This is a hybrid position which requires 8 days/month in the office. You can be based in our office in Washington DC, London, Mexico City, Brazil, or Colombia. 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 Ross Center for Sustainable Cities aims to transform the way cities are planned and designed to ensure that urban development benefits people, nature and the climate. Through creative and sustainable local partnerships, we help decision-makers navigate competing tensions so they can adapt and harness the benefits of systemic change. Our network of local and international experts work in more than 150 cities across 75 countries. We produce practical, data-driven research on how fast-growing urban areas can deliver core services like transport, housing, clean water and sanitation to all residents while simultaneously restoring nature and stabilizing the climate. We work hand-in-hand with local leaders to advance solutions ranging from electric mobility to resilient water systems to better public transit and urban land use. And we forge long-term partnerships and coalitions to ensure that cities not only create change but sustain it.

Job Highlight:

Reporting to the Urban Development Communications Lead and the WRI Ross Center Director for Global Communications and Engagement, you will be part of the WRI Cities Urban Development team and Global Communications team.

You will manage communications and storytelling efforts for the Urban Development team, with a focus on the WRI Ross Center Deep Dive Cities, Data for Cool Cities and UrbanShift initiatives. The Deep Dive Cities Initiative focuses on locally driven strategic projects as entry points to foster long-term, cross-sectoral and transformative change. Through the initiative, WRI provides strategic funding and additional technical capacity to support a wide range of projects, from decarbonizing transportation and enhancing climate action, to strengthening disaster preparedness and urban resilience. The initiative also allows WRI to share lessons learned from across its network of partner cities.

Within the Data for Cool Cities initiative WRI is working with cities and urban decision-makers to improve the uptake of “cool infrastructure” solutions. We work to understand the data needs of key stakeholders, develop data and tools to meet their needs, and assist with converting analysis into more sustainable infrastructure choices.

You will initiate, produce and promote communications products that align with the objectives of these initiatives and showcase our local and global activities to key external and internal audiences. These products include publications, blogs, emails, newsletters, social media, visualizations, webinars, videos, online courses, in-person workshops, international conferences, and an overall communications strategy for the program. You will also have the opportunity to engage with cutting-edge research and learning on urban sustainability topic such as nature-based solutions, smart surface infrastructure, climate action planning, urban finance, geospatial analysis and gender-sensitive urban planning. You’ll assist the project management team in coordinating with international partners and organizing virtual and in-person capacity-building events, and will liaise with consultants and vendors to manage the production of deliverables that require specialized skills. Your work will be coordinated through the WRI Cities Global Communications team in order to ensure consistency and amplify the impact of the project, while also providing additional capacity for key activities.

What will you do:

• Contribute to developing and promoting the brands of WRI urban development initiatives, ensuring that all communication products are high quality and consistent with the brand guidelines and strategy
• Coordinate the creation of original content and the cross-posting of partner content in partnership with the editors of WRI and partner blogs and other channels, with a focus on events, new research and analysis in relevant workstreams, success stories from local projects, interviews with city and national stakeholders, and more 
• Collaborate with researchers on data visualization, including developing compelling graphics, diagrams, infographics, and charts to communicate key messages and research findings to public and converting numerical information and geospatial data into engaging visual formats
• Contribute to initiative websites, including but not limited to creating and posting new content, updating existing content, ensuring technical maintenance, and optimizing for SEO
• Contribute to WRI social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn), maintaining a regular schedule of original and partner content, promoting events, and devising a strategy to amplify engagement
• Craft marketing assets and strategy for major events (for e.g., webinars, conference sessions, workshops), including messaging, social media cards, emails, event pages, and print collateral
• Work with WRI’s Cities Communications and Core Communications teams to leverage the appropriate WRI communications assets for each objective. 
• Support the production, launch and promotion of online self-paced learning guides
• Manage or support management of communications-related projects with external vendors as needed, including writing TORs, reviewing expressions of interests, maintaining regular communication, processing payments, and providing feedback on deliverables
• Support the team with general communications tasks as needed, such as hosting webinars, taking meeting notes, preparing talking points and slide presentations, etc

What will you need:

• Education: You have completed a bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, international relations, public policy, or related field
• Experience: You have a minimum of 5 years of full-time professional experience in creating and implementing communications strategies and high-level content
• Excellent writing and editing skills (journalistic writing and annual report writing experience a plus)
• Detail oriented and organized thinker with strong organizational, coordination, and project management skills
• Excellent design sense, visual storytelling ability and experience with visualization design tools (i.e., Adobe InDesign/ Illustrator/ Premier Pro/ Figma/ Flourish) 
• Critical thinker who can analyze complex and technical content and convey it in engaging infographics and other visual forms
• Ability to work cooperatively with others, demonstrate flexibility in fulfilling assignments, and be proactive in planning, researching, and pitching ideas
• Desired qualifications: Excellent web content, social media, and email marketing skills (Hootsuite/ Emplifi/ Ortto/ Salesforce experience a plus) 
• Strong web editing skills, including knowledge of website content management systems (Drupal/WordPress/CSS skills a plus) 
• Ability to assess impact of communications strategies and outputs, familiarity with Google Analytics
• Professional experience at an environmental or scientific organization and understanding of issues related to the environment, climate, sustainability and urban development, especially as it relates to sustainable cities
• Languages: Fluent in English (fluency in one or more other languages of countries where WRI has an office is a plus: Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesia, etc.
• Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position. WRI is unable to authorize visa work authorization

Potential Salary: US salary range is between 84K and 92K USD. UK: 44K - 53K GBP.NL: 57K – 68K EUR. Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

How to Apply: Please submit a resume with a required cover letter by the date of 02 May 2024. We are unable to consider your application without a cover letter.

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.