NCE Economist for Africa

Job Summary

In this role, you will advance and implement ongoing efforts in Kenya, Nigeria, and potentially Ethiopia and to provide cross-cutting support on research efforts within the WRI Africa portfolio. You will work closely with research partners, modeling experts, and government stakeholders in focus countries and will serve as a member of the WRI Africa Team. You will coordinate and manage research contracts and stakeholder engagement efforts, co-author and review reports, and communications, and manage partner relationships with domestic and international entities supporting the project. You will serve as the point of contact for the work with WRI counterparts working on related topics as well as within country and regional experts, government partners and relevant ministries, relevant champions and commissioners, and funders.

The position will be for a one-year term with a possibility of extension based on funding.

Job Responsibilities

In close coordination with colleagues from WRI Africa, WRI DC, NCE, and others as relevant:

• In collaboration with the Lead Economist, carry out the economic analysis and modeling exercises to assess opportunities for focus countries to enhance their response to climate change while meeting their economic and social development goals
• Engage in capacity building on system dynamics and support the lead Economist in deep dive research related to distributional, poverty, income inequality and impact evaluation analysis
• Engage in creating a platform to coordinate relevant stakeholders including line ministries
• Contribute to fundraising efforts, if needed, to support the implementation of the project e.g. by developing concept notes and proposals and/or by meeting with relevant donors
• Support drafting documents for national government counterparts; co-author research products and relevant communication outputs
• Support the implementation of research and engagement program in Ethiopia and scaling up lessons and best practices to other African pilot countries (Kenya, Nigra and South Africa) and identify, build capacity and support for actions that can unlock the economic benefits of climate action
• Represent WRI and NCE in external meetings, as needed, with key stakeholders that might include experts and other research partners, the government, and funders to discuss and gather input and feedback on the program, proposed research approaches, and scope and initial findings
• Identify knowledge gaps, particularly in the context of policy analysis, where WRI and NCE Research can produce changes in society consistent with our mission, in collaboration with research staff from other WRI programs/centers / international offices
• Drafting and overseeing requests for proposals (RFP) and the competitive tendering of research contracts and contributing to policy analysis efforts as needed to support the program and the commission. The aim is to enhance the government’s ability to carry out sound, coherent analytical work on the relationships of climate, the environment, and socio-economic systems
• Collect, clean, and interpret climate and economic data for modeling purposes

Job Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in economics and deep understanding of System Dynamics Modeling, CGE Modeling, or other models (or Bachelor’s degree with an additional 2 years of experience)
• Minimum of 7 years relevant experience in development planning, research, and integrated modeling including monitoring and evaluation of the plan implementations
• In-depth knowledge of or engagement with climate and development planning, system dynamics modeling and knowledge of climate change MRV and tracking systems
• Experience with multi-stakeholder engagement, teamwork, and stakeholder analysis processes
• Experience leading and managing research projects and with undertaking and publishing relevant research (list of publications)
• Experience working in major international institutions and/or in or with government, ideally in one of the focus countries: Kenya, Ethiopia, or Nigeria
• Proficient in writing and speaking English; proficiency in the local language preferred

How to Apply: Please submit a resume with cover letter. Applicants must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered. Deadline for application 26th May 2021.

Program Overview

WRI engages businesses, policymakers, and civil society at the local, national and international levels to advance transformative solutions that mitigate climate change and help communities adapt to its impacts. Our international climate work uses in-country support, analysis, innovation, and partnerships to achieve effective national mitigation and adaptation policies and implement the Paris Agreement on climate change. Climate Watch provides a platform for stakeholders to explore, understand and communicate climate and emissions data. And the Greenhouse Gas Protocol helps hundreds of companies and organizations measure, manage, and report their greenhouse gas emissions. WRI Africa, the WRI Climate Program, and the New Climate Economy (NCE) seek to help accelerate climate action by means of supporting governments and other stakeholders’ initiatives that are aimed to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and that, along the way, have a potential to contribute to attaining socio-economic targets, including sustainable development goals (SDGs). WRI Climate and NCE contribute with research, technical support, and capacity building that enables countries to identify policies, interventions, and investments to feed into national development plans and other policy exercises; and it also contributes with substantive inputs to communication and engagement strategies to raise awareness and foster climate policy action and implementation.

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.