Sr. Program Associate, Field Innovation

Senior Program Associate | Full Time | Based in Brookline, MA

Reports to Director, Field Innovation

 About Growald Climate Fund

We are a high-impact venture global philanthropy fund catalyzing the rapid transition to a clean energy future. We believe that philanthropy plays a key role in nurturing new climate solutions, supporting a vibrant and growing civil society, and promoting objective research and analysis for use by governments and key partners.

About the Role  

The Program Associate will manage a diverse and rich portfolio of tasks and responsibilities. From working with grantees, to researching new and innovative energy transition areas, to supporting strategic convenings, this role is a deep dive into the fields prioritized by the Field Innovation team (see below) and climate philanthropy. This position reports to the Director of Field Innovation.

About You

You are passionate about the global transition to clean energy. Your professional experience may include climate research, project management with multiple stakeholders, report writing, and/or data analysis. Ideally, you have spent time working in  the energy sector and/or emerging economies. You are ready to jump into a wide range of tasks and responsibilities with agility, flexibility and focus. You are able to be a support and resource-person, while also taking leadership of projects when necessary.

About the Field Innovation Pillar

Field Innovation addresses ecosystem gaps in energy transition globally through innovative grantmaking and strategic leadership.

Grantmaking Portfolio:

• Special projects, including incubation of new initiatives that address bottlenecks in the ecosystem
• Strategic research – identifying catalytic areas or gaps (such as coal asset retirement mechanisms, land rights issues for renewable energy, key geographies)
• Strategic convenings that bring together diverse parties for: high trust strategy development or diplomacy opportunities; to explore new potential areas of work; to foster the development of new collective impact efforts
• Rapid response grants for catalytic/innovative moments

Strategic Leadership:

• Supporting field coordination to address (such as coal retirement mechanisms, RE finance barriers) emerging priorities and diplomatic efforts
• Leading on strategic research when a grantee partner is not readily available
• Strategic convenings

Responsibilities of the Position Include: 

Strategy Development 

• Support the FI team to develop its priority areas, goals and indicators, provide insights, and contribute to  delivering them.

Grantmaking 

• Act as a point of contact for FI grants responding to various communications including requests for information and questions.
• Project-manage the FI grants management cycle by tracking all grant requirements and liaising with leads to make sure all requirements and reports are completed by established deadlines.
• Aid in  the development of quarterly Grant Dockets and annual impact reports by drafting FI’s section outline and inputting known information.
• Own pipeline management for prospective Field Innovation grantees:register ideas,potential grantees and organize information to be inputted into GivingData, our grants management system.
• Support the identification of grantees that fit FI requirements.
• Support scoping and contracting of key research and convening products with external NGOs and consultants.
• Review grantee reports, request for proposals, and other materials and provide an initial assessment of completeness and alignment with FI criteria.

Research & Reporting 

• Conduct energy landscape mapping and fulfill other FI research needs to help address bottlenecks hindering the transition.
• Develop blogs, articles and presentations on FI issues as requested by Growald’s CEO and FI team.
• Conduct data gathering and analysis on technical and strategic  FI issues as requested by Growald’s CEO and FI team.
• Project-manage and draft  reports and strategic documents for Growald board and philanthropic partners.

Convenings

• Assist FI team to deliver Growald’s strategic convenings with various stakeholders involved in climate and philanthropic initiatives, including funders, community members, and partner organizations
• Coordinating meetings with partners and grantees (including scheduling logistics, note-taking and meeting follow-up).

Qualifications

• An academic background or experience in energy, finance/economics or related field.
• Masters degree in energy, finance, economics or related field.
• At least three years experience in energy and/or climate finance, or the energy sector (be it within a government, international organization, think tank, private sector etc) .
• A passion for and commitment to energy transition.
• Familiarity with key fora/organizations/concepts such as UNFCCC, IEA, IRENA, energy transition, JETPs, or coal retirement
• Experience coordinating work with multiple stakeholders from different organizations, countries and backgrounds.
• Self-starter able to work independently while identifying moments for effective collaboration.
• Attention to detail; motivated by working through the little details to achieve larger outcomes; conducts regular maintenance work within systems.
• Experience project-managing complex reports/research including collating data and impact metrics.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, and proven ability to produce high-quality written materials and presentations.
• Speedy and adept at learning new tech programs and softwares; self-sufficient at acquiring new skills and applying those to support the team.
• Collaborative, nimble, and able to support the team in diverse ways.
• Experience working cross-culturally and with people from diverse backgrounds and languages.
• Creative, solutions-oriented do-er with proven ability to to come up with solutions, whether they are to implement systems or when adapting to hurdles.
• English fluency required, mult- lingual preferred.
• Experience with international organizations is a plus.
• Experience in policy making with government, think tanks, or multilateral organizations is a plus.

Benefits & Organizational Culture

We have a dynamic and agile organizational culture and we’re serious about supporting our people to thrive. Read more about our organizational culture here.

• This is a full-time role based at our Brookline, MA office.
• Flexible work policy: flex hours and opportunity to work from home two days / week.
• 401(k) retirement plan with 6% employer match
• 100% employer paid health, dental and vision coverage
• Four weeks of PTO plus thirteen paid holidays
• Annual allowance for professional development activities
• Coaching and management support with regular 1:1 meetings
• Performance reviews and feedback to support you and the team to reflect and grow
• A co-developed initial three month work plan to help you hit the ground running and have clarity on your role and responsibilities

Equal Opportunity Employer   

As an equal opportunity employer, we recognize the power of a diverse community and strongly encourage applications from individuals with varied experiences, perspectives and backgrounds. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants without regard to age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status. Must be authorized to work lawfully in the United States. All Growald employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Additionally, CDC Boosters shots are highly recommended.

Compensation

Growald Climate Fund offers competitive salaries annually benchmarked against a thousand other philanthropic non profit grant making foundations. The Salary Band for this position is $70,000-$80,000. Please apply or contact jobs@nrgconsultinggroup.org to speak with our recruiter about compensation! Benefits include 100% employer paid medical and dental care, generous allowances including professional development, commuter, and work from home, an employer matched retirement plan, 13 holidays, 20-25 days of vacation, and additional paid time off including sick and parental leave. Growald offers flexible working hours, and our location in Brookline (in Boston’s backyard) was recently ranked 16th in the top 25 best places for families to live!

Location

This position is based in Brookline, MA, and is hybrid (3 days in office / 2 days remote).

To Apply

Please fill out the application questions on this page and attach your resume. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. This search is being led by NRG Consulting Group. Please reach out to jobs@nrgconsultinggroup.org with any questions.