Back MEL Specialist - Forests and Land Use

This is a hybrid position which requires 8 days per month in the office. You can be based in our office in Washington DC Office. 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 Food, Land, and Water program seeks to encourage better governance and management of the world’s forests and degraded land to enhance socio-economic growth and opportunity, improve ecosystem services and mitigate the drivers and effects of climate change. The Global Forest Watch and Land and Carbon Lab initiatives are key parts of this approach. Global Forest Watch (GFW) contributes to this mission by increasing transparency of forest management information to support better forest governance. GFW is an online forest monitoring and alert system that unites satellite technology, open data and crowdsourcing to guarantee access to timely and reliable information about forests. The platform contains a trove of forest data, including the most frequently updated information currently available about forest change. This data can be viewed, analyzed and downloaded for free. For more information please visit www.globalforestwatch.org.

Job Highlight:

Reporting to MEL Manager Land and Carbon Lab, you will support the MEL efforts on Global Forest Watch (GFW) and Land and Carbon Lab (LCL), under the supervision of the LCL MEL Manager and the GFW director. You will contributes to project plans, indicator design and selection, and monitoring systems, responsible for managing data collection, analyzing data, writing reports, and liaising with WRI’s Managing for Results team. You will design data dashboards, monitor and report on established indicators; adapt protocols and processes for systematic collection of indicator data and user stories across platforms; and coordinate with the WRI Data Lab team to synthesize indicator data across a variety of integrated technology platforms. This includes working with platform developers to design and build embedded tools to track key metrics and leading the development of external facing information for the website and for knowledge sharing within and beyond the Institute. You will also be responsible for coordinating with GFW and LCL team members to collect data for program monitoring and evaluation and will provide input to project management for this purpose.

What will you do:

Support MEL strategy at GFW and LCL (20%): -

• Support the design and implementation of MEL strategies for GFW
• Communicate with GFW and LCL staff on tools and strategies, reporting requirements, and lessons learned

  Manage Project Performance Data (50%): -

  • You will document GFW’s and LCL’s project status using user stories, survey results and other metrics
  • Maintain consistent data collection methods for indicators, in spreadsheets, Salesforce and other systems
  • Compile program data and document progress toward outcomes for internal and external communication/reports
  • Lead coordination with teams on platform, engagement, and communication teams to compile data from all channels including: Google analytics, social media analytics, surveys, small grants reports, user stories, geo-spatial data, and more
  • Lead coordination and develop strategies to embed tools across WRI and other technology platforms to capture and organize indicator data, including Salesforce Google Earth Engine, WRI’s Automatic Processing Interfaces (APIs), WRI platforms (Global Forest Watch, Data explorer, Aquaduct, etc)
  • Manage and process spatial data on land use and monitoring as needed with support from the team

    📚 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯! 🌍🤝 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗡𝗛𝗖𝗥, 𝗪𝗙𝗣, 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗙, 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗦, 𝗨𝗡𝗙𝗣𝗔, 𝗜𝗢𝗠 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀! 🌐

    ⚠️ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐰: 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐍𝐎𝐖!

    Support for Program Reporting (25%): -

    • Maintain a reporting calendar
    • Engage in donor relations regarding reports
    • Write reports, make changes per leadership and support submission to donors.
    • Contribute to and support progress presentation to ensure data utilization for decision-making

      Professional Growth (5%): -

      • Explore and learn about new topics in the field of MEL and Land Use monitoring to support your career growth in this role and specific skill sets that can contribute to the team
      • Share these with teammates or explore ways to apply these new skills.

        What will you need:

        • Education: You have completed a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field of study or equivalent work experience
        • Experience: You have a minimum of 2 years of experience conducting research independently and with experienced advisors
        • You have experience visualizing data, from sources such as excel or salesforce, into graphs and charts and interpreting findings in qualitative or quantitative data into clear insights
        • You have drafted and delivered presentations using PowerPoint or similar tools
        • You have at least some experiences using GIS software to transform data into maps either in your career or for course work
        • You have experience with topics of deforestation, natural land conversion, sustainable agriculture or similar environmental themes, through your academic or professional experience
        • Languages: English proficiency and preferably one other language
        • Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position is based. WRI is unable to authorize visa work authorization

          Potential Salary: US salary range is between 57,000 and 62,000 USD. Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

          How to Apply: Please submit a resume with a required cover letter by the date of 27 September 2024. We are unable to consider your application without a cover letter.

          You must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.

          What we offer:

          • Access to the WRI global network with the opportunity to exchange with and learn from passionate colleagues working at the cutting edge of their fields across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the US
          • The chance to have an impact and to develop your career within a mission driven organization with access to varied learning and training opportunities.
          • A workplace that strives to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of our work
          • The opportunity to join and get involved in different working groups and affinity groups to shape the future of WRI
          • Commitment to hybrid working model with flexible working hours
          • Generous leave days that increase with tenure
          • Medical Coverage, Dental Coverage, Vision Coverage, retirement plan access and employer contribution, Paid Time Off