Product Specialist

This position is remote due to Covid-19, but you can be based in either our office in London, Hague or Mexico once restrictions are lifted.

Job Summary:

This is a unique opportunity for an early career product professional who wants to help solve the world’s most urgent and difficult problems. You will work on the projects described above to support the ongoing design and development, overseeing work done by external vendors, soliciting input from internal and external stakeholders, prioritizing new features, conducting user research, and being a champion for the platform.

You will be supported by an experienced Product Manager in order to take the lead in managing a product throughout its lifecycle, from the initial user research and discovery to RFP development, vendor selection, delivery and post- implementation reviews. You will advocate for user needs within the development of the products you manage, whilst ensuring that new features or changes are aligned with a roadmap and are consistent with the long term product strategy. This is an exciting position where you will get a chance to learn about product development for the major environmental challenges working with domain experts across WRI.

Ideally, you will have a proven ability to forge positive relationships across internal and external stakeholders, an impressive degree of enthusiasm and patience to solve problems and achieve success in a dynamic and evolving environment.

If this opportunity excites you and your experience and interest match some of the below, please apply! Nobody checks every box. We’re looking for passionate, driven people to tackle the most pressing challenges of our lifetime – join us!

Job Responsibilities:

Product development and support

• Support the ongoing design and development of new land monitoring products within Resource Watch
• Support robust user research and user needs assessments to ensure that proposed features and tools respond to clearly articulated demands from users
• Gather and validate user needs to form a product backlog, with the support of the Resource Watch team
• Take responsibility for the evolution and maintenance of the product backlog, ensuring it is up to date with changing requirements and reflects the prioritized order for development.
• Manage the technical delivery of the product, ensuring both internal and external resources are working to the prioritized backlog and acting as a liaison point between these different stakeholders.
• Manage internal communications on project progress from the project team to a wider internal stakeholder group
• Build consensus around a diverse stakeholder landscape including domain experts, local NGOs and governments (e.g., through working sessions, 1:1 sessions)
• Help monitor and adjust key performance indicators (KPIs) for products across Resource Watch and Global Forest Watch, e.g., through Google Analytics and media mentions
• Conduct trainings and outreach about WRI’s platform to stakeholders and draft blog posts to feature our development process or present new features
• Manage vendor procurement processes (including RFPs) and implementation plans which ensure high quality of vendor delivery backed by rigorous quality assurance control and testing
• Work with the Resource Watch or Global Forest Watch platform teams to ensure that new requirements enhance the products overall and contribute to the strategy Vendor management
• Develop and sustain productive relationships with approved vendors to ensure high quality product delivery
• Engage in day-to-day interactions with external resources, set priorities, and hold the vendor(s) accountable to deadlines
• Craft requests for proposals (RfPs) and scopes of work (SOWs) and facilitate the vendor selection process

Job Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field is desired, relevant work experience in lieu of degrees is acceptable
• Minimum of 2 years of experience supporting web or other product development, particularly working with external vendors.
• An understanding of Agile development methods and proven experience working within an Agile team
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to understand issues from different perspectives, and the confidence to take principled positions or seek help when needed
• High degree of comfort with web technologies, with the ability to work with both technical and non-technical colleagues and partners
• A self-motivated learner with a willingness and ability to take on new challenges as required
• Interest in working for a mission-driven environmental organization
• Passion for communicating environmental and sustainability data and science
• Relevant work authorization for the location is required for this opportunity Desirable
• Experience in User Research and product requirement analysis
• Proven experience in the management of technical projects
• Proven experience managing a technical vendor procurement process
• High degree of comfort with working with data, both tabular and geospatial
• Comfort and familiarity with user- centered design

Potential Salary:

$52,304.00 – $65,380.00. Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

How to Apply:

Please submit a resume with cover letter. Applicants must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered. 

Program Overview:

The Product Specialist will work within the Resource Watch team to deliver high impact initiatives at WRI which improve how we analyze, visualize, and share data to advance sustainable development. Initially the Product Specialist will work on Land Watch and Restoration Watch, both projects sitting under the Land Monitoring Hub, however may in the future work across other Resource Watch products.

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.