Location: Remote position (Anywhere in the US)
OVERVIEW

The climate emergency is the defining challenge of our time, demanding an urgent  and transformative response. The window for small, incremental action has closed; the moment for bold, emergency-level action is now.

Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE) operates at the intersection of clean energy advocacy, strategic media, and civic participation to accelerate global decarbonization. Through cutting-edge media strategies, ACE combats climate disinformation, flattens the curve of clean energy opposition, increases diverse participation in our democracy, and inspires meaningful action. Our programs engage tens of millions of people annually, mobilizing audiences that traditional climate efforts often overlook.

ACE’s dynamic and diverse team thrives in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment, united by a shared commitment to addressing the climate crisis. As we expand to meet this critical moment, we seek talented individuals eager to make an impact.

JOB SUMMARY

To meet our climate goals, we must accelerate deployment of utility-scale renewables at a breakneck speed over the next decade. We see the biggest opportunities to advance decarbonization at the state and local level–accelerating utility-scale solar and wind energy projects in communities across the country, fighting local ordinances that are detrimental to the clean energy transition and proactively advancing local ordinances that are conducive to renewables, bring economic and community benefits, and balance environmental impacts.

The Policy Director, Renewables will play a pivotal role focused on local- and state-level policy and regulatory conditions that are at the crux of accelerating the deployment of utility-scale renewables, particularly in rural communities across the US. This role will spearhead the tracking of local ordinances and regulations that impact clean energy projects through a strategic analysis of threats and opportunities for renewables, where we can have influence through advocacy campaigns, and targeted entry points and decision makers. The Policy Director, Renewables will share research and analysis of targeted ordinances and regulations, entry points and messaging to inform advocacy campaign implementation, both digitally and on-the-ground. The Policy Director, Renewables will also provide advice and input to the project origination team about any policies or regulatory conditions that may impact a particular renewable energy project of focus. 

We have achieved key wins in collaboration with partners on the ground—from overturning a renewable moratoria to unlocking 4.5 MW of clean energy projects. As we scale up this work, we are seeking a seasoned clean energy expert to identify strategic, targeted ordinances, policies and regulations at scale, toward which we can deploy smart campaigns to win. The Policy Director, Renewables will be a highly collaborative professional who will work across teams and externally, conduct deep research in databases, and effectively manage up with leadership to secure timely decisions on policy opportunities.

This is a full-time, remote role based anywhere in the United States. The Policy Director, Renewables will report to the Head of Communications and Policy and be part of the Campaigns Team, working collaboratively across the full team and externally. The Policy Director, Renewables will operate from a home office, participate in regular in-person events, field work, and both internal and external meetings. Frequent interactions through video chat with ACE team members, partners, vendors, and funders are expected. Flexibility to work irregular hours as needed and a willingness to travel for field-based activities and partner meetings.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Local and State Policy Analysis
  • Build out a system to track prospective and active policy interventions that includes key inputs for analysis.
  • Continuously monitor local and state decision-making bodies, policies, events, coalitions, campaigns, trends, and technologies within the clean energy sector.
  • Build recommendations of top strategic interventions where we can make in-roads.
  • Track and manage a list of local elected or appointed officials with decisionmaking authority over clean energy projects, including past decisions on clean energy, terms, etc.
  • Create a feedback loop, analyzing factors that contributed to wins and losses to feed learnings back into project origination analysis.
  • Provide timely analysis to the project origination team regarding any local and state level policies and regulations potentially impacting a project intervention. 
  • Identify the leading tools and resources needed to set us up for success.
• Research & Messaging
  • Develop clear, concise data-driven memos outlining high-impact opportunities for engagement and a roadmap for the campaigns team to run with.
  • From the research, develop topline messaging that the campaigns team can use to create digital ads, phone and text scripts, emails, talking points, etc.
  • Collaborate with ACE’s Research Lab to run message testing and other research opportunities.
  • Collaborate with the campaigns, communications, and development teams to communicate the wins and learning from the intervention to staff, board, partners and funders.
  • Attend partner and funder calls to share learnings, strategies and directions.
• Partnerships
  • Collaborate with teammates to gather inputs for policy tracking, sourcing potential policy information from grassroots and national partners, trade groups and industry associations.
  • Build relationships directly with developers, industry and trade groups, and county officials to collect information on local ordinance and state level policy and regulations, status, and strategies to inform whether, where and how we can have an impact.
  • Attend conferences and events to cultivate relationships and gain insights into local policy landscapes and identify potential local elected and community leaders to feature in ACE’s storytelling work.
• Other Duties as Assigned
  • Adapt to the evolving needs of a fast-paced organization with flexibility and creativity.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in a clean energy company, city or county land use or planning department, or clean energy non-profit or public affairs agency.
• Extensive knowledge of local and state energy regulations, including ordinances, zoning, permitting and land use regulations as it relates to clean energy projects.
• Extensive knowledge of the utility-scale clean energy sector and understanding of the full project cycle, needs, and opportunities–from siting analysis to coming online.
• Experience gathering information and building reports from FiscalNote Curate and/or other industry tools and comfort and agility in working with AI to streamline information gathering.
• Proven strategic analysis and ability to take a deluge of information and quickly identify which priorities rise to the top.
• Strong writing skills and ability to distill complex information into pieces that can be used for pithy communications and public talking points. 
• Detail-oriented and an ability to manage multiple priorities and projects while thriving in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Flexibility to work irregular hours as needed and a willingness to travel for field-based activities and partner meetings.
• Strong cross-team collaborator and communicator with an eagerness to jump into other duties than assigned.
• Proactive, flexible, and solutions-oriented with a commitment to innovation.
• Collaborative and team-focused, capable of inspiring and motivating others.
• Dedication to fostering a culture of excellence, quality, and inclusivity.
• Experience working in or with rural communities in the U.S. desired.

This description reflects ACE’s assignment of essential functions, it does not restrict the tasks that may be assigned. ACE retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position at any time. Employees must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship. ACE has a zero-tolerance standard for abuse and inappropriate behavior by staff members.

POSITION DETAILS

• Annual salary range: $130,000 - $140,000, commensurate with experience
• Generous benefits include: Medical, Dental, Vision, 403b retirement savings plan, Vacation, Sabbatical, Paid Parental Leave, 2 Floating Holidays, 2 Community Service Floating Holidays, Sick time, Two weeks of full-staff time off (July 4 week and Christmas-New Year week) and 13 observed holidays
• ACE is an equal-opportunity employer that highly values staff diversity
• Location: Remote