Senior Investment Manager, Outcome Finance for Restoration, WRI Africa

Program Management Nairobi, Kenya

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This is a hybrid position which requires 8 days per month in the office. You can be based in our WRI Africa office in Nairobi or Kigali.


About the Program:

 

WRI Africa has supported local partners and African governments for over 30 years, focusing on forest protection, landscape restoration, water-resilient development, and sustainable cities. As a regional office formalized in 2019, WRI Africa’s vision is an inclusive transformation where Africa’s people and landscapes thrive. We operate across four strategic pillars: food, land and water, thriving and resilient cities, energy, and institutional and economic transformation, working closely with governments, civil society, indigenous communities, and the private sector to foster a people-centered, climate-responsive development pathway.

Aligned with this broader vision, the Restore Local initiative supports locally led restoration efforts with the Greater Rift Valley of Kenya, the Lake Kivu and Rusizi River Basin (Rwanda, Burundi, and DRC), and the Ghana Cocoa Belt as its flagship landscapes.

The effects of land degradation and changes in the local and the global climate are felt in these three landscapes. Loss of livelihoods and food insecurity, water scarcity and disrupted hydrological cycles and increased vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters affect the lives of local people and the viability of businesses.

High-quality and locally led land restoration – concentrated in strategic locations – brings tangible benefits. Specifically, tree-based restoration interventions revitalize ecosystems leading to improved biodiversity and water retention, reduced sedimentation in water bodies, and carbon sequestration. By bringing degraded land back to life, restoration can also improve food security, boost rural incomes, and empower women, youth, and other marginalized communities. However, these benefits, the “outcomes” of restoration techniques, often cannot be not adequately monetized, leading to a massive underinvestment in this critical and growing sector.

Harnessing technology innovations built with our partners and a growing network of locally led restoration implementers, WRI is embarking on a new strategy to develop replicable outcome-based finance structures and partnerships, that crowd public and private capital into restoration.  With reliable and cost-effective technology innovations, the WRI Restore Local partnerships can increasingly predict, pre-finance, monitor and validate these outcomes, related to carbon and other social and environmental indicators. As a result, “outcome payers,” such as philanthropic organizations, government agencies, climate funds and private sector funders, can purchase those results, channel more funding into land restoration, and making land restoration more investable.

 

We envision supporting the development of both dedicated outcome based finance schemes, as well as partnering with impact investors for a selected number of high impact investment opportunities where a tranche of results- or outcome based finance closes gaps in viability of investment projects that restore land.

As part of its ambition to develop replicable outcome-based finance structures and partnerships for durable and equitable land restoration, WRI seeks to hire a senior expert who will co-develop financing structures that enable these investments.

 
Job Highlight:


You will play a leading and critical role in pioneering the design of and building out the outcome-based finance portfolio.  As subject matter expert, you interface with executives, implementors, and investors, building business cases, and supporting the design and development of financing structures and mechanisms that enable outcome-based finance. This can include financing structures that blend investments in revenue-generating restoration projects, such as transitioning from coffee or cocoa monoculture to agroforestry with outcome based finance through TerraFund, or restoration bonds or similar financing structures where restoration outcomes related to water, carbon, biodiversity, food security or others are valued and monetized over time.

Working with an experienced team of project managers, monitoring, communication, and government engagement experts as well as external partners, you will pro-actively identify and scope opportunities to design and broker transactions for high-potential restoration projects led by local implementers.

You will start by assessing and advancing outcome finance opportunities for the restoration projects funded by WRI’s TerraFund initiative and its partners in the Lake Kivu & Rusizi River Basin, the Greater Rift Valley and the Ghana Cocoa Belt. Your long-term aim will be to scale these models and financing structures in other WRI priority landscapes and countries in Africa, including through the AFR100 initiative and the Vumbuzi Impact Africa Foundation. You will be responsible for integrating equity into your work.

You will report to the Senior Manager for Restore Local, based in Rwanda, and the Director, Restoration Finance, based in the United States. You will work closely with the Engagement Manager, Outcome Finance for Restoration, as well as with the Restoration Investment Coalition Lead and the Landscape Managers and staff who work on data, policy and investment.


What will you do:


Finance and Program Management (70%):

  • Build an overview of potential business cases and opportunities for outcome payments (working closely with the Engagement Manager, the Restoration Investor Coalition lead, Landscape Managers, and WRI Invest, Monitor and Enable teams in the Restore Local program)
  • Scope the viability and feasibility of outcome-based finance structures to scale up their work, based on the existing portfolio of 200+ TerraFund projects restoring land in the three priority landscapes
  • Lead on financial and economic analysis and assessing potential viability of projects, working with investors, government partners, (potential) outcome payers, and implementation and data partners
  • Scope and build partnerships for outcome finance with blended finance investors, project developers and other stakeholders already present in the landscape and beyond, with a focus on developing shared metrics, financing structures, and business cases
  • Co-lead the development of financing structures and contracts for outcome finance

 

Coordination and Strategy (30%):

  • Provide recommendations on capacity development needs for TerraFund projects, to prepare projects developers to access outcome markets 
  • Participate in and contribute to the wider program strategy for Restore Local and its implementation 
  • Liaise with WRI staff and project stakeholders to solve project implementation issues 
  • Establish and grow partnerships with stakeholders, especially government, private sector, investors, landowners, civil society, and funders, and contribute to improving the wider enabling environment for outcome-based finance for land restoration projects 
  • Demonstrate thought leadership and share insights and lessons internally and externally.

 

What will you need:

  • Education: You have a completed master’s degree in finance, public policy, economics, environmental management, or a similar area
  • Experience: You have 8+ years of relevant, full-time work experience in the field of finance, economics, and infrastructure or conservation finance, nature-based solutions and climate change resilience 
  • Demonstrated experience in investment project preparation and appraisal 
  • Demonstrated experience in engaging stakeholders from multiple backgrounds and with diverse interests (government, NGOs, private sector)
  • Experience communicating technical concepts to non-technical audiences 
  • Experience with outcome-based financing mechanisms or nature-related credits desirable 
  • You are willing and able to travel regionally and internationally on a regular basis
  • Languages: You are proficient in spoken and written English. French skills are 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 required cover letter by 3 December 2024. We may close for applications sooner if we receive a high volume of applications from qualified candidates. 

 

You must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.   

 

What we offer:  

  • 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. 

 

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