Senior Associate

TITLE: Senior Associate, ORRAA

REPORTS TO: President

DEPARTMENT: Executive Office

CLASSIFICATION: Permanent, Full-Time

ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW:

A resilient, net zero and economically secure world is not possible without a healthy, regenerating ocean. The Ocean, one of the planet’s greatest assets, is in crisis. Heating, leading to extreme weather events, sea level rise, and adverse ecosystem changes as well as pollution, overfishing and destructive fishing, rising levels of acidity and biodiversity loss all jeopardise its health. Rebuilding and restoring ‘blue nature’ means protecting the critical impact buffers and biodiversity reservoirs that provide food, social and economic security to billions of people and businesses across the world.

Immediate and scaled action is needed to build resilience to change. The Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA or the Alliance) is the only multi-sector collaboration connecting the finance and insurance sectors, governments, multilateral organisations, civil society, and local partners, to pioneer finance and insurance products that incentivise investment into coastal and ocean resilience, and through Nature-based Solutions.

The mission, by 2030, is to activate at least USD$500 million of investment to build the resilience of 250 million climate vulnerable coastal people in the Global South. ORRAA is delivering system-wide change by growing an investable product pipeline and generating the transformative investment instruments, vehicles and policies that contribute to a regenerative and sustainable blue economy. These solutions enable coastal communities and the Ocean to adapt and thrive, creating greater economic, social and cultural resilience.

POSITION SUMMARY:

ORRAA is seeking a dynamic and experienced Senior Associate whom will be central to delivering on the Alliance’s mission by supporting the Executive Director/President (ED) to ensure the smooth operation of the Alliance and to build an efficient and effective Secretariat. This includes engaging and collaborating across the ORRAA team, with experts, on policy issues and with Alliance members, towards actionable solutions for the Alliance’s work.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Support the effectiveness and efficiency of the Executive Director/President by:

• • Maintaining a deep understanding of ORRAA’s priorities and goals to enhance the effectiveness of the Secretariat and ED.
  • Working closely and collaboratively with the ED to ensure coordination, support, and promotion of ORRAA projects and initiatives and her work to enable their success.
  • Supporting the ED on existing and emerging ORRAA member relationships, including communications with members, strategic partnerships with complementary initiatives, and relationship building with potential new members (governments, finance, insurance companies, and NGOs). Scheduling and participating in these discussions.
  • Contributing to and leading development of events (virtual and in-person), conferences, other speaking engagement proposals and applications. Assisting in the development, preparations for participation in, and editing of materials, presentations, speeches, blogs, talking points and reports for the ED and/or other Senior Team Members.
  • Representing ORRAA at meetings or at international forums as requested.
  • Engaging on special projects that the ED or organisation is working on to deliver impactful outcomes in furtherance of ORRAA’s mission.
  • Participating in workstreams and activities to develop internal procedures, systems, project budgets and best practices, as required; including helping to manage ORRAA’s calendar of key internal and external events and deadlines.
  • Supporting agenda setting and organisation of monthly team meetings and strategic planning sessions.
  • Ensuring that relevant meeting notes and action points are tracked, shared with the team and delivered.
  • Ensuring efficient calendar and time management for the Executive Director to deliver according to deadlines and outcomes, including through scheduling and coordinating meetings (virtual and in person), travel, workshops and events, helping develop agendas, sending event invitations, taking notes during meetings, and coordinating meeting logistics, participation and follow-up.
  • Tracking and managing the delivery of the Secretariat’s key objectives in annual work plans and in support of grant reporting.
  • Supporting the ED on grant proposal drafting, reviewing and reporting; and working with the ED and Development Director on the Funder Advisory Board, and organisation Board meetings and Board member engagement.

REQUIRED & PREFERRED SKILLS:

The successful candidate will excel in the following areas:

• • University degree, preferably with an MBA or MSc.
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in ocean sustainability, nature or climate finance, or a related field.
  • PC literate with a good knowledge of MS Office and specifically a high level of skill with Excel.
  • Ability to multi-task, work in a fast-paced environment and meet deadlines, sometimes under pressure for urgent and unexpected priorities.
  • Ability to work in a collaborative environment with strong interpersonal skills
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills adaptable to a variety of audiences.
  • Fluency in verbal and written English. Competency in additional languages welcomed.
  • A team-player with ability to work both independently as well as cooperatively with stakeholders across multiple time zones.
  • Highly organised and mission driven.
  • Ability to bring humour, humility and kindness to your work.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• • Competitive compensation.
  • This position is a full-time role.
  • Our work is global, fully remote, and conducted virtually. We each work flexible hours to accommodate multiple time zones. Preference for this position to be located in Washington, DC or London, UK.
  • We may arrange in-person meetings at various locations throughout the year.
  • Very occasional international travel may be expected as needed and as safety allows.
  • The ORRAA team takes a break at the end of each calendar year between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
  • Exciting, fast-paced environment with many opportunities to learn, grow, and expand skills.

CANDIDATE APPLICATIONS:

Applications should include a CV/resume, a cover letter outlining how your skills and experience will benefit ORRAA, and your salary expectations at this link. Your CV/resume and cover letter should be uploaded as one document. Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. The successful candidate must be authorised to work in their country of residence. Work visas and relocation expenses are not available for this position.

DATA PRIVACY:

Please note that any personal data submitted to ORRAA as part of the job application process will be processed in accordance with the GDPR and related UK data protection legislation, for more information regarding GDPR please see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:

Entry into employment with the ORRAA and progression within employment will be determined only by personal merit and the application of criteria which are related to the duties of each post and the relevant salary structure. In all cases, ability to perform the job will be the primary consideration. No applicant or member of staff shall be discriminated against because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

No terminology in the advert or job description is intended to discriminate on the grounds of a person’s gender, marital status, race, religion, colour, age, disability or sexual orientation. Every candidate will be assessed only in accordance with their merits, qualifications and abilities to perform the duties of the job.