Director, Resilience & Adaptation Mainstreaming Program (RAMP)

This is a hybrid position which requires 8 days/month in the office. You can be based in our office in Washington DC, Colombia, London, The Hague, Bonn, Nairobi, Brazil or Mexico. 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:

WRI’s Global Climate, Economics and Finance (CEF) Program undertakes research and analysis; develops tools and standards; communicates and engages; and builds coalitions and capacity to accelerate climate ambition, country transitions and the required shifts in economic and financial systems and incentives. We work at the global level and in partnership with WRI’s twelve focus countries and regions and WRI’s ‘human system transition’ teams (focused on energy, cities and food/land/water) to deliver this transformation. Within the CEF Program, the Action Pillar leads WRI's work on enabling the systems needed for country transitions, and our work on climate adaptation and resilience. This includes building capacity within governments and institutions to prioritize climate resilience investments and support locally led adaptation at scale.

Job Highlight:

Reporting to the Director of Climate Adaptation and Resilience in WRI’s Global Climate Economics, and Finance Program, you will lead the Resilience and Adaptation Mainstreaming Program (RAMP), with components in Africa and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). In both, RAMP partners with leading universities to improve the capacity of governments in vulnerable countries to manage climate change risks and access adaptation finance. RAMP’s core curriculum is related to the macroeconomic, fiscal, financial, trade, and debt sustainability impacts of climate change. Partnering with local university faculty to provide training to government officials is central to RAMP’s delivery strategy. Beyond RAMP, you will contribute to other existing CEF and WRI initiatives and help develop new lines of work within the areas of adaptation and finance.

What will you do:

Program Management (50%):

• Lead the RAMP program, providing strategic leadership and operational oversight in line with WRI and donor requirements and aligned to WRI and CEF strategies
• Oversee the design and delivery of all RAMP activities, including curriculum development, capacity-building efforts, research, tools, events, and community-building
• Manage outcomes and partnerships associated with project deliverables, including setting and clarifying priorities for global and country team members and external partners
• Manage a team of researchers and project support staff, as well as overseeing work of external consultants, subgrantee organizations, and other technical partners supporting RAMP work
• Support the WRI monitoring and evaluation framework for RAMP to help ensure maximum impact and efficiency
• Monitor and manage project budgets and deliverables according to planned milestones, expenses and revenue, and internal and donor reporting
• Collaborate internally across WRI, especially with colleagues in the CEF program and with WRI’s Communications and Development teams

  Engagement and Communications (20%): -

  • Oversee current and expanded relationships, including government partners in Africa and SIDS; university partners world-wide; and international technical partners
  • Contribute to external communications that highlight RAMP’s delivery model and achievements, including through technical blogs and RAMP’s bi-monthly newsletter
  • Contribute to WRI Insights articles, webinars, podcasts, etc. that explore new areas or distill key findings from technical papers related to adaptation finance and economics
  • Prepare presentations related to the above responsibilities, and present our work to counterparts in governments, private sector, universities, donor organizations, and foundations.

    Development & Fundraising (15%): -

    • Serve as fundraising lead for RAMP, including responsibility to manage fundraising strategy, pipeline, and intelligence sharing to ensure critical work is adequately resourced and fundraising efforts are coordinated and cross-cutting where possible
    • Cultivate opportunities to fundraise for new work that drive adaptation, resilience, and finance goals, inclusive of in-country and cross-program inputs and teams
    • Lead proposals to funding organizations in the 6- and 7-figure range; working closely with fundraising teams to engage donors, write compelling grants, and secure funding for collaborative projects

      Research and Knowledge (15%):-

      • Contribute to research and knowledge management aimed at improving the understanding of adaptation finance, tools for addressing climate risks, and capacity development in developing countries
      • Provide expert review, inputs, and sign off on publications relevant to adaptation, resilience, and finance as it relates to RAMP and other relevant work by other teams

        What will you need:

        • Education: You have completed a master’s degree (preferably a PhD), or sufficient work experience to demonstrate advanced expertise in areas of climate policy and development issues
        • Experience: You have a minimum of 12 years relevant experience and at least 3 years of program management in a similar role
        • Strong commitment to WRI’s mission, values, and approach, with demonstrated passion for addressing national climate issues
        • Strong understanding of key concepts and actors related to climate adaptation and resilience, economic development, climate economics, climate finance, and institutional issues associated with mainstreaming climate capacities across government ministries
        • Experience with capacity-building activities or teaching at the university level
        • Experience with quantitative and qualitative research and analysis, and a record of contributing to, reviewing, or participating in high-quality publications
        • Understanding of private sector investment financial analysis, and of how risk and uncertainty are addressed in investment decision-making (preferred).
        • Proven verbal communication and interpersonal skills
        • Proficiency in Excel, Power Point, and other Microsoft Office applications
        • Excellent writing skills and ability to clearly communicate technical concepts.
        • Demonstrated successful management abilities through both managing and supporting direct reports, and sustained work with collaborative partners
        • Success in overseeing and fundraising for budgets of at least $1M annually (preferred)
        • Available for periodic international travel related to RAMP activities
        • Languages: Fluency in written and spoken English, though additional language skills (especially French) related to priority countries are encouraged
        • Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position. WRI is unable to authorize visa work authorization

          Potential Salary: US salary range is between 138K and 166K USD. UK: 84K - 105K GBP. Netherlands: 92K – 115K EUR. Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.