Senior Lead, Strategy, Policy, and Delivery - Cities4Forests and Natural Infrastructure Initiative

This is a hybrid position which requires 8 days/month in the office. You can be based in our office in Washington DC or a remote position, to be based in California, Oregon, Colorado, or Utah. Existing work authorization is required at the time of application submission as WRI is unable to sponsor any visa work sponsorship for this position.

About the Program:

Cities4Forests and the Natural Infrastructure Initiative are cross-cutting efforts that span WRI's Land, Water, and Cities programs. Cities4Forests is a global alliance of more than 90 cities, committed to advancing nature-based solutions (NBS) and Green-Gray Infrastructure (GGI) to protect and restore ecosystems, enhance community resilience, strengthen natural systems, and support climate goals.

In the United States, the program works through the U.S. Forests and Water Program, partnering with public and private stakeholders to increase investment in NBS across landscapes. This work delivers outcomes such as improved water security, wildfire risk reduction, and infrastructure resilience. A longstanding partnership with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Blue Forest has been central to this effort.

Since 2015, the program has catalyzed $115M+ to restore and protect 320,000+ acres across public and private lands. The team-comprising experts in conservation, finance, management, forestry, hydrology, and geospatial analysis-currently manages 20+ projects in 14 states, engaging utilities, land managers, corporations, communities, Tribal Nations, investors, and governments.

Examples of financial mechanisms used to scale forest and watershed resilience include:

• Forest Resilience Bonds (California and other states)

• Certified Green Bonds (Arkansas)

• Resilience Funds (Utah)

• State Revolving Funds (Wyoming)

• Corporate Water Stewardship initiatives in water-stressed regions

Additional information on the U.S. project portfolio can be found here.

Internationally, Cities4Forests supports cities across Sub-Saharan Africa, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, India, and Indonesia through its Green-Gray Infrastructure (GGI) Accelerator and similar efforts, helping design and finance projects that improve climate resilience, bridge infrastructure gaps, and deliver green jobs and public health benefits.

Job Highlight:

WRI seeks a Senior Lead for Strategy, Policy, and Delivery to guide strategic vision, shape policy agendas, strengthen project and portfolio delivery, and support team growth across the Cities4Forests and Natural Infrastructure Initiative.

The Senior Lead will:

• Co-develop an ambitious, practical theory of change, multi-year strategy, and execution roadmap for the U.S. portfolio

• Advance a targeted policy agenda at federal and sub-national levels to advance enabling conditions and increase available funding for projects

• Lead and support place-based projects across the U.S., while potentially contributing globally as needed

• Support business development to expand program reach and impact

• Strengthen collaboratives and partnerships to achieve wildfire risk reduction, water security, community resilience, and economic prosperity

• Further strengthen WRI's U.S. Forests and Water Program as thought leaders in the space by supporting high-level communications, outreach, and engagement with key audiences

• Manage and mentor team members

This role reports to the Director of Cities4Forests & the Natural Infrastructure Initiative and collaborates closely with senior leadership, external partners, and key decision makers. The Senior Lead will also serve on the Global Cities4Forests Leadership Team.

Ideal candidates bring an entrepreneurial spirit, strong analytical, strategic, and collaborative skills; an ability to influence decision-making; and experience building and managing rapidly expanding portfolios.

Responsibilities

1. Strategy (20%)

• Refine and expand the team's existing Theory of Change, strategy, and interventions.

• Lead development of new strategic offerings, such as:

• Private Lands / All Lands Approach

• Pacific Northwest Strategy

• Strengthening Tribal engagement

• Diversified and flexible revenue models

• Monetizing non-traditional benefits (health, carbon, biodiversity)

• Engagement strategies for electric utilities and the recreation industry

2. Policy (10-15%)

• Lead development of Cities4Forests' U.S. policy agenda on forests, water, natural systems, and green-gray infrastructure.

• Collaborate with internal and external policy partners to ensure alignment, coordination, and impactful messaging.

3. Project & Portfolio Delivery (40-45%)

• Lead and/or support place-based projects to secure funding and financing for implementation.

• Develop and manage project roadmaps and work plans to accelerate NBS deployment.

• Build, expand, and steward multi-stakeholder consortiums.

• Increase program visibility and influence with governments, land managers, utilities, financial institutions, companies, donors, and partners.

• Represent WRI at events and public forums.

• Contribute to communications materials (analyses, briefs, one-pagers, presentations, etc.).

• Support core project operations: budgeting, staffing, contracting, and agreements.

• Track progress and co-lead internal/external reporting.

• Support monitoring, evaluation, and learning across projects.

4. Fundraising & Business Development (15-20%)

• Lead or co-lead fundraising across public, private, and philanthropic sources, including:

• donor identification and outreach,

• concept note development and pitching, and

• budget development and oversight.

• Help set and track resource targets to ensure impact and scaling.

• Build and maintain relationships with donors and funding partners.

• Expand flexible funding strategies.

• Support junior staff in fundraising responsibilities.

5. Team & Staff Management (10%)

• Directly manage staff to ensure high-quality project delivery and professional growth.

• Collaborate with senior managers on team staffing and resource planning.

• Identifying key skills for future hires and partnerships

• Mentor team members across the initiative.

• Serve on the Cities4Forests Senior Management Team.

What will you need:

• Advanced degree in natural resources, environmental management, business administration, or a related field.

• 10+ years of experience in management, strategy, or policy roles related to environment, climate resilience, natural resources, or consulting.

• Demonstrated expertise in NBS and/or natural resource management, with a record of influencing decision-makers.

• Demonstrated 7-figure fundraising success.

• Proven ability to manage multiple complex projects, build and lead consortiums, generate high-level analysis, and produce high-quality written outputs.

• Experience managing and mentoring staff.

• Excellent written and spoken English; strong presentation skills.

• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively, including in remote and multi-time-zone environments.

• Entrepreneurial, highly organized, reliable, self-motivated, creative, and able to meet deadlines.

• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work with stakeholders at all levels.

• Willingness to travel.

• Ability to clearly communicate complex information.

• Comfortable working in dynamic, fast-paced contexts.

Potential Salary: US salary range is between 138,000 and 166,000 USD. Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

How to Apply: Please submit a resume with a required cover letter by the date of January 9, 2026. We may close for applications sooner if we receive a high volume of qualified applications.

We are unable to consider your application without a cover letter in addition to your resume.

You must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.

What we offer:

• 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
• Commitment to hybrid working model with flexible working hours
• Generous leave days that increase with tenure
• Medical Coverage, Dental Coverage, Vision Coverage, retirement plan access and employer contribution

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 catalyse 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.

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: Independence, Integrity, Impact, Partnership and Care.

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