Dear WRI Friends and Colleagues,                                                           

As WRI approaches a new stage with the departure of our esteemed president Andrew Steer to the Bezos Earth Fund, the WRI Board Search Committee wanted to reach out to you directly for nominations for candidates for his successor.  We are posting the job description for this position below, and ask that you send us your suggestions and share it widely with your network.

WRI is a global research and “do tank” organization, working with governments, companies, and civil society partners to find solutions to the most urgent global environmental challenges: cities, climate, energy, food, forests, oceans, and water. WRI’s vision is global, focused on investments and strategies that create shared prosperity for people around the world while rapidly decarbonizing the global economy to slow climate change. WRI measures success by results: its impact on improving people’s lives while protecting natural systems. WRI’s next President/CEO needs to be a globally-oriented leader able to steer the organization to drive bold ideas, design solutions based on quality research and evidence, ensure program focus and delivery, foster and support a diverse and inclusive organization of talented and mission-oriented people, and forge coalitions with governments, corporations, civic leaders and communities to achieve impact at scale. With a staff of approximately 1,400, and offices across the world, WRI seeks an energetic mission-driven individual who can carry this important work to the next stage of impact.

Please apply and/or share your nominations with the Board Search Committee at [email protected]. The nomination process will stay open through June 15^th.

With appreciation,

Frances Beinecke
Committee Chair
WRI Board Member

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The world is in a period of unprecedented change. The Board of Directors of the World Resources Institute (WRI) seeks a new President/CEO who will act and lead boldly to create large-scale change with lasting impact.
A global research and “do tank” organization, WRI works with governments, companies, and civil society partners to find solutions to the most urgent global environmental challenges: cities, climate, energy, food, forests, oceans, and water. WRI’s vision is global, focused on investments and strategies that create shared prosperity for people around the world while rapidly decarbonizing the global economy to slow climate change. WRI measures success by results: its impact on improving people’s lives while protecting natural systems.

In managing its global presence, WRI follows a “sisterhood” model that ensures WRI’s “DNA” is adopted in its offices around the world. This “One WRI” approach includes shared mission, shared values, shared institutional culture, and shared norms and practices. With an annual budget of $165 million, WRI’s 1,400 researchers, analysts, and other staff work in more than 60 countries. (See the section below for more information about WRI.)

POSITION SUMMARY AND RESPONSIBILITIES

WRI’s next President/CEO needs to be a globally-oriented leader able to steer the organization to drive bold ideas, design solutions based on quality research and evidence, ensure program focus and delivery, foster and support a diverse and inclusive organization of talented and mission-oriented people, and forge coalitions with governments, corporations, civic leaders, and communities to achieve impact at scale.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Reporting to and working closely with the WRI Board to ensure that WRI remains clear and ambitious in its vision and strategic intent, with an integrated approach for delivering impact.
• Leading WRI’s talented, diverse, multi-cultural, multi-national, and multi-generational staff, to convert ideas into action, through the Institute’s programs, research, analysis, engagement, and its journey to put equity, diversity and inclusion at the core of WRI’s programmatic work, talent and practices.
• Integrating and consolidating WRI’s “sisterhood” model of operations and collaboration across WRI’s extensive programs, geographic regions, and core institutional function areas, while ensuring that its systems, processes and rigor are fit for purpose given WRI’s size, scale, complexity, and impact.
• Serving as an ambassador, representative and spokesperson for WRI’s work, including through cultivating existing and creating new relationships, partnerships and initiatives.
• Supporting major fundraising and development efforts for WRI as an institution, bringing insights and network of contacts to strengthen WRI’s donor relationships and fundraising efforts.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

WRI seeks an accomplished, inspirational, and visionary leader who is focused on delivering impact across a broad array of programmatic areas. S/he must have unquestioned personal integrity and credibility and the skills necessary to lead the organization through a time of internal evolution, growth and change, and complex external challenges. S/he will need to foster an environment of creativity and innovation and lead an exceptional team of people with deep content expertise and provide the institutional leadership necessary to advance ground-breaking work.
In partnership with the staff and Board, s/he will need to have the ability to develop and execute a new strategic plan for how the Institute can have a continued impact on global challenges.

