3 jobs in World Resources Institute

This is a hybrid position which requires 8 days per month in the office. You can be based in our office in Nairobi. Existing work authorization is required at the time of application submission as WRI is unable to sponsor any visa work sponsorship for this position.

About the program:

African cities are at a turning point: the urban population will reach 1.5 billion by 2050, yet infrastructure and services already fall short, especially in informal settlements. Over half of sub-Saharan city residents face unsafe air pollution, while floods, heatwaves, and droughts intensify climate risks. With three-quarters of 2050 infrastructure yet to be built, there is a unique opportunity to shape cities that are low-carbon, inclusive, and resilient. Our goal is to transition Africa's urban systems to provide better quality of life and health through equitable access to jobs and services — especially for the underserved — while achieving climate neutrality by 2050. In Kenya, the Small Vehicles E-Mobility project demonstrates this vision by advancing electric two- and three-wheelers, reducing emissions, cutting fuel costs, improving air quality, and creating green jobs through local assembly and manufacturing. WRI drives this transformation by equipping city leaders, investors, and partners with the knowledge and tools to deliver healthier, more sustainable cities for all.

Job Highlight:

Reporting to the Project Stakeholder Engagement Lead, you will be responsible for mobilizing and engaging private sector stakeholders, fostering partnerships, and supporting private sector investment in the e-mobility ecosystem in Kenya. This work is central to achieving a robust market for electric two- and three-wheelers and related infrastructure in Kenya.

What you will do:

Private Sector Engagement and Partnership Development-(50%):

• Identify, engage, and build partnerships with key private sector stakeholders, including manufacturers, assemblers, charging infrastructure providers, and battery management companies in addition to coordinating with other donor initiatives in e-mobility in Kenya
• Facilitate collaboration between private entities and project stakeholders, including WRI, Africa Guarantee Fund (AGF), and government partners.
• Develop strategic partnerships that enhance the uptake of small e-vehicles
• Conduct outreach and engagement with key stakeholders, Support communication and advocacy efforts to highlight private sector contributions and project impacts in emission reductions, job creation, and industry growth

Investment Facilitation and Financial Mobilization (40%):

• Support the deployment of financial instruments such as instruments for catalysing debt financing facilities to mobilize private sector investment
• Engage with financial institutions to promote loan portfolio guarantees aimed at financing e-2Ws and e-3Ws
• Collaborate with AGF to ensure the successful mobilization of debt financing and leverage private sector resources
• Conduct market assessments to identify barriers and opportunities in the e-mobility ecosystem, with a focus on increasing private sector involvement
• Support capacity-building initiatives for private sector stakeholders to promote local manufacturing, assembly, and battery management. Provide technical input for the development of standards, best practices, and incentives for sustainable e-mobility
• Advocate for policies that address market barriers, such as high upfront costs and limited access to financing for electric vehicle purchases
• Support the project's technical assistance team in aligning policy interventions with private sector needs and priorities

Monitoring, Reporting, and Learning (10%):

• Develop and implement a framework for monitoring private sector engagement and investment outcomes
• Prepare regular reports on private sector engagement activities, challenges, and successes.

What you will need:

• Education: You have a completed bachelor's degree in social sciences, Development Studies, Environmental Studies, or a related field. Relevant work experience is accepted in lieu of a degree
• Experience: You have 6+ years full-time relevant work experience, working with diverse stakeholders—including private sector players, financial institutions, community groups, and government agencies—preferably in the clean energy, e-mobility, or sustainable transport sectors
• Proven track record in research, community engagement, and facilitating partnerships or investments in Kenya
• Experience engaging effectively with a wide range of stakeholders—from local communities to high-level institutional partners
• Proven ability to translate complex technical or financial concepts into clear, actionable language in both English and Swahili
• Proven research and analysis skills, with experience conducting market studies, identifying barriers to private sector participation, and recommending practical, context-sensitive solutions
• Experience conducting market assessments, analyzing private sector barriers, and recommending actionable solutions to enhance engagement
• Demonstrable understanding of Kenya's socio-economic landscape, business environment, regulatory frameworks, and community dynamics—especially as they relate to clean energy and sustainable mobility
• Proven familiarity with Kenya's business environment, regulatory framework, and e-mobility ecosystem is highly desirable
• Languages: Written and spoken proficiency in English. Written and spoken proficiency in French is desirable
• 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
2 October
2025
. We may close for applications sooner if we receive a high volume of qualified applications.

