Environmental Economist

Program Overview

The position will support the works of Food and Land Use, including but not limited to the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) in Indonesia. The Food and Land Use coalition (FOLU) is an initiative that focuses on an integrated, sustainable transformation of global food and land use systems to support delivery of global agreements including the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. The Coalition brings together stakeholders across businesses. The approach will consider the many dimensions and perspectives of biodiversity, climate, agriculture and food production, rural prosperity, supply chain management, product formulation, diets, health and nutrition, loss and waste and security of supply. The project works under the umbrella of Indonesia’s Low Carbon Development Initiatives (LCDI), alongside its sistering initiatives such as Indonesia Intact Rainforest Partnership (IIRP), Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land use, and Energy (FABLE) Consortium, and beyond.

In this second phase, the project is based on five workstreams based on the major expected outcomes: (1) improved food quality (securing availability of healthy, nutritious, and locally diverse food), (2) improved food supply & access throughout the agriculture and seafood value chains, (3) reduced per capita food loss and waste, both from supply and demand side, (4) nature conservation and restoration in sustainable jurisdictions, backed by permanent moratoriums, and (5) integrated, comprehensive, spatially explicit land use and marine planning at national and sub-national levels. In addition to working at the national level with engagement with decision maker and stakeholders on the Action Partnership and the formulation of Action Roadmaps to operationalize the Action Agenda, FOLU Indonesia also focuses its work on deep dive in selected provinces.

Job Highlights

The Environmental Economist will report to FOLU Manager at WRI Indonesia and Global Team in London, UK. He/she will provide support in leading and/or coordinating FOLU research, policy analysis stakeholder engagement, and support project management of the FOLU Coalition at provincial, national and global level. He/she will contribute to the development of high-quality research products that are designed to inform targeted audiences and facilitate program management. He/she will also contribute to provide regular report of the FOLU Coalition as requested by NICFI and/or BAPPENAS.

Moreover, this position will coordinate regularly with RDI Senior Manager especially regarding the research activities and its trajectories for FOLU program. This includes identifying potential research collaboration with other workstreams/programs that might be relevant for FOLU program deliveries.

What You Will Do

The main areas of responsibility of the Environmental Economist will include the following:

Knowledge and Research (60%)

1. Support in providing robust and unbiased economic analysis to the research across food and forest workstreams, particularly in developing the Action Roadmap, to inform policymakers and general public audience.
2. Provide expert advice and assistance on economic analysis for ensuring research quality of team members, partners, and consultants.
3. Work with other research as well as communication teams in authoring or co-authoring knowledge products, peer-reviewed or otherwise, and other communication products.
4. Identify and advance new lines of research and analysis relevant to the program’s influence strategy and objectives, in collaboration with the Research, Data and Innovation (RDI) Senior Manager.
5. Disseminate research progress and findings including delivering public presentations.

Project Management and Engagement (40%)

1. Provide input for planning, tracking, monitoring, and updating to the project management document, such as implementation plan, budget allocation plan, etc in coordination with FOLU Manager and Program Coordinator to assure the deliverables of the projects are met with effective budget absorption.
2. Organize administrative paper works as part of delivering workplan activities (i.e. Concept Notes/TORs, agreements, contracts, work authorizations, and purchase orders), including support to prepare regular report to donor.
3. Maintain good working relationship with key partners and line ministries/agencies as well as with relevant initiatives/projects and organize necessary engagement and outreach with them, including through organizing necessary outreach activities (meetings, workshops, conferences, dissemination activities) as well as participating in outreach activities from other stakeholders.
4. Take part in fundraising effort: contribute to proposal/concept notes development, provide expert advice and assistance with strategies for approaching donors for priority projects, engage and collaborate with other research institutions to fundraise for collaborative research projects, etc.

WRI is committed to ensuring gender equity across our program portfolios. As such, you may be expected to support attention to gender where appropriate.

Other duties may be assigned, including occasional business travels to Indonesian provinces where WRI Indonesia projects for FOLU are located.

What You Will Need

• Legally able to work in Indonesia;
• A PhD or Master Degree in Economics/Applied Economics/Agriculture (social-economics)/Environmental Science/Engineering with economics/business specialization or appropriate related discipline of Food System;
• Minimum 7 (seven) years of research experience in relevant field;
• Proven record of publishing research manuscripts and reports in English;
• Working experience on issues related to the food system, environment, food and land use, food loss and waste, marine resources & fisheries management, and national plastic action partnership;
• Capacities in making use of spatial and non-spatial data, command of statistical and/or econometric tools;
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills in Bahasa Indonesia and English;
• Analytical capacity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills;
• Strong inter-personal skills, working with people from a variety of backgrounds;
• Highly organized and systematic with time management skills and ability to juggle competing priorities and deadlines required; and
• Ability to travel when needed.

Contract Arrangement

Full-time with fixed-term employment agreement for 1 (one) year period

What we offer

• Salary that is commensurate with experience and skills
• Competitive and comprehensive benefit package
• Access to the WRI global network
• Opportunity to join and/or get involved in different working groups
• A workplace that strives to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of our work
• A chance to have an impact and to develop your career within a mission driven organization

Must have authorization to work in Indonesia to be eligible for this position.

Final candidates might be required to take a writing test and to produce two writing samples when needed.

How to apply: In order to be formally considered, please submit an updated resume and cover letter through WRI career portal.

Application close: 1700 (DKI Jakarta local time), 9 December 2022. We will close the advert earlier when the best candidates are identified at earlier dates.

This is a locally engaged position; Indonesian nationals are encouraged to apply.

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.

WRI Indonesia is national entity (Yayasan) associated with the World Resources Institute (WRI), a global environmental research organization that turns big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity, and human well-being. WRI work with various stakeholders in the natural resources sector to support policy and management that are both profitable and sustainable. WRI work with leaders in more than 50 countries for more than 30 years, with offices in Brazil, China, Europe, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and the United States.

Launched in early 2014, WRI Indonesia builds on WRI’s 10-year history in the country, and strengthens our impact on the ground. In the short-to-medium term, WRI Indonesia aims to expand its presence and portfolio to include projects in the climate, energy, as well as city and transportation programs.