Chief of Communications and Marketing

About the Program:

Communications, Marketing, and Engagement is crucial for WRI’s efforts to achieve urgent, systemic change to address the climate emergency and global challenges at the nexus of environment, economic growth, and human well-being. The Chief Communications Officer is responsible for leading WRI’s global network of over 150 communications, marketing, and engagement professionals and providing strategic advice to WRI’s leadership team.

Job Highlight:   Communications, Marketing, and Engagement plays a crucial role in WRI’s efforts to achieve rapid, systemic change to address the climate emergency and other urgent global challenges at the nexus of environment, economic growth, and human well-being. The Chief Communications Officer leads WRI’s global network of over 150 communications, marketing, and engagement professionals in a combination of direct and dotted-line reports.

Reporting to the Managing Director for Global Delivery (Moazzam Malik), you will serve as a key member of WRI’s management team and lead the strategy for communications, marketing, and engagement. In your role, you will be advising members of WRI’s Global Executive Team and management team, identifying internal and external communications and marketing priorities to create and deliver timely, effective messages that advance WRI’s mission.

You will lead a diverse, international team of staff and work closely with WRI offices in Africa, China, Europe, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia, and the United States to enhance WRI’s brand and communications effectiveness, as well as its overall mission.

As a recognized leader in your field, you bring an energetic, inspired, and structured approach to your work. You will lead the creation of narratives, communication strategy and messaging, digital communications, branding, design and visual communications. editorial content, media relations, marketing, events, and internal communications.

Throughout, you will ensure WRI remains true to evidence and that our work is customized to resonate with the actors whose behaviors and decisions we are striving to change. You will also champion engagement - the systematic cultivation of external relationships with partners, decision-makers, and influencers.

What you will do:

Strategic leadership and vision:

• You will provide vision and leadership for WRI’s people in order to progress our mission and the impacts we seek to achieve.
• You will inspire, motivate, problem-solve, and appreciate staff across WRI’s global communications network to ensure everyone is able to bring their best.
• You will oversee the robust financial management of the department’s budgets.

Narrative, Strategy, and Messaging:

• You will lead the creation and dissemination of compelling narratives and theories of change about the state of the world, WRI itself, and the solutions we work to advance.
• You will oversee WRI’s five-year communication strategy and annual communication plans.
• You will identify potential communications risks and oversee WRI’s strategic responses to them.

Digital Communications:

You will oversee WRI’s digital communications team, with a technology-forward mindset, encouraging them to set and meet ambitious metrics-based goals.

You will set the direction and support WRI's country offices in entering into and maintaining participation in a global digital strategy and architecture.

Branding, Design, and Visual Communication:

• You will oversee a branding and design team, setting and enforcing of visual brand standards in the design of more than 100 research publications per year, which include data visualizations, motion graphics, and compelling videos that enhance public understanding and advance solutions.

Editorial Content:

• You will be responsible for overseeing the quality and timeliness of our editorial content, determining the right channels, editorial content and cadence for each of our audiences.
• You will be responsible for overseeing the preparation and dissemination of WRI’s Annual Report and our ‘Stories to Watch’ flagship event.
• You will always be on the look-out for opportunities to thoughtfully and sensitively relate WRI’s editorial content to current events.

Events:

You will oversee the quality of more than 100 public virtual and in-person event programs, covering topics covered, key messages, diversity of speakers, and state-of-the-art technology to support participant interaction.

Internal Communications:

• You will oversee the effectiveness of internal communications by overseeing two-way communications tools such as intranet, email, and events to foster a sense of belong and esprit de corps.
• You will introduce new cutting-edge approaches that suit the future of work and the expectations of our increasingly diverse and dispersed workforce.

Engagement:

• You will support and guide WRI’s engagement - the systematic cultivation of collaborative relationships with decision-makers and influencers - and impact strategies.
• You will oversee fit-for-purpose techniques and systems for optimizing engagement across WRI.

Marketing:

• Working closely with our Executive Vice President for Governance and Development, you will support the generation of revenue through successful marketing campaigns.
• You will lead market research, marketing strategies, advertising, and public relations to drive impact customized to our respective audiences.

Measurement and Results:

• You will introduce cutting-edge approaches to assess the impact of our marketing and communications both to support continual improvement and to show by example that WRI applies the principles we expect from others to our own work.

What you will need:

• Education: You have a completed Masters degree or equivalent post-graduate degree.

• Experience: You have 20+ years full-time relevant work experience and at least 8 years in a supervisory role.

• You will be able to demonstrate exposure to and engagement in countries or regions where WRI is working.

• You will have led international campaigns with a diverse range of target stakeholders/audiences.

• Experience with running and managing LinkedIn Campaign Manager and Facebook deploy advertisements or previous experience with creating organic employer branding campaigns (Twitter, podcasts, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram) considered a plus.

• Languages: You have full verbal and written fluency in English. Knowledge of other languages where WRI operates is highly desirable.

• Requirements: This position can be based in any of WRI’s offices (US-DC or where state registered, UK, Hague, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Nairobi, or Addis Ababa). The applicant will be expected to hold existing work authorization for their preferred location at the time application is submitted.

Potential Salary:  WRI offers a highly competitive remuneration and benefits package. Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

How to Apply:   Please submit a resume with cover letter by the date of 12 November 2022. You must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.

What we offer:

• A competitive salary

• 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.

• Long-term commitment to hybrid working model with flexible working hours.

• Generous leave days that increase with tenure.

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.

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 and applies this principle to our organizational and programmatic practices. We are committed to providing equal opportunities in employment, we embrace all diversity and encourage women, the LGBTQ+ community, persons with disabilities, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous people to apply. Recognizing our strong commitment to gender equality, WRI has also been awarded EDGE certification.

Our team in Human Resources carefully reviews all applications.