As the Head of Finance, Multilevel Partnerships, you will serve as the organisational lead for CHAMP's subnational climate finance agenda, providing strategic oversight and technical leadership to global and country efforts to close the subnational climate finance gap through policy influence, advocacy, and implementation support. Reporting to the Senior Director, Finance and Private Sector, and working closely with the Senior Urban and Regional Economist and the NDC Partnership, this position requires expertise in public and blended finance, strong diplomatic skills to engage with Ministries of Finance, multilateral banks, and development finance institutions, and the ability to turn country-level lessons into systems-level change.
Key Responsibilities
Programme Delivery (60%)
- Workstream Design & Delivery: Lead design, delivery, and monitoring of Climate Finance workstream to ensure coherence between global finance reform efforts, country platform design, and on-the-ground technical assistance in Kenya and Colombia.
- Analysis & Insights: Produce actionable analysis and insights capturing enabling conditions for subnational climate finance, drawing from country experiences and global practice, and translate findings into practical recommendations for governments and finance actors.
- Knowledge Sharing: Organise annual knowledge exchange series for national and subnational officials, country platform coordinators, development banks, and funders to share lessons on subnational access to climate finance, city pipelines, and innovative instruments.
- Advocacy Coordination: Coordinate CHAMP's advocacy on subnational access to finance with partners, developing a set of concrete "asks" for MDBs and climate funds and supporting political engagement at international climate and finance events.
- Country Platform Support: Support CEF colleagues in at least two CHAMP-endorsing countries to ensure country platforms allow for subnational participation in governance and pipeline decisions.
- Technical Assistance: Support Senior Urban and Regional Economist coordinate technical assistance in Kenya and Colombia, ensuring climate strategies and investment plans incorporate subnational priorities and identify domestic and international finance opportunities.
- National Action Support: Support Head of National Action coordinate response to RSLs from four CHAMP-endorsing countries where these relate to climate finance. Capture, synthesise and communicate lessons learned from all programme activities.
- Project Management & Budgeting: Maintain detailed and up-to-date project plans for all deliverables using Asana, with clear milestones, risk registers, and mitigation measures, ensuring proactive communication with the Director and Project Board. Oversee budgeting, contracting, and financial monitoring for the Climate Finance workstream.
Team Leadership and Diplomatic Engagement (40%)
- Stakeholder Engagement: Develop and maintain strategic relationships with Ministries of Finance, MDBs, national development banks, climate funds, and other finance institutions to influence subnational finance reform agendas.
- External Representation: Position WRI and CHAMP as experts on subnational climate finance, representing the programme in external events and cross-institutional platforms, and author regular articles on subnational access to climate finance.
- Internal Coordination: Coordinate across WRI workstreams, country offices, and development team on CHAMP-related activities, and ensure integration of CHAMP activities, lessons learned and insights into WRI's broader research, policy, and advocacy priorities.
- Collaborations: Collaborate closely with internal WRI workstreams (Governance and Diplomacy, National Action, Fundraising Manager) and external partners (C40, GCoM) to coordinate programmatic delivery, proposals, and advocacy.
- Strategic Support: Support Director of Urban Efficiency and Climate, Project Board and WRI Ambassadors with all necessary information for decision-making, progress monitoring, and stakeholder engagement.
- Team Leadership: Provide strategic direction and guidance to finance managers or analysts within the team, fostering technical excellence and high standards of delivery.
Requirements and Qualifications
- Education: A degree in a relevant field, such as economics, finance, international development, or public policy.
- Experience: Relevant international experience in (sub)national climate finance, public finance, development banking, or related fields, with a focus on subnational or urban climate investment desirable.
- Government Advisory: Proven track record advising governments or financial institutions on climate finance policy, investment planning, or coordination mechanisms with measurable results.
- Institutional Knowledge: Demonstrable understanding of the structure and functioning of multilateral development banks, climate funds, and public development banks, and of financing instruments applicable to local governments.
- Consensus Building: Experience engaging senior government officials, MDB representatives, and other stakeholders to shape reforms and build consensus around institutional or financial system change.
- Program Management: Proven programme management skills, including oversight of multi-country projects.
- Communication: Highly developed analytical, writing, and communication skills, capable of bridging technical finance topics and policy strategies for diverse audiences.
- Work Authorization: Existing work authorisation is required for candidates who wish to be based in Kenya or the UK. WRI cannot support visa sponsorship for this role.
