Development Associate, FOLU

This is a hybrid position which requires 8 days per month in the office. You will be based in our office in Nairobi. 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:

The Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) is a self-governed Coalition of organisations and individuals working collaboratively to achieve a shared objective: the urgent transformation of food and land use systems to deliver a better future for people, nature and climate. FOLU supports science-based solutions and helps to build a shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities to unlock collective, ambitious action.

The Coalition’s collective leadership is provided by International Partners comprised of: AGRA, EAT, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), Systemiq, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the World Farmers’ Organization (WFO), and the World Resources Institute (WRI). FOLU Country Platforms are operating in: Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Kenya.

Job Highlight:

As the Development Associate, you will play a critical role in advancing FOLU’s fundraising and donor engagement efforts across the Coalition. Working closely with the Head of Development, you will help maintain a dynamic and well-coordinated development function that engages donors, unlocks Country Platform and Partner-led fundraising, and builds high value funding proposals. This is an excellent opportunity for someone looking to grow their existing skills in donor engagement, philanthropy, and international development. You will report to the Head of Development, FOLU and the FOLU Director, Kenya.

What you will do:

Support to Country and Partner-led Fundraising (60%):

• Support Country Platforms and International Partners with their fundraising strategies, through background research and donor intelligence.
• Help draft, refine and quality assure proposals to strengthen positioning with donors and the likelihood of success.
• Efficiently manage donor proposal timelines and requirements to ensure timely submissions.
• Assist in budget preparation by working closely with FOLU’s finance and technical teams.
• For cross-coalition proposals, help coordinate inputs across multiple country teams and partners to ensure timely, high-quality submissions.
• Help develop and deliver training and resources for Country Platforms and International Partners on donor engagement, assessment of opportunities and proposal development processes.

Knowledge Management, Donor Intelligence and Coordination Support (40%):

• Enhance the Coalition’s donor intelligence capabilities and capacity by leveraging approaches and tools (including AI) to monitor calls for proposals, identify prospective funders, track philanthropic trends, and prepare informative donor profiles and briefings for senior leaders.
• Strengthen FOLU’s donor intelligence systems (Asana, Salesforce, Excel) by consolidating existing tools into a unified platform, ensuring the intelligence is current, accurate and utilised.
• Coordinate and provide logistical and administrative support for donor meetings — including scheduling, agenda development, drafting papers, developing slide packs, minutes, and follow-up actions.
• Draft and refine donor-facing strategic briefing notes, presentations, and other materials by working with colleagues from across the Coalition.
• Facilitate strategic collaboration across the Coalition to align tightly focussed fundraising activities, prevent duplication and enable effective and efficient targeting of efforts.
• Support the preparation of materials for Coalition-wide planning, FOLU Governance, and fundraising strategy sessions.

What you will need:

• Education: You have a completed bachelor’s degree in international development, environmental studies, public policy, business administration or a related field.
• Experience: You have 3+ years of experience in a fundraising, business development, partnerships, or programme support role—preferably in a non-profit, think tank, or international organization.
• Demonstrable English writing, editing, and research skills, with an ability to tailor impactful messages to different audiences.
• Demonstrable organisational skills.
• Experience with knowledge management.
• Comfortable working with cross-functional and culturally diverse teams, responding to and managing multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Familiarity with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) and good understanding of fundraising principles and donor landscape of the food-land system.
• Experience in sustainable development, food systems, and climate-related work is desirable.
• International work experience is an advantage.
• Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position is based.

Potential Salary:

Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

How to Apply:

Please submit a resume with a cover letter by 8 January 2025. You must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered. We may close for applications sooner if we receive a high volume of applications from qualified candidates.

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.

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 People team carefully reviews all applications.