Job Description

This is a hybrid position which requires 8 days per month in the office. You will be based in our office in Washington DC. Existing work authorization is required at the time of application submission as WRI is unable to sponsor any visa work sponsorship for this position. To be eligible for this position, you must be a resident of DC, Maryland or Virginia at the start of employment.

About the Program:
 

WRI’s Global Restoration Initiative informs, enables, and invests in people that restore degraded land. The team focuses much of its support on locally led enterprises and community non-profits, currently financing, training, and monitoring 600+ growing organizations across Africa, Latin America, and South Asia.    

In Africa, TerraFund for AFR100 finances 200+ organizations through grants, low-interest loans, and equity investments with a focus on the Lake Kivu & Rusizi River Basin in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda; the Greater Rift Valley of Kenya; and the Ghana Cocoa Belt.  

To build this pipeline of champions ready for investment, WRI has trained more than 400 organizations in Africa, Brazil, and India through the Land Accelerator, which teaches the fundamentals of financial management, pitching, and monitoring and evaluation. 

These portfolios for funding and capacity building are built through the TerraMatch platform, an end-to-end system that hosts calls for proposals, connects champions with technical assistance, and tracks the progress of funded projects through a standard monitoring, reporting, and verification protocol.    

The Global Restoration Initiative Land Accelerator program and TerraFund team are currently working to integrate the strategy and tools for the capacity building and technical assistance offerings for restoration champions. The team is now seeking to develop and test online and hybrid capacity building tools and approaches together with new and existing partners. These new initiatives involve targeted curriculums and offerings on a series of topics, based on the priorities and feedback from restoration champions. The selected intern will play an important role in this emerging strategy, including the development, launch, and implementation.   

What you will do:

In this role, you will learn about local businesses and nonprofits that operate in the rapidly maturing land restoration sector. You will connect with innovative locally led restoration businesses and nonprofits, learn about the financial mechanisms and capacity building initiatives that support them, and contribute to the team’s evolving strategy. You will also provide programmatic support to the TerraFund and Land Accelerator capacity programs by attending team calls, coordinating amongst team members, supporting on partner management, creating materials for an emerging capacity building initiative and online learning hub, and drafting communications and articles. You will learn about and contribute to curriculum building on a variety of topics, including entrepreneurship, restoration best practices, proposal writing, high-impact carbon finance, and more. You will work with the capacity team but receive support from the broader TerraFund team. You will report to the Capacity & Innovation Manager.

Internship Learning Outcomes: 

• Research on restoration finance and capacity building, working with your manager to choose a topic of interest to you and the team. 

• Creating materials for the launch of an online learning hub.  

• Collecting & analyzing the results of capacity surveys and feedback forms for the new initiatives.  

• Supporting the creation of an application and vetting framework for capacity building opportunities & review project developer applications.  

• Support the creation of technical assistances programs and participate in partnership development.  

• Contributing to the planning and implementation of online learning courses and their associated curriculums. 

• Supporting the development and execution of communications and engagement plan for restoration champions who will participate in capacity building initiatives and programs.  

• Work on communication products to help showcase restoration champions. 

You will gain experience in the following areas:  

• Land Restoration – Through familiarization with business models that restore land 

• Education & Curriculum building - Through supporting the creation of a new online learning platform and the associated education plans 

• Strategy - Through supporting the design and implementation of a new capacity initiative  

• Building & Managing partnerships – Through brainstorming partnership ideas, and attending and taking notes for and making recommendations following partnership calls 

• Communications – Through creating a draft communications work plan for the team 

• Data analysis- Through cleaning data for the restoration champions unified database and answering programmatic and research questions  

• Monitoring and evaluation – Through outreach to Land Accelerator alumni to gather information to inform investments and provide project updates 
•  

What you will need:

• Education: This opportunity is open to undergraduate students and recent graduates with focus and interest in business, economic development, data science, environmental sciences, social sciences, or other related fields.  

• Experience: 

• Fast learner with strong skills in conducting research and working with Microsoft Office tools. 

• Ability to communicate clearly about data and insights derived from that data. Preferred experience with data tools and analysis. 

• Extremely well organized and able to perform effectively in a fast paced, deadline-oriented work environment. 

• Demonstrated ability to work both independently as well as part of a team. 

• Ability to present complex information in a clear and concise manner. 

• Experience in online and/or hybrid learning or education, across cultures. 

• We seek interns with diverse backgrounds and who are passionate about land restoration for people, nature and climate. 

• Languages: Verbal and written proficiency in English. Proficiency in French is appreciated, but not required. 

• Requirements: Existing work authorization in the United States is required. WRI is unable to authorize visa work authorization. 

Compensation

The pay for this internship opportunity is $20/hour for undergrads; $22/hour for graduates and $24/hour for PhD students.

Length of Contract:

This is a part-time, 3-months internship with a flexible start and end date.

Location:

•This is a hybrid internship that will be based out of our Washington D.C. office.

•You will be required to work in the Washington DC office at least 8 days per month.

•WRI will provide a laptop for the duration of your internship.

How to Apply:

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

About Us: Founded in 1982, 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 to secure a sustainable future for people and the planet: climate change, energy, food, forests, water, sustainable cities, and the ocean. WRI has a global staff of over 1,800 people with work spanning 60 countries. We have offices in Africa, Brazil, China, Europe, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia, and the United States, as well as a growing presence in other countries and regions.  
 

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.

Internships at WRI are learning experiences designed for current students, recent graduates, and other candidates who wish to gain knowledge about a specific area of our work. We strive to attract diverse, intellectually driven candidates who have a passion for sustainability and development. WRI provides many internship opportunities throughout the year in all our programs.  

WRI is committed to advancing gender, racial, and social equity for human well-being in our mission and applies this principle to our organizational and programmatic practices. 

Our mission and values:

WRI’s mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.

Our values are shared ideals that bind us together: Integrity, Innovation, Urgency, Independence, Respect.

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