About the Program:
WRI’s Global Restoration Initiative (https://www.wri.org/initiatives/global-restoration-initiative) informs, enables, and invests in people that restore degraded land. The team’s flagship investment program for locally led enterprises and community non-profits, TerraFund (https://www.africa.terramatch.org/), currently finances, trains, and monitors 200+ growing organizations across Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. Aligned with this broader vision, the Restore Local initiative supports locally led restoration efforts – with a growing portfolio of 60+ million USD of projects in selected priority landscapes in Africa, Brazil and India. Built through the TerraMatch platform, this includes grant-funded projects, as well as debt and equity investments in small and enterprises and first loss investment tranches in blended investment funds. In the next phase of our strategy, WRI’s Restoration team aims to harness technology innovations built with our partners and the growing network of locally led restoration implementers financed through TerraFund. It is developing replicable finance structures and partnerships that crowd more public and private capital into restoration that delivers proven outcomes for people, nature and climate.
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.
What you will do:
You will be responsible for integrating equity into your work. In this role, you will learn about the rapidly maturing land restoration sector. You will connect with innovative, localized restoration businesses and nonprofits, gain familiarity with the financial mechanisms that support them, and gather data and conduct research to support the team’s learning agenda with regard to our programs’ impacts. You will also provide programmatic support to our diverse funding portfolios by attending team calls, preparing materials for training sessions, and drafting communications and articles. You will contribute to gathering data from restoration champions, cleaning and organizing it into our unified database, and analyzing results, and you will support with user research, product updates, data entry, and other related tasks for the TerraMatch Product Team.
This internship supports work across the Global Restoration Initiative's Invest and Motivate pillars, which focus on investing in restoration projects, influencing the sector, and communicating key messages. The activities of this internship will be shaped by your learning interests and the needs of the team. You will be supported by GRI staff with expertise in research, data analysis, restoration finance, and product development. You will report to the Restoration Finance Project Specialist and the TerraMatch Product Specialist.
Internship Learning Outcomes:
You will gain experience in the following areas:
What you will need:
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 full-time, 3-month internship with a flexible start and end date.
Location:
How to Apply:
Please submit a resume with a cover letter by March 17, 2025. Applicants must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.
About Us:
World Resources Institute works to improve people’s lives, protect and restore nature and stabilize the climate. As an independent research organization, we leverage our data, expertise and global reach to influence policy and catalyze change across systems like food, land and water; energy; and cities. Our 2,000+ staff work on the ground in more than a dozen focus countries and with partners in over 50 nations.
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.
Our culture:
WRI is committed to advancing gender and social equity for human well-being in our mission, including equal opportunities in employment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, caste, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, or protected Veteran status.
Our team in Human Resources carefully reviews all applications.
#LI-DNP