Project Manager, Open Data Access For African Urban Climate Resilience

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land. A nonprofit private operating foundation whose origins date to 1946, the Lincoln Institute researches and recommends creative approaches to land as a solution to economic, social, and environmental challenges. Through education, training, publications, and events, we integrate theory and practice to inform public policy decisions worldwide. With locations in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Washington, DC; Phoenix; and Beijing, we organize our work around six goals: low-carbon, climate-resilient communities and regions;efficient and equitable tax systems;reduced poverty and spatial inequality;fiscally healthy communities and regions;sustainably managed land and water resources;and functional land markets and reduced informality. 

The Lincoln Institute's Center for Geospatial Solutions (CGS) generates data insights that help partners to design and implement equitable land, water, and climate solutions.

In our effort to address the impacts of climate change, including drought, flooding, pollution, and other water-related challenges, information is perhaps the most important solution. How much water is available for use in a particular location? What is the quality? How is it used? Answering such questions is the mission of the Lincoln Institute's new Internet of Water Initiative-so named because it aims to do for water what the internet did for real estate, weather forecasts, and countless other sources of data. The initiative, housed at CGS, standardizes and connects water-related data in the United States from thousands of different sources to enable better decisions, ultimately making communities more sustainable and resilient. The Internet of Water Initiative modernizes existing systems for managing water data and help government agencies and private organizations coordinate with each other and make their data more accessible.

The individual in this position is expected to develop and support partnerships and networks with global stakeholders, support the planning and implementation of stakeholder engagement activities with stakeholders, manage contract logistics including reporting, and develop supporting material about and for the project to diverse audiences, including decision-makers. The Project Manager will be expected to take a leadership role and to provide other support as assigned for both CGS and for the larger Lincoln Institute of Land Policy related to this project. This is a full-time position that reports to the Associate Director of Engagement for the Internet of Water Initiative.

Through collaboration with UCAR, IoW will conduct regional climate, weather, and water data code-sprints and training for two regions in Africa in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in support of the PREPARE Action Plan. The WMO Information System (WIS) connects all National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and regions together for weather, water, and climate data exchange. The new technical framework for WMO data sharing is designed to dramatically modernize WMO's precursor legacy system, the Global Telecommunication System (GTS). WIS 2.0 is currently in a pilot phase and was universally acclaimed at WMO congress as basis for data sharing. Realizing the vision of PREPARE requires stakeholder engagement, training sessions, and code sprints to rapidly build capacity and expand the access to weather, water, and climate data in communities that need it the most.

The IoW team values   forthright feedback, initiative, cooperation and teamwork, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and accepting responsibility

What You'll Do

• Report to and work closely with the Associate Director to manage and coordinate all project logistics, ensuring that contract deliverables are met in a timely manner, working with diverse multi-cultural stakeholders, located across multiple time zones in different countries across Africa.
• Author project materials, including technical presentations, publications, such as documents and reports for different audiences.
• Plan, facilitate, and execute meetings and workshops including all logistics in African countries.
• Lead workshops, including providing logistical information and giving programmatic presentations about technical information to diverse muti-cultural stakeholder groups.
• Contribute to the overall success of the IoW by participating in strategy sessions, establishing, and maintaining strong relationships with staff, partners, and stakeholders.
• Perform other IoW coordination and management tasks as requested, time permitting.

What You'll Need

• Master's degree in water resources management, environmental sciences, geography, planning, foreign affairs, or related field preferred AND 3 years of professional (non-academic) experience in a fast-paced environment managing multi-stakeholder international projects (e.g. coordinating meetings with senior officials in national and subnational government agencies).
• A strong technical understanding of water resources and data.
• Experience traveling in Africa and working with government officials in countries on the African continent (particularly South Africa, Uganda, and Ethiopia).
• Understanding of international water and climate policy and data.
• Cultural sensitivity, knowledge, and diplomatic courtesy needed to interact with high level African practitioners and elected officials.
• A strong project management personality that thrives on using problem-solving skills, and keeping details organized for others.
• Experience with MS Office.
• Demonstrated outstanding skills in English writing and speaking, including proofreading for both words and numbers, research, and presentation.
• Strong writing skills, particularly in the communication of technical information to multiple audiences.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize and multi-task; focus on delivering results.
• Willingness and ability to give and receive constructive feedback towards improvement and continuous learning.

$85,000 - $95,000 a year

Salary is dependent upon previous experience delivering this job's key results and experiences using the qualifications needed to perform this job.

Important: Although this position has a large degree of travel, the list of viable states in which our new hire may reside to occupy this position is: Washington DC, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Colorado, Connecticut, Michigan, Indiana, and certain PA counties.

We support a culture of forthright feedback, initiative, cooperation and teamwork, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and accepting responsibility.

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is dedicated to creating an inclusive work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Individuals seeking employment at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy are considered without regards to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), ancestry, citizenship status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.