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:

World Resources Institute works to improve people's lives, protect and restore nature and stabilize the climate. As an independent research organization, we leverage our data, expertise and global reach to influence policy and catalyse change across systems like food, land and water; energy; and cities. Our 2,000+ staff work on the ground in more than a dozen focus countries and with partners in over 50 nations.

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: Independence, Integrity, Impact, Partnership and Care.

Our culture:

WRI is committed to advancing gender and social equity for human well-being in our mission including equal opportunities in employment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, caste, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, or protected Veteran status.

Our People team carefully reviews all applications.

This is a hybrid position which requires 8 days per month in the office. You can be based in our office in Nairobi or Kigali. Existing work authorization is required at the time of application submission as WRI is unable to sponsor any visa work sponsorship for this position.

About the Program:

About 65% of Africa's farmlands are degraded, negatively affecting soil health, water quality and quantity, food production, availability of fodder, wood fuel and other critical livelihood supporting functions. Forests, grasslands, wetlands and other lush landscapes are also facing rapid degradation, and decline, leading to loss of biodiversity, desertification, loss of cultural sites and values and accelerated impacts from climate change. Without urgent action, deforestation and land degradation pose a serious existential threat to more than 60% of people across Africa who rely on the land to feed their families. It also undermines the national and global goals of reversing biodiversity loss and action on climate change.

Yet landscape restoration presents great opportunities for people, nature and climate. Across the continent, "restoration champions" are leading a powerful movement—restoring soil health, biodiversity, and addressing climate challenges. Restore Local is WRI Africa's flagship initiative to invest in this locally led restoration movement, transforming Africa's landscapes in alignment with the continent-wide AFR100 Initiative.

Restoring Africa's landscapes requires a comprehensive approach that addresses every aspect of the restoration journey. WRI Africa's blueprint outlines four essential areas of focus :

• Develop Capacity: To ensure they are ready to receive funding and deliver impact, Restore Local provides targeted training and builds the capacity of restoration champions.
• Deploy Finance: Through innovative financing mechanisms that blend public, private, and philanthropic capital, Restore Local directly funds champions who restore vitality to the land. Through its TerraFund program alone, it has made $17 million in investments to date.
• Secure Policy: Restore Local supports government institutions in creating plans and policies that fund and monitor restoration. It connects policymakers with each other and with technical experts through programs such as the Landscape Policy Accelerator.
• Monitor, Report, Verify, Learn: Through the TerraMatch platform, which combines cutting-edge geospatial data with on-the ground verification, Restore Local enables restoration champions to share the impact of their work with their community, peers and investors.

Building on nearly a decade of WRI's restoration work in Africa, Restore Local began in 2023 and is supporting more than 200 restoration champions in growing millions of trees, creating jobs and restoring critical ecosystem functions.

Halfway through its implementation period, Restore Local is now redoubling its effort in its three target landscapes – The Lake Kivu & Rusizi River Basin in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda; the Greater Rift Valley of Kenya; and the Cocoa Belt of Ghana – and partnering with additional countries to replicate its approach.

Job Highlight:

Reporting to report to the Director of Food, Land, and Water at WRI Africa and the Global Director of Restoration, you will lead one of the most ambitious locally driven restoration efforts on the African continent. You will direct a team of 90+ professionals in 5 African countries, including program managers, technical experts, and field officers implementing restoration.

Your mission is simple in words but challenging in execution: Empower communities to restore millions of hectares of degraded land. Your multidisciplinary team and its 10+ external partnerships will be responsible for finding, funding, managing, and monitoring projects led by restoration champions, building their technical and operational skills, and deploying cutting-edge AI datasets and tested field monitoring techniques. Your team will also build core business process that can shape the development of the "new restoration economy" in other African countries, including in Ethiopia and Malawi. To make this possible, you will manage an annual budget exceeding $20 million USD.

