRI organizes all of its work to produce powerful and practical solutions, strategies
and tools, policies and partnerships.
Analytical Excellence: WRI identifies problems, drivers of change, economic incentives, and
consequences to arrive at comprehensive, incentive-based, practical solutions.
Partnerships: WRI works with scientists, governments, businesses, NGOs, and international institutions
worldwide to create incentives and pressure for change.
Communications: WRI fosters change by disseminating their solutions and ideas to targeted audiences.