Food Loss and Waste Associate, WRI Africa

This position will be based in WRI Kenya. Applicants will be expected to hold existing work authorization for their preferred location at the time application is submitted. WRI is unable to sponsor this role for visa work authorization.

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About the Program:
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WRI Africa’s food program aims at transforming food systems in Africa to address food and nutritional insecurity for a rapidly growing population while driving economic development, increasing their resilience to climate change while pivoting away from potential future emissions, having positive impacts on biodiversity, and generating greater equity outcomes for women, children youth and other vulnerable groups. WRI Africa’s food program is anchored on four reinforcing principles: i) Producing nutrient dense foods that address food and nutritional insecurity, while generating jobs for youth, women and other marginalised groups; (ii) Reducing food loss and waste (FLW) evidence generation and partnerships with public and private sector stakeholders to advance the Target-Measure-Act approach, (iii) Restoring degraded agricultural lands to increase productivity while generating other essential ecosystems services for agriculture such as water, biodiversity and carbon sequestration; iv) Protecting remaining natural ecosystems from conversion and degradation.

**Job Highlight:
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As the Food Loss and Waste Associate, you will contribute to WRI’s agenda on FLW reduction, or simply referred to “Reduce” line of work in the priority countries. Specifically, you will be responsible for building a network of partnerships and engagement with public and private sectors actors to generate knowledge, mobilise investments and implement interventions to curb FLW. You will seek out and manage multiple opportunities by leveraging on your ability to negotiate and develop strategic partnership to advance the organization’s FLW reduction agenda. You will provide overall leadership and strategic direction to all projects that seek to address FLW at WRI Africa. You will lead the fundraising efforts for food loss and waste reduction work by building on existing project and initiatives, as well as bringing fresh innovative ideas in the FLW portfolio. You will work closely with the food Systems transformation associate, FOLU country platforms, circular food systems project teams and other staff within the WRI Africa food program to leverage on ongoing initiatives. You report to the director of Vital Landscapes at WRI Africa.

**What will you do:

Portfolio development of Food loss and waste line of WRI Africa (40%):**

• Develop a robust portfolio of work anchored on solid research, inputs from stakeholders and best practices around food loss and waste reduction in Africa
• Support the ongoing work on contextualizing WRI Food loss and food waste protocol and building the capacity of relevant stakeholders (government, businesses, farmer associations) to use it in assessing the magnitude of FLW
• Develop the ongoing work of matching the demand for addressing food loss and food waste with potential technical, financial and other solutions
• Lead the ongoing work on FLW under the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) country platforms including research, partnership building and delivery
• Lead high quality research to build fit for purpose knowledge products and tools on food loss and waste in priority countries in Africa, including regular writing, review and publishing of journal articles, peer reviewed reports, policy briefs, opinion pieces and strategic communication outputs
• Lead the development of theories of change, impact frameworks and rapid social assessment for the “Reduce” line of work as required under the WRI strategy

**Portfolio Management and coordination (30%):
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• Contribute to the development of new projects for ‘reduce pillar’ while overseeing successful implementation of existing ones
• Act as the key point of contact for all work in WRI Africa relating to FLW, ensuring efficient internal and external coordination, cross learning and strengthening of “reduce” line of work across the WRI network
• Ensure FLW, being one of the key lines of work of the food program in WRI Africa, is achieving the outcomes set in WRI global and WRI Africa strategies, by setting clear goals and robust execution plans
• Provide overall support in the leadership and oversight in the day-to-management of the food loss and waste reduction portfolio with respect to financing, staffing, donor reporting and risk management
• Support fundraising activities with public, private and philanthropic funders to grow the portfolio

Outreach, engagement and communication (30%):

• Manage strategic engagement with stakeholders (including government agencies, universities, CSOs, and multi-donors, research and other partners) for the purpose of designing and implementing projects within the reduce line of work
• Prioritise, curate sessions, leverage partnerships and represent WRI Africa in strategic meetings relating to food loss and waste, including but not limited to All Africa Post Harvest congress, Africa climate week, etc
• Provide leadership in projects’ visibility through communication and strategic engagements with external stakeholders and interest groups
• Working with the communications team and other staff within the food program, develop communications materials, such as blogs, policy briefs and presentations, targeting existing and prospective partners and stakeholders of food program/reduce pillar

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What will you need:**

• Education: A completed Bachelor’s degree in agricultural sciences, environmental sciences, or related fields
• Experience: You have 7+ years of relevant professional experience
• Demonstrated knowledge and expertise on issues related to food systems transformation in Africa
• Demonstrated knowledge and expertise on the issue of food loss and waste in Africa
• Experience designing and managing complex, multi-partner projects in an NGO setting, with experience creating and communicating theories of change, results frameworks, and other components of a MEL for project donors, partners, and stakeholders
• Strong qualitative and quantitative analytical skills
• Experience working on complex situations involving numerous and sometimes competing organizational constituencies
• Willing to travel internationally
• Enjoys working with a diverse group of experienced individuals across the globe
• Languages: Verbal and written proficiency in English. Knowledge of Swahili
• Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position is based. WRI is unable to authorize visa work authorization

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Potential Salary:** Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors. WRI offers a competitive remuneration and benefits package.   How to Apply:

Please submit a resume with cover letter by the date of April 17, 2023. You must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.