All Things Urban

WRI's mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.

WRI-China Cities Program is seeking a dedicated, analytical, results-oriented Research Associate for the Decarbonizing Transport for Asia project in WRI China office. The major responsibility of the Research Associate is to help implement low transportation research, policy recommendations, and pilot projects to mitigate GHG emissions and air pollutions from the transport sector. The successful candidate will join a team that will work in a multidisciplinary platform in WRI, with governmental agencies, think tanks, and universities to (i) recommend policies for the transportation sector in China towards low-carbon and environmental sustainability; (ii) liaise with city and national partners and deliver on-the-ground iconic projects; (iii) design groundbreaking tools, models, and software platforms to inform policy-making; and (iv) strengthen capacity for addressing transportation problems in China and beyond.

• Conceive and write high-quality, high-impact reports, tools, and models to inform policy-making and pilot implementation, abiding with WRI’s standard publication process;
• Coordinate with demonstration cities, provincial governments, or national partners to carry out policy research and ensure the quality and impacts of project deliverables;
• Organize internal/external policy dialogue meetings, international workshops, national conferences, local capacity building workshops, and other dissemination activities to enlarge the influence of the research reports, tools, and models.
• In collaboration with senior level staff, manages outcomes of the projects;
• Write high-quality communication collaterals—including blogs, op-eds, or infographics for the research products and pilot projects;
• Promote a culture of teamwork that balances individual initiative with team accomplishments.

Associate should be someone with professional and moral ethics, in-depth understanding of specific field and China’s context. Specifically, we are seeking the following qualifications:

• Identify and believes in WRI’s institutional values, inspired to work on sustainable development issues;
• Advanced degree and subject matter expertise in one of the following fields: vehicle emissions and fuel economy, automotive engineering, grid and energy system, air pollution modeling and control, battery technology and recycling, environmental engineering, or machine learning & GIS. Master’s degree required. PhD or cross-cut expertise is a plus.
• Strong academic ethic and experience in publishing papers in international journal articles and familiar with peer review process.
• At least 5 years of relevant work experience and research in the above fields.
• Demonstrated team spirit with good interpersonal skills and ability to work in a multi-cultural environment, with good work ethics.
• Excellent command of written and spoken Chinese (Mandarin) and English;
• Proficient with statistical analysis and software (like Stata, SPSS, or R). Familiarities with programming languages like Python and analytical toolsmodels (like MOVES, GREET, IVE, and etc.) will be a plus.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently.

We’re not fully sure whether this role is open to international candidates. If you would need visa sponsorship or work authorisation, we recommend checking directly with the employer before applying.