The required experience and personal competencies include the following:

Leadership, Management, and Personal Attributes

• An inspiring, inclusive, and generous leader able to recruit, support, and retain top talent; fosters a culture of collaboration, integrity, mutual respect, and teamwork; committed to human well-being and a just and equitable world for people around the globe and for the people within WRI.
• A citizen of the world who possesses cultural sensitivity in delivering key mission-oriented messages not only at the global leadership level, but also in the diverse communities that WRI serves.
• Able to form strong, trusting relationships with Board, staff and key partners; encouraging multiple perspectives while being decisive and maintaining focus on key objectives and accountability.
• Leads by example; hires to complement his/her own skills and competencies; open to feedback and self-improvement; willing to share the spotlight and visibly celebrate the success of the team.
• Knowledge and Experience
• Demonstrated commitment to and passion for the mission and goals of WRI, with a strong understanding of the pressing global challenges and human needs associated with economic development, equity and natural resource protections in the international sphere.
• Experience in technical, policy and equity issues related to the environment and regional economic development, with a track record of quality, credible, ethical and respected work around these issues in various continents of the world and with different governmental, private-sector, NGO, and civil society constituencies.

Communications and External Representation

• An inspiring and persuasive communicator who can articulate WRI’s vision and direction effectively through public speaking, writing, networking, fundraising, and one-on-one discussions.
• Naturally connects, builds, and maintains strong and trusting relationships with others; demonstrates a high level of personal integrity and emotional intelligence, and the ability to communicate clearly and persuasively; capable of convening important constituencies and able to leverage these relationships to accomplish goals of WRI.

Strategic Capability

• The ability to create and articulate an inspiring vision for the organization, and to translate it into clear, achievable objectives to the team, the Board, external partners, and funders; able to foster big ideas while being committed to change on the ground.
• Able to maintain a clear focus on goals amid multiple demands; has the capacity to prioritize and delegate effectively in order to deliver results.
• Executing for Results
• Has excellent judgment; is comfortable and determined in setting priorities and overseeing multiple strategies in a highly collaborative environment; able to make confident decisions that fairly balance a variety of factors and to navigate confidently in ambiguous or challenging situations.

Fundraising

• Proven experience as a dynamic, persuasive, inspiring, and successful fundraiser; able to access government funding from bilateral donors, multilateral institutions, other international donors, foundations, and individual donors for both operational and programmatic support.

Please Apply and/or share your nominations with the Board Search Committee at [email protected] The nomination process will stay open through June 15th.

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WRI has grown rapidly in the past decade and has an annual budget of $165 million with more than 1,400 researchers, analysts, and other staff around the world. WRI follows a “Count It! Change It! Scale It!” approach, grounding solutions in rigorous, independent research, working with partners to test and refine them, then scaling these solutions across countries, regions, and the world.

WRI works with partners to create and implement self-sustaining solutions to seven urgent global challenges: climate, energy, food, forests, water, cities, and the ocean. WRI has four centers of excellence for business, economics, finance, and governance to provide expertise and agenda-setting research that inform WRI’s response to the global challenges.
WRI champions an integrated approach to global development, by combining human-centered research and active engagement with influencers and decision-makers around the world. The recognition that environmental sustainability and improved human well-being are inextricably linked is at the heart of everything WRI does. WRI aspires to create a just, equitable, and sustainable future in which diversity, equity, and inclusion at the heart of everything the organization does.
These ensure a consistent WRI approach and brand while enabling national offices to focus on national, sub-national, and regional priorities. WRI shares lessons, skills, and research findings contributing to WRI’s global knowledge and insights. And together, WRI ensures a consistent duty of care for our staff.

This model has served WRI well as it has grown and globalized from a central presence in the United States to offices in Brazil, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. More than half of WRI’s staff works outside the United States.

WRI has a diverse workforce of people who share common values and goals, have a deep understanding of the technical aspects of the issues on which the organization works, and a keen appreciation of the political and cultural contexts that determine how decisions are made. In each of WRI’s programs and in all the countries where it works, WRI’s people forge partnerships with diverse stakeholders to advance shared goals. Because the fight against climate change and racial injustice are inseparable, WRI recognizes the need to engage with people from all races and ethnicities, cultures, socio-economic statuses, and other identities to realize WRI’s vision.

WRI is guided by its core institutional values: integrity, innovation, urgency, independence, and respect. Its work is uncompromised by partisan politics, institutional or personal allegiances, or sources of financial support. WRI prides itself in research and information generation that are scientifically sound and practical so that policymakers find it trustworthy, useful, and realistic.

WRI has been executing its current 2018-2022 Strategic Plan and expects to undergo a refreshed visioning and strategic planning exercise to develop the Institute’s next five-year plan.

For additional information on WRI, please access www.wri.org.

To Apply and/or share your nominations with the Board Search Committee please email [email protected] The nomination process will stay open through June 15th.