Grants and Finance Specialist II, Air Quality Team

Job Summary:

In this role, you will work closely with our Air Quality team at the Ross Center for Sustainable Cities to provide project management, financial, and administrative support on the USAID project the Clean Air Catalyst as well as several other Air Quality projects.

This position is remote due to Covid-19, but you will be based in Washington, DC once restrictions have lifted.

Job Responsibilities:

Financial Management (50% time)

• Regularly reviews, updates, and monitors all transactions, commitments, and revenue prospects for all team projects
• Update and maintain project budgets utilizing WRI’s budgeting and forecasting software (TM1)
• Update and maintain project funding and allocations in coordination with workstream director(s) and project managers
• Coordinates and advises team monthly on budget management and supplies financial review template(s) for review with workstream director(s) and operations staff
• Develop fiscal year budget forecasts on a yearly basis in coordination with operations and your workstream director
• Follows WRI’s internal processes and deadlines related to funding, including quarterly reviews, monthly & annual closeouts, and future fiscal year annual budget submission
• Processes invoices and pay applications for projects in compliance with established governance
• Prepares and supports financial reports to donors, under supervision

Project & Grant Management (40% time)

• Processes documentation for project commitments (i.e. agreements, contracts, work authorizations, and purchase orders)
• Monitors program/project performance against contract requirements and deliverables
• Manages the global procurement process for projects and works with local teams to provide guidance on local procurement
• Drafts grant proposal budgets and assists in the collection and submission of formal proposals for team fundraising efforts
• Supports donor and grants management by keeping database software (Salesforce) up to date
• Supports preparation of detailed proposal budgets and institutional knowledge management for all grants and proposals
• Provides guidance to partner organizations and consultants to ensure their compliance with funder policies, while proactively and professionally communicating with partners and consultants
• Work with partners to help them understand and meet subgrant and contract requirements
• Supports reporting on grants including gathering information on accomplishments, activities, and challenges for funders

Administration (10% time)

• Coordinates and schedules team meetings and assists in coordination of team’s planning processes
• Update and maintain new hire staffing information with operations
• Provide timesheet guidance to team members on a bi-weekly basis
• Manage various program, department, and organizational trackers
• Supports teams with financial management for conference and event logistics as needed, including participant travel

Job Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in finance, economics, accounting, business, public policy, political science, non-profit management, international affairs, or similar subject required, master’s degree preferred
• Minimum of 4 years of relevant, full-time work experience, preferably in financial management, budgeting, administration, or nonprofit operations
• At least 1 year of experience managing USG government grants, preferably USAID, as the prime.
• Keen interest in the mission and work of the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities and the Clean Air Catalyst more specifically.
• Proven experience managing budgeting structures
• The position requires a detail-oriented, highly organized individual with experience and interest in program management, financial management, budgeting, and writing
• Must be adaptable to rapidly changing priorities and can manage multiple projects with varying deadlines
• Strong process orientation with sensitivity to quality, timelines, and organizational systems
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
• Strong writing, database management, and proofreading skills
• Excellent computer skills in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook), especially Excel
• Budgeting experience with Excel, or other budgeting software is highly desirable
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to work well in a team and with international colleagues
• US work authorization is required for all WRI US opportunities, WRI is unable to provide visa sponsorship

Potential Salary:

$53,000 – $69,000 if based in United States. Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

How to Apply:

Applicants must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered. Please include a cover letter and your resume.

Program Overview:

The WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities (Cities Program) helps to transform cities into compact, connected and resilient spaces that provide healthy, accessible and prosperous living environments for their residents. We coordinate the Cities Program’s extensive technical and practical expertise through eight integrated solution areas: Integrated Transport Systems, Vision Zero, Zero Carbon Buildings, Livable Neighborhoods, E-Mobility, Water/Heat Resilience, Air Quality and Inclusive Climate & Energy Action Planning. Data and Urban Finance are cross-cutting themes that inform all of our solution offerings. We implement our solutions by working deeply with multiple stakeholders over long periods of time in large to demonstrate possibilities in rapidly transforming cities. We expand our impact to other cities by leveraging these demonstrated possibilities to convene multiple cross-sectoral stakeholders and partnering with city networks.

Our research and projects in cities and in national policies connect environmental sustainability, health, safety, equity and quality of life. WRI’s air quality program is a global initiative that seeks to identify, build awareness of, and eliminate the root causes of air pollution that damages climate, human, and ecosystem health. The program has three main areas of work: (i) engagement with city stakeholders to use participatory science to diagnose and develop targeted, cost-effective clean air solutions to protect human health and climate, (ii) working with the science community to convert innovative methods into tools and products that communities and policymakers can use to better manage their impact on the atmosphere, and (iii) working with national governments and business networks to design and implement broader regional-to-global air quality governance. It is a part of the WRI Ross Center on Sustainable Cities, with additional oversight from the Data Lab and engagement with Climate, Governance, Energy, and other programs at WRI. The team is global, with senior experts distributed across WRI’s network of international offices.

The Clean Air Catalyst (CAC) is a new flagship program launched by The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), World Resources Institute (WRI) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to accelerate clean air solutions by working with communities around the world to identify and raise awareness of local pollution sources and build focused, robust coalitions to deliver interventions that lead to cleaner, healthier air. The project will work in three initial pilot cities: Indore, India, Jakarta, Indonesia, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Through these pilots, the project will not only generate new, societally relevant scientific findings, but will also create a practical, field-tested playbook for convening collaboration among key stakeholders, identifying and building awareness of air quality priorities, and leveraging USAID missions’ strengths to deliver and sustain cleaner air.

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 the United 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.