Your mandate will include strategy execution and review, staff and project management, cross-organizational coordination, and fundraising for this large-scale initiative. You will work closely with WRI teams in Africa, the U.S., and Europe, as well as Brazil, India, and Indonesia, to integrate cross-geography learnings and best practices into Africa's restoration efforts. You will integrate equity into your work.

What you will do:

Program Strategy & Implementation (50%):

• Work with the WRI Africa's Food, Land, and Water (FLW) Director and WRI's Global Director of Restoration to ensure that Restore Local drives impact and is locally relevant across priority geographies
• Oversee the development and implementation of Restore Local's annual goals, workplans, and budgets
• Assist program teams in aligning their workplans and results framework with Restore Local's strategy and WRI's institutional priorities
• Lead the design and implementation of team frameworks, processes, and tools for strategic and results-based management of Restore Local
• Implement Restore Local's accountability matrix (e.g., RACI framework) to facilitate strategic decision making across a highly matrixed and cross-geography team
• Oversee measurement and reporting of Restore Local outcomes to maintain accountability to donors and WRI leadership
• Providing governance and oversight across multiple projects in Restore Local program, ensuring compliance with organizational policies, procedures, and standards
• Prepare regular written updates for internal and external communication

Staff/Team Management (25%):

• Directly supervise a multi-disciplinary team of Restore Local managers in Africa ensuring timely and high-quality delivery
• Mentor junior staff, nurturing talent for professional growth
• Manage timely execution of internal team decision-making processes, strategy reviews, pause & reflect sessions to capture learnings, annual goal setting, and team performance reviews
• Coordinate with other WRI teams (e.g., Food team, Water team, Cities team) as needed to ensure alignment and integration of Restore Local activities

Fundraising & Thought Leadership (25%):

• Work with the WRI leadership and development experts to build, prioritize, and manage a pipeline of prospective funders and investors
• Contribute to successful six- and seven-figure proposals to advance the objectives of Restore Local, with a focus on outcome-based finance mechanisms and innovative monitoring practices
• Work with the Communications team to develop and implement an integrated strategy for influencing public sector leaders, private financiers and philanthropies, and restoration champions to advance the goals of Restore Local
• Represent WRI in diverse communities, including speaking engagements, attending conferences, and participating in other key internal and external meetings
• Help the team develop and prioritize partnerships with external organizations that can help achieve Restore Local's desired impact; drive decision-making and course corrections when needed.

What you will need:

• Education: You have a completed master's degree in environmental management, public policy, finance, economics, or similar. Relevant work experience is accepted in lieu of a degree
• Experience: You have 12+ years full-time relevant work experience, at least 3 in a management capacity, in the field of program management, nature-based solutions and climate change resilience in Africa
• Demonstrated experience working in non-profit organizations and prior engagement on environmental or international development, with extensive experience in program management methods and tools
• Demonstrated experience managing complex projects from beginning to end and have familiarity with frameworks for planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning (PMEL)
• Experience with non-grant funding in climate and nature-based solutions and with engaging private and public sector financiers
• Demonstrated ability in managing a complex workload with a largely remote team
• Demonstrated success in convening stakeholders from multiple backgrounds and with diverse interests around a shared vision and working in a multi-disciplinary and intercultural team
• Demonstrated interpersonal, communication, and collaboration skills, managing complex situations with tact, respect and diplomacy
• Experience communicating technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Position will require regular travel regionally and internationally
• Languages: Written and spoken proficiency in English. Written and spoken fluency in French is highly desired
• 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
19
September
2025
. We may close for applications sooner if we receive a high volume of qualified applications.

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:

World Resources Institute works to improve people's lives, protect and restore nature and stabilize the climate. As an independent research organization, we leverage our data, expertise and global reach to influence policy and catalyse change across systems like food, land and water; energy; and cities. Our 2,000+ staff work on the ground in more than a dozen focus countries and with partners in over 50 nations.

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: Independence, Integrity, Impact, Partnership and Care.

Our culture:

WRI is committed to advancing gender and social equity for human well-being in our mission including equal opportunities in employment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, caste, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, or protected Veteran status.

Our People team carefully reviews all applications.