Project Specialist, Governance Center

Job Summary

In this role, you will support an international team of experts actively engaged in climate change adaptation and resilience. Leading grant and financial management for Climate Resilience Program(CRP), you will be responsible for monitoring project performance and tracking activity and deliverable progress. You will also provide administrative support as needed. Your daily work will include managing budgets, reporting to donors, processing contract agreements, ensuring grant compliance, liaising with research staff on project deliverables, engaging with vendors and subgrantees, managing outreach efforts through multiple platforms, guiding the team through internal processes and systems, planning events, and leading operations for a team matrixed across multiple countries.

You will have the opportunity to contribute to improving CRP and Governance Center policies, procedures and culture to help ensure smooth team functioning and a collegial, inclusive, productive atmosphere. This is not a research position, but it involves close proximity to dynamic research on climate resilience in the developing world. It is an excellent opportunity to gain operations, development and project management experience as well as exposure to issues of climate change and international development.

This position is remote due to Covid-19, but you will be based in Washington, DC when the office reopens.

Job Responsibilities

Grants & Contracts Management (35%)

• Lead the drafting of grant proposal budgets and manage the collection and submission of formal proposals for grants
• Lead the drafting of grant financial reports, including the collection of disparate team inputs, and transparent accounting of financial records from WRI standard into funder-specific templates
• Support donor and grants management by keeping contact database (Salesforce) updated with timely and accurate information
• Liaise closely with funders and negotiate terms of incoming agreements when needed
• Liaise with WRI Grants and Contracts department to gather information for organizational assessments, set up sub-grant agreements and facilitate timely payments to sub-grantees
• Create and maintain subgrant and contract agreements with partners and contractors, including processing payments, and amending agreements when necessary
• Work with partners to help them understand and meet subgrant and contract requirements
• Track sub-grantee compliance with administrative grant requirements, including the timely submission of reports and audits.

Financial Management (35%)

• Monitor monthly expenses and keep direct project budgets up to date in budgeting software
• Deliver monthly updates on project budgets to Project Managers and Practice Director and alert them to funding deadlines and other management concerns
• Conduct day-to-day administration of project budgets
• Input into and participate in quarterly institutional budget reviews
• Take lead in project financial closeout and coordinate with team in project closeout process, including financial reconciliation and reporting

Project Management & Monitoring (15%)

• Monitor project performance against funder expectations, established project plans, and contract requirements
• Working closely with research team, develop and maintain standard project templates such as work plans and GANTT charts, and a deliverable monitoring and evaluation system
• Track CRP publications and inform project managers of peer review and production deadlines
• Assist in identification of strategic funding opportunities
• Keep track of past performance and lessons learned to use in future project preparation
• Directly supervise interns, in some cases, and advise staff on WRI policies and procedures regarding interns
• Provide strategic operations and management advice to Director of CRP to help resolve operational, project management and coordination issues

Administration and Operations (15%)

• Provide guidance on a variety of internal systems and processes, especially those related to the Electronic Content Management system
• Coordinate and schedule monthly staff meetings, team retreats, workshops, and high-level events as needed. Provide day-of event support include A/V, catering, and note-taking
• Coordinate recruitment and manage on-boarding of CRP staff members and interns. Given the dynamic nature of our work, a variety of other reasonable duties may be assigned

Job Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree required (preferably in management, public administration, international development, environmental sciences, or a related field)
• Minimum 2 years full time professional work experience focused on financial management and program administration, preferably in a non-profit setting
• Minimum 1 year of financial management experience is required
• Creative, detail-oriented, and highly organized individual with a strong interest in operations and finance
• Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills
• Strong quantitative reasoning abilities
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel
• Self-motivated with an ability to juggle multiple priorities, handle assignments independently, anticipate upcoming deadlines, scheduling bottlenecks and related challenges, and work under tight deadlines
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
• Some flexibility to participate in meetings beyond typical 9-5 workday, as CRP includes colleagues in multiple time zones and works with partners around the world
• Minimal travel anticipated
• Commitment to WRI's mission statement
• US work authorization required for this position

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with database management (familiarity with Salesforce)
• International experience and cross-cultural competency
• Language ability in addition to English, especially Spanish or French

Potential Salary

$53,000 - $68,000. Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

How to Apply:

Pleasesubmit a cover letter with resume.Applicants mustapply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.

Program Overview

WRI's Climate Resilience Practice (CRP, located in the Governance Center) seeks to incentivize and support actions that enhance resilience to the impacts of climate change - in a manner that promotes long-term sustainability and gender and social equity. We help countries integrate, or mainstream, adaptation into their development and sector planning (including budgeting) and implementation. We promote locally led adaptation so that decisions over how, when and where to adapt are led by communities and local actors. We also help countries understand whether, when and where transformative approaches to adaptation may be needed to better manage systemic climate risks, and how to begin financing, planning for and implementing them. In the US and across the world, communities of color are disproportionally affected by issues related to climate change and environmental degradation. Yet, action and support are not happening at the pace required and the environmental space addressing these issues remains dominated by white voices. WRI is creating access and opportunity to harness the power, creativity, and innovation of diversity by increasing representation of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in the environmental space. We need a diverse set of voices to solve climate change and that begins with you.

WRI Overview

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 in order to secure a sustainable future for people and the planet: climate change, energy, food, forests, water, sustainable cities, and the ocean.

We are passionate. We value our diversity of interests, skills and backgrounds. We have a flexible work environment. And we share a common goal to catalyze change that will improve the lives of people. Our shared ideals are at the core of our approach. They include: integrity, innovation, urgency, independence and respect.

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.

We have been growing rapidly: our staff has doubled in size over the past 5 years and our operating budget is now $150 million. Founded in 1982, WRI has a global staff of 1,000+ people with work spanning 60 countries. We have offices in Africa , Brazil , China , Europe , India , Indonesia , Mexico and theUnited States as well as a growing presence in other countries and regions.

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.