Project Coordinator, Science Based Targets for Financial Institutions

Job Summary:

As the Project Coordinator, you will join a team of highly motivated individuals, from WRI, WWF, and CDP, working on science-based target setting for greenhouse gases. You will serve in a coordinating role for the SBTi Finance target-setting framework team, helping to manage and ramp up the capacity of projects to develop various new resources with an emphasis on outreach and communications. Examples of your potential projects include developing a process for tracking project deliverables and milestones, establishing a formal agenda setting and notetaking framework for team calls and meetings and following up on action items, and managing project content for the SBTi newsletter and information sharing across team members.

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

Job Responsibilities:

Project Management and Operations (50%)

• Structure project work plans and ensures sufficient resources are allocated to the different workstreams
• Monitor the project’s multiple work-streams and ensure all aspects of a complex and ambitious program are progressing in a timely and effective manner
• Help with recruiting if necessary, e.g. draft job descriptions, identify and reach out to potential candidates
• Actively monitor the project’s online forum, ensure key queries are resolved by the relevant subject matter expert or the whole project team, and ideate and implement innovative ways to improve the forum

Events, Meetings, and Outreach (35%)

• Organize weekly internal project meetings; take minutes and track follow-up as necessary
• Manage project shared folders and access by team members
• Support planning of workshops, webinars, and meetings with the project expert advisory group
• Manage project content for the SBTi newsletter Stakeholder

 Management (15%)

• Manage and monitor contact lists of the project, including adding/updating current members in the expert advisory group and a broader stakeholder advisory group

Job Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field; experience in lieu of degree accepted
• A minimum of 1 year of relevant, full-time work experience
• Excellent attention to detail and experience managing or monitoring multiple projects simultaneously
• A self-starter with experience working in a loose management environment across multiple organizations
• Ability to think creatively and be flexible to changes in project scope, focus, or timeline
• Excellent computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly with PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams
• Ability to upward manage, corralling busy people and holding them accountable to tasks
• Strong communication skills – ability to communicate complex concepts clearly, both orally and in writing, with fluency in English
• US work authorization is required

Potential Salary:

$46,000 – $60,000. Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

How to Apply:

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

Program Overview:

Science-Based Targets is a joint initiative by CDP, the UN Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI), and WWF, in collaboration with the, We Mean Business Coalition, intended to increase ambition on corporate climate action by driving the adoption of greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in line with what the latest climate science says is necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Through the SBTi Finance project, SBTi is also working with financial institutions to set portfolio-level SBTs and formally validating the targets that meet the initiative’s criteria. The aim of the project is for portfolio-level SBTs to become standard practice and for these targets to result in emissions reductions in the real economy. The project intends to raise the ambition of the finance sector by defining and promoting best practice in science-based target setting and providing methods, criteria, guidance and tools to reduce the barriers to adoption and implementation (i.e. actions that lead to atmospheric reductions of GHG concentrations). Within the broad ecosystem of organizations and value chains that link financial institutions with GHG emissions in the real economy, the SBTi Finance project is focused on ex ante targets at the asset-class level. The first version of the target setting framework for financial institutions was launched in October 2020 and will be updated on an annual basis as our understanding of how financial institutions can achieve emissions reductions in the real economy evolves.

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.