Strategic Assistant to the Deputy Regional Director at World Resources Institute (WRI)

Job Highlight:

• Reporting to the Deputy Regional Director, you will engage daily with WRI Africa’s DRD, the Africa Executive Team, the Africa Regional Leadership, Africa staff and high-level officials across the continent, giving you insight into WRI Africa’s portfolio of programmatic work and engagement. You will report directly to the DRD. You will be responsible for overall coordination of the DRD’s daily activities. This will include day to day management of projects, communications, prioritizing scheduling, presentations, publications, and publicity. It will also involve coordinating the meetings and communication across several governance, leadership, and management units chaired by the DRD

What will you do:
Administrative Support (40%):

• Organize and manage a high-paced and demanding business diary, scheduling and arranging meetings, and regularly updating the DRD to cover urgent incoming requests
• Manage a fast-flowing email inbox, bringing urgent issues and those requiring action to the attention of the DRD
• Oversee the preparation, checking, and editing of communication, correspondence, and relevant documents
• Manage meeting, event, or email follow up, helping the DRD to record, organize, and prioritize action items
• Organize and prepare for business travel, including bookings, pre-travel paperwork and other requirements (e.g., medical testing or vaccinations) and creating detailed itineraries
• Process travel and expense claims as per institutional policy.
• Help with special administrative projects as assigned. This may include data gathering, fact-checking, record keeping, convening partners or staff members, to assist in decision-making
• Develop workplans and timelines with key milestones as well as basic budget tracking for special projects
• Manage special administrative project close-outs including after-action reviews and lessons learned

Coordination Support (30%):

• Coordinate regular meetings of the DRD's direct reports, supporting on agenda setting, note taking, documentation of action items, and follow ups
• Coordinate regular meetings chaired by the DRD, including meetings of the Africa Executive, the Africa Regional Leadership, the Country Representatives, and other Senior Management bodies
• Coordinate scheduling with Global Teams and with Governance Bodies on behalf of the DRD
• Support the DRD in senior Africa and Global meetings through agenda setting, detailed note taking, synthesizing actions and agreements, and pro-actively ensuring that requisite actions are taken
• Work with other Development & Engagement specialists to coordinate DRD’s participation in and preparation for external meetings, such as donor meetings, partner meetings, government engagements or other events
• Manage coordination of regular key institutional workflows and processes involving the DRD, such as: flexible funding allocations, committee meetings, proposal development processes, large proposal reviews, partnership agreement review, and others
• Liaise with the Communications & Engagement team and related WRI Africa programs to coordinate DRD activity at COP28, Africa Climate Week, Africa Climate Summit, and other diplomatic events

Strategic Support (30%):

• Applying in-depth professional knowledge and expertise to support the DRD in institutional strategic planning activities and decision-making
• Support the DRD in coordinating and overseeing large, often cross-functional and organization-wide projects such as strategy retreats and strategy review
• Support the DRD in convening annual strategy retreats and leadership retreats, including support on agenda setting, coordination, and materials preparation
• Work with the DRD, Regional Leadership, and Country Senior Management Teams to facilitate regular review and revision of regional and country strategies, including the solicitation of internal and external feedback
• Support the Africa Executive Leadership in the institution-wide annual planning and annual reporting exercises, communicating trends and patterns in data to assist in decision-making
• Carry out special strategic management projects to support solving complex problems

What will you need:

• Education: You have completed a bachelor’s degree in management, development studies, or any other relevant discipline
• Experience: You have a minimum 6 years of full-time relevant work experience in project management, including budgeting, and project planning, preferably in a non-profit international development setting
• Have worked with senior executives and can demonstrate the ability to synthesize complex topics into actionable and decision ready analysis fit for that audience and then cascade decisions for action
• Strong writing skills, and competency in basic analysis, able to synthesize complex data and information, and to communicate in accessible ways
• Have a track record of organization and time management skills, with experience managing several projects at different stages simultaneously
• Have experience developing workplans including breaking down complex projects into tasks, processes and timelines
• Have experience developing meeting agendas, tracking and developing materials, chairing meetings and organizing events
• Have experience working with political, social and corporate stakeholders, and in stakeholder engagement with demonstrated skills in diplomacy
• Ability to be strongly self-directed, and proactive, anticipating needs before they arise and developing solutions quickly to support decision-making
• Good understanding of technical, policy and equity issues related to sustainable development, with focus on Africa, or the desire to develop such understanding
• High proficiency in Excel, Power Point, and other relevant software tools
• Languages: Proficiency in verbal and written English
• Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position. WRI is unable to authorize visa work authorization