Program Director of Emerging Strategies

Posted on June 11, 2020

Energy Foundation’s mission is to secure a clean and equitable energy future to address the climate crisis. Energy Foundation supports education and analysis to promote non-partisan policy solutions that promote a healthy, safe, equitable economy powered by clean energy. We believe a thriving clean energy economy can create sustainable opportunities, spur innovation, and protect our climate for today and future generations. We are a complex, multi-site, multicultural nonprofit organization with big plans for the future. Under the leadership of our CEO, Energy Foundation has embarked on a major strategy refresh, a prioritized commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), and rapid geographic expansion.

For more than 25 years, Energy Foundation has supported grantees to help educate policymakers and the general public about the benefits of a clean energy economy. Our grantees include business, health, environmental, labor, equity, community, faith, and consumer groups, as well as policy experts, think tanks, universities, and more.

Our comprehensive approach advances energy efficiency and renewable energy in the power, transportation, and building sectors. Working together, our National and Venues staff focus on developing innovative policies and campaigns to help propel clean energy development in these sectors, while our Strategic Communications Program develops powerful narrative and communications strategies designed to build support for our work regionally and nationwide. The Venues team is a cross-disciplinary team of policy, communications, and campaign experts dedicated to advancing strong state and regional climate and clean energy policies.

Energy Foundation’s founding office is in San Francisco, CA, with regional offices in Raleigh, NC; Chicago, IL; Washington, DC; and Las Vegas, NV.

The Program Director, Emerging Strategies, is a newly created role that will cultivate new strategies to accelerate solutions to decarbonizing the energy system in the US. The Program Director will work collaboratively with sector experts on the National team, and policy, campaigns and communications experts in our regional offices to foster transformational new strategies to advance clean energy solutions and reduce pollution. Engaging with networks of experts, advocates, and funders across the country, the person in this role will be pioneering strategies for U.S. climate progress in this critical next decade.

Energy Foundation has a preference for this position to be located in the founding office in San Francisco, CA, but is willing to consider location in one of the regional offices in Raleigh, NC; Chicago, IL; Washington, DC; or Las Vegas, NV.

• Develop and deploy new philanthropic strategies to advance carbon-reducing energy policies in a manner that furthers EF’s mission is to secure a clean and equitable energy future. 
• Develop fundraising plans for new strategies and work with the Vice President, Policy on fundraising. 
• Oversee discreet short-term and multi-year grantmaking strategies in areas of emerging opportunity for achieving deep decarbonization.
• Provide policy strategy advice to Energy Foundation campaigns, and work with regional colleagues to execute and test strategy ideas in cities, states, regionally, and federally.
• Engage and collaborate with key actors across the field, including opinion leaders, industry colleagues, technical experts, and funding partners.
• Produce top-quality written materials (proposals, presentations) for a variety of audiences, including board members, funders, and other stakeholders.
• Evaluate the impact of individual grants, initiatives, and broader campaigns.
• Support and engage in cross-sector collaboration and build a reputation internally as a thought partner in refining Energy Foundation’s strategies.
• Generate and implement ideas for systems, program, and operational improvement.
• Maintain collaborative relationships with peers and colleagues.
• Supervise a Program Associate and contribute to that individual’s professional development.
• Collaborate with new and existing funding partners to build a coordinated set of strategies, define a new set of metrics for philanthropy to measure progress, and attract more resources to this work.

• Creative strategist with expertise in designing and leading policy initiatives in the U.S.
• Demonstrated experience developing strategy in partnership with diverse internal and external stakeholders, including people with differing political perspectives.
• An innovative growth mindset and an ability to work independently.

• A minimum of 10 years of demonstrated expertise at the leading edge of energy policy with particular experience in the power sector, including power markets and finance, electric and gas utility regulation, and experience with public and private utilities, state utility regulatory commissions, regional transmission organizations, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
• While power sector experience is essential, success in this role will require a nimble strategist with competency and the ability to develop leadership in two or more of the following areas:
  • Renewable energy, including wind, solar, and storage technologies
  • Advanced grid management
  • Vehicle to grid solutions
  • Finance and capital markets
  • Clean energy technologies
  • Carbon removal technologies and carbon capture, utilization, and storage
  • Green hydrogen
• Credibility in the field. Able to establish rapport internally and externally with funding partners, grantees, experts, and other stakeholders.
• Understanding of climate and clean energy advocacy in the U.S.
• Solutions-oriented, collaborative problem-solver who is committed to working collaboratively in a diverse, dynamic, and complex environment with a combination of local, regional, and national staff and partners.
• Curious and inquisitive, the ideal candidate will possess excellent relationship-building and convening skills and have experience bringing together people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
• Ability to present complex information in meaningful ways to a variety of audiences, including funders, other stakeholders, and grantees.
• The flexibility to consider other points of view and meet people where they are.
• A demonstrated commitment to contributing meaningfully to a workplace where equity and inclusion are core values in our internal and external Energy Foundation work.

Ability to travel 6-12 times a year for 2-3 business days at a time.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to spend extended hours at the computer.

This position may be based in any of Energy Foundation’s offices. The office environments include some shared workspace, some individual offices, shared kitchen facilities, with moderate noise levels and a collegial atmosphere. On occasion, there are activities or events after work hours.

Staff are currently working at home during COVID-19 and decisions to re-open offices will be made in accordance to state and local guidance.