Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) - Green Growth and Resiliency

WSP is seeking individuals with strong technical (e.g., engineering design and supervision, water resource management, urban planning, climate smart agriculture production) and transactional (e.g., blended finance, investment bonds and other related capital mobilization instruments) experience related to climate mitigation and adaptation.  WSP is working with various clients (e.g., USAID, FCDO, IDB) in the design and implementation of projects related to:

• Resilient, green cities
• Climate smart agriculture
• Renewable energy and energy efficiency
• Climate resilient infrastructure (i.e., green infrastructure)
• Sustainable management of land and water resources
• Climate finance

WSP is recruiting for three donor-funded green growth and resiliency projects in developing countries:

• Green Recovery Investment Program (GRIP): This USAID program will provide a management and technical assistance platform designed to facilitate partnerships, improve enabling policies and finance ecosystems, and enhance learning and capacity to address these challenges. It will catalyze finance for climate change mitigation and adaptation, clean energy transition, and nature-based solutions to increase the resilience of development outcomes. It will promote climate finance that works across many sectors for green growth and COVID recovery: Agriculture and food security; public health; natural resources management; energy and infrastructure development; and biodiversity conservation.

• Centre for Resilient Cities and Infrastructure: This FCDO program will consist of a technical assistance facility that provides expertise to improve: infrastructure governance and policy; fiscal autonomy and financial management in cities; urban planning and land use; and Clean Growth.  The technical experts will require experience in a variety of areas including:  a) master planning and design; b) municipal finance and financial management; c) infrastructure design; d) infrastructure finance; e) sectoral expertise (Transport and mobility, energy, water & sanitation, waste management); f) operations and maintenance; g) infrastructure governance and procurement; and h) asset management and municipal service delivery.

• Green Cities IQC: Green Cities is designed to prepare and enable USAID Missions and partner countries to meet the challenge of the growth of urban and peri-urban populations and the risks and burdens that growth imposes on services and infrastructure or the economic opportunities it creates while tackling the climate crisis and increasing equity and inclusion. To achieve this goal, the Green Cities mechanism will work towards five objectives: i) Advance Net Zero Cities: To meet net-zero commitments, cities will need to design and implement clear roadmaps outlining near-and-long-term sectoral actions and targets, ii) Increase Urban Resilience: Resilience approaches that navigate the rural-urban dynamics in an inclusive way can provide a pathway out of poverty for the rural and urban poor, iii) Reduce Pollution and Waste: For cities to transition to circular economies, they need to reduce consumption of raw materials, Reuse products and components, and recycle to minimize waste production, iv) Increase Equitable Access to Services: To create an enabling environment to increase the equitable access to services, service design will require capacity building, governance/regulatory strengthening, and support developing tariff/taxes/user fee structures that do not further burden the poor and marginalized populations, and v) Mainstream Inclusive Green Jobs: Transitioning to green industries which will entail a transformation of the types of jobs that are available to urban populations, jobs that will require new kinds of expertise, and an approach that targets traditionally underserved populations including women, youth, low-income, and other marginalized groups.

WSP is seeking a Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) with strong operational management experience.   Depending on the project, this position could be a combination of technical (e.g., climate change finance, smart city planning) and administrative responsibilities (e.g., finance, HR, grants, procurement).   The DCOP will need to have experience in: overseeing subcontractors, long- and short-term technical experts responsible for aspects of technical implementation; managing project budgets; ensuring the timely delivery of project deliverables.   He/she will need to be highly skilled in developing and overseeing the implementation of clearly defined work plans (with clear tasks, deadlines, resource allocations).    

Key functions and responsibilities will include:

• Develop regional investment strategy that leverages each region’s comparative advantages (e.g., climate finance ecosystem).
• Provide technical and management oversight that brings together local, regional, and global actors (including development financing institutions, climate finance institutions) to develop investment opportunities, increase investment and startups in regional target countries.
• Work effectively with marginalized communities (both social and economic) to include women, youth, indigenous populations, and persons with disabilities.
• Identify, promote, structure new investment opportunities (including new financing solutions)
• Build the capacity of trade facilitators/service providers.
• Share results and learning with project leadership and key international and local counterparts; as well as integrate into future project design activities.

Key Competencies

• At least 10 years of experience working in a climate change related field (e.g., climate finance, resilient infrastructure).
• Advanced degree in relevant field (e.g., Business, Economics, Water Engineering).
• Experience in project design and implementation; developing pipelines of investment opportunities.
• Analytical skills and deep knowledge in strategic planning, business planning, financial due diligence.
• Technical competency and significant experience in managing investment deals for market-based ventures and green projects.
• Demonstrated knowledge or expertise in one or more relevant sectors: agriculture, forestry, renewable energy, industry, transport, infrastructure, water and recycling, blue economy, smart cities, logistics and supply chains.
• Demonstrated experience in promoting public-private investment in a targeted region.
• Experience in managing teams of local and expatriate technical experts.
• Ability to manage and work with teams in targeted regional locations.
• Proficient in English and strong written/verbal communication skills.

About WSP

WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world's leading engineering and professional services firms. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals. WSP USA designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 12,000 employees in over 200 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper. www.wsp.com

WSP provides a comprehensive suite of benefits including medical, dental, vision, disability, life, and retirement savings focused on a providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career.

At WSP, we want to give our employees the challenges they seek to grow their careers and knowledge base. Your daily contributions to your team will be essential in meeting client objectives, goals and challenges. Are you ready to get started?

WSP USA (and all of its U.S. companies) is an Equal Opportunity Employer Race/Age/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Disability or Protected Veteran Status.