Read this special message from outgoing EMBARQ Director Nancy Kete about the future of EMBARQ.

Overview:

The World Resources Institute (WRI) seeks an outstanding leader with a successful track record of scaling up operations in developing countries to direct WRI’s Center for Sustainable Transport (EMBARQ). EMBARQ’s mission is to catalyze environmentally and financially sustainable transport solutions to improve quality of life in cities by reducing pollution, improving public health, and creating safe, accessible and attractive urban public spaces. She/he will convene, develop and strengthen a global network of Centers for Sustainable Transport based in Mexico, Brazil, India, Turkey and the Andean Region which are focused on implementing concrete changes to improve mobility in many of the world’s most important cities, in coordination with a D.C.-based team of distinguished experts. By focusing on transport, which affects everything from prosperity to pollution, EMBARQ seeks to generate significant social, environmental and economic benefits in the cities and communities where it works.

Since the network’s inception in 2002, the centers have played influential roles in delivering the Metrobus BRT system in Mexico City; the transformation of public transit in Arequipa, Peru; and the Metrobus in Istanbul, among other notable achievements. The network currently employs more than 70 experts in fields ranging from architecture to air quality management; geography to journalism; and sociology to civil and transport engineering. EMBARQ catalyzes sustainable transport by focusing in four practice areas: (a) integrated transport solutions; (b) climate change, air quality and public health; (c) land use; and (d) policy, financing, and capacity building. EMBARQ also is leading global efforts to integrate road safety into the field of sustainable urban transport. EMBARQ measures its outcomes in terms of people served, travel time saved, CO2 emissions avoided, air pollution reduced, investment leveraged, lives saved, and public space enhanced.

EMBARQ operates in several countries, with diverse cultures, languages, and time zones. A significant growth challenge will be to maintain a cohesive, interdependent and highly motivated global network aligned with a common mission, brand, and measures of success. Key functions include providing overall strategic direction for the Network in part by building consensus among the Network’s center directors; ensuring the strategy and value proposition motivates staff, donors, investors and other partners; securing the necessary funding; facilitating knowledge-sharing across the network; and ensuring effective management and delivery of outcomes during a period of rapid growth. The successful candidate will also spearhead efforts to forge greater integration of EMBARQ within WRI. The position is located at WRI's headquarters in Washington, D.C. and reports to the Executive Vice President / Managing Director.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership and Management:

• Guide strategic direction of EMBARQ, building consensus among EMBARQ’s stakeholders around a transformative vision and high-impact strategies for achieving that vision.
• Manage EMBARQ’s accountabilities to major funders, centers, partners, and clients. Ensure the effective delivery of EMBARQ’s program.
• Build a strong team among the EMBARQ Centers by establishing trust, setting common objectives, ensuring transparency, establishing simple and clear mechanisms for two-way accountability, and providing candid, constructive feedback on progress towards the Network’s goals
• Manage EMBARQ’s D.C. staff, delegating significant authority to team leaders to ensure that they are effective and motivated; give them the support they need; and make sure that they achieve their objectives.
• Oversee technical experts who lead global mobility research and who provide technical assistance on projects throughout the network.
• Spearhead efforts to forge greater strategic and operational integration of EMBARQ within WRI, and help WRI develop its global capacity to serve international offices. Contribute to overall management and effectiveness of WRI through participation in the Management Team.

Fundraising:

• Work closely with the EMBARQ center directors and WRI’s development team, to develop and implement a fundraising effort to ensure that EMBARQ has sufficient resources to effectively execute its strategic plan. This will entail leveraging existing relationships with corporations, foundations, and individual donors, as well as cultivating and maintaining new relationships, consistent with WRI’s fundraising guidelines.
• Mentor staff to broaden their fundraising skills, help them manage existing fundraising relationships and cultivate new funding prospects.

Outreach:

• Act as the external voice for EMBARQ.
• Be the bridge between the EMBARQ advisory board, WRI’s executive team and the EMBARQ Network when establishing strategy, targets and KPIs.
• Identify and act on opportunities for synergies with WRI’s four programs.
• Shepherd EMBARQ’s brand. Ensure EMBARQ has an effective and innovative outreach and communication strategy in place, commensurate with its scale up goals. Coordinate with WRI’s External Relations department as appropriate.
• Support staff in preparation and publication of articles and reports that helps advance EMBARQ’s goals, and ensure the highest quality in these efforts.

Qualifications:

• Vision, tenacity, focus, and deep personal commitment to scaling up EMBARQ’s operations in pursuit of its mission. Deep commitment to WRI’s mission.
• Hands-on experience scaling up operations, preferably in a developing country context, through strategic in-country partnerships and networks is essential.
• Proven track record of substantial achievement and influence in the field of sustainable transport or urban development, working with government, civil society and private sector partners and collaborators.
• Ten or more years of management experience.
• Superb analytical and strategic thinking capabilities
• Experience living and working for at least two years in one of the EMBARQ countries, or another developing country, is highly desirable.
• Proven ability to secure funding on a large scale, as well as extensive experience with project development and proposal writing.
• Experienced and highly collaborative team player – with skills in managing geographically dispersed and diverse teams
• Ability to communicate clearly and compellingly to a wide range of audiences both verbally and in writing in English; proficiency in at least one other EMBARQ language is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated experience in dealing with significant setbacks, and having learned from them.
• Humility and a sense of humor.