West Africa Coordinator / Communications Assistant

Overview

NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our people helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our team of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and the globe from our offices in Bozeman, Montana; Chicago; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing.

NRDC is seeking a West Africa Coordinator / Communications Assistant to work with the International team in our Washington, D.C. office for the six-year duration of the project.

Position Summary

As a global leader on the issue of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASGM) and mercury, NRDC is executing a global knowledge management and communications project, under of the Global Opportunities for Long-term Development (GOLD) in ASGM program, whose second phase is led by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). In alignment with NRDC’s strategic focus on healthy and thriving communities both in the US and internationally, the planetGOLD program strives to control mercury pollution and other environmental impacts from mercury-based ASGM by replacing this widespread practice with safer, mercury-free methods, without undermining critically needed livelihoods.

This position will work with NRDC’s international team in our Washington, DC office.  This position will assist the overall program lead coordinate activities among the planetGOLD global project and planetGOLD projects in the Francophone West Africa region. The Francophone West Africa Regional Coordinator will also work with communications and knowledge management staff of the global project and with planetGOLD child projects taking place in the Francophone West Africa region, to ensure ongoing information exchange, collegial learning, and collaborative troubleshooting.

Responsibilities

• Help coordinate global component activities with other implementing and executing agencies of the planetGOLD program in the Francophone West Africa region to ensure that the global component is meeting information and communication needs of the child projects, and to ensure that those projects are sharing information in a timely fashion with the rest of the program participants
• Coordinate with Knowledge Management/M&E Coordinator and UNEP executing team on ensuring assets from planetGOLD projects in the region are added to the planetGOLD website
• Identify key knowledge products that may be candidates for translation (either country project products translation to English or global project products translation to French)
• Translate key brief program-wide communications to French
• Work with planetGOLD participants in the region to ensure participation in global forums and other program-wide events, and to ensure stakeholders in the region are invited to participate, where appropriate
• Work with planetGOLD projects in the region to help identify and prioritize, on an ongoing basis, their knowledge needs, and communication needs and help determine how to provide support to the projects
• Hold regular (~bi-monthly) calls with planetGOLD project managers in the region
• Identify opportunities and facilitate regional exchanges on issues of regional interest (e.g., mercury trade)
• As needed, and to the extent feasible, assist planetGOLD project managers in the region to comply with required English-language data submission for program compilation and analysis
• Maintain open lines of communication and act as resource person to project managers in the region, to field questions and relay information requests to planetGOLD global project

Qualifications

• Commitment to NRDC’s mission and values
• Bachelor’s degree
• At least 3 years experience in supporting implementation of projects
• At least 2 years relevant experience in working with development programs, especially mainly in the field of environment and artisanal small-scale mining in the Francophone West Africa region
• Experience working with projects with multiple partners, preferably internationally
• Fluency in speaking, writing, and reading French (native speaker preferred)
• Demonstrated ability to exercise tact and sound judgment related to controversial and/or culturally sensitive subjects, and to be objective, fair, and open to cooperation, considering national and regional special aspects as well as the political environment

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and is commensurate with skills and experience. For this position, the salary is $65,000 to $75,000. Internal equity considerations will be reviewed before making a final offer.

Our offices are open and we are operating in a hybrid model. We offer NRDCers flexibility, we ask them to come into the office and spend meaningful time there in collaboration with their colleagues.  We call this purposeful presence.

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination, those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions via NRDC Employee Relations. NRDC treats all vaccine-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws.

To apply, visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your résumé and cover letter. Please mention where you saw this posting and upload any additional materials that showcase your abilities. Due to the high volume of applications, we will contact only those candidates we would like to interview. Please no phone calls, emails, or in-person résumé drop-offs.

If you experience technical problems while applying or if you are a person with a disability and need assistance applying online, please reach out to iCIMS Customer Care at 1-800-889-4422.

For more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org.