Communications Specialist

**Program Overview:
**
WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities is the World Resources Institute’s program dedicated to shaping a future where cities work better for everyone. We focus on integrated solutions to long-standing and new urban challenges. Through innovative research, deep engagement with urban leaders, and global partnerships, our network of local and international experts puts cities on a trajectory of more sustainable and equitable development. We catalyze and accelerate transformative urban initiatives that turn cities into resilient, inclusive, low-carbon places that are good for people and the planet. The decisions that national leaders, local officials, developers and planners make today will determine how billions of people in urban centers will live over the next century. Already, half the global population resides in cities. That figure is set to increase to 70% by 2050. Traditional models of city development can lock us into congestion, sprawl, and inefficient and inequitable resource use. However, compact, connected and efficient growth can help ensure more competitive cities and provide a better quality of life for more people. We are a team of 370+ local and international experts with deep expertise in urban planning and development, mobility, energy efficiency, resilience, housing, water management and more. 80% of our staff are based in offices in Brazil, China, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey. We focus primarily on cities in the global south: Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, South Asia and the Pacific. Cities here represent the greatest opportunity for a radical shift in how urban areas are planned, built and governed. We also work at the front lines of the mobility and energy revolutions, including in the United States.

**Job Summary:
**
Under supervision of the Communications Manager, the Communications Associate will provide crucial general communications support to the WRI Ross Center’s global communications team. The Communications Associate will assist with a wide range of internal and external tasks, including editing TheCityFix blog, producing content for websites, producing email campaigns, contributing to social media campaigns and assisting with media relations. The Communications Associate will help to write and edit commentaries, blogs, news articles, op-eds and newsletters. They will also assist in tracking and cultivating media contacts for the program, as well as provide general project management support and coordinate with staff in local WRI offices around the world.

Job Responsibilities:

• Editorial (50%): Write and edit engaging blog posts, web content, emails and other content in various styles and formats. The Communications Assistant/Associate will produce original content and edit the content of others for TheCityFix feature blog site, the WRI Ross Center monthly newsletter, the WRI Ross Center website, and other social and web channels. In addition, they will assist in the production of promotional reports, brochures and social media campaigns.

• General Support (30%): Support internal communications for WRI Ross Center, help update staff lists and weekly events calendar, support virtual events including webinars and conferences. Create and promote content related to specific events. Provide additional support for events as needed, such as photo research and compilation. Assist with collection of key performance indicators.

• Media Relations Support (20%): Monitor news and media content in the urban sustainability space. Maintain and help grow the cities media database in coordination with Director of Global Communications, WRI Ross Center, and Core Communications team. Produce regular metrics on media mentions and help analyze various media trends.

**Job Qualifications:
**
•Bachelor's degree in a relevant field is desired; relevant work experience in lieu of a degree is accepted. Relevant fields include communications, journalism, environmental studies, history, political science, sociology, anthropology, and other fields.
• Minimum of 3 years of full-time work experience
• Experience in sustaining communications standards by implementing best practices.
• Experience in delivering quality communications projects in a timely manner.
• Experience managing tactical donor/program/research requirements. Skills
• Excellent research, writing and editing skills
• Strong interpersonal skills to collaborate internally with program and research teams to deliver projects.
• Employs collaborative and consultative approaches to problem solving.
• Passionate commitment to WRI’s mission and goals.
• Curiosity, creativity, strong listening skills, and wide-ranging reading habits across a variety of fields and media are highly desirable.
• Keeps track of information and finds trends and patterns in data to assist in decision making.
• Highly responsible and self-motivated
• Strong attention to detail
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently as well as part of a team
• Familiar with Microsoft Office suite
• Familiar with social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
• Can work well under pressure and juggle multiple assignments

Potential Salary:
$53,000 - $68,000 if based in United States. Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

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.