Position Overview
We are seeking a Director to expand and lead CEA’s climate-related engagements. This position interacts with leaders in the philanthropic field on work spanning a wide range of environmental issues. The Director position is the senior-most consulting role at CEA, leading projects, contributing to the firm's strategic direction, and directly managing team members. They are responsible for day-to-day management of complex consulting engagements, including large environmental and climate-focused foundations, family offices, NGOs, impact investors, and bilateral and multilateral agencies. This role will be responsible for climate solutions business development, leading and landing proposals with new clients while building and stewarding existing relationships, in order to grow the firm’s portfolio.
Our work environment is collaborative and intense. It requires intellectual rigor;excellent interpersonal and communication skills;strong research, analysis, and writing capacity;the ability to synthesize findings from a range of sources;superb project management skills;attention to detail;and a passion for climate solutions and environmental issues.
The Director role at CEA allows for flexibility in terms of leadership-style, approach to project execution, and engagement types. Depending on previous experience, interests, and client needs, Directors can operate in different professional capacities. We often serve as advisors, providing strategic guidance and support. We might be engaged to provide operational support, serving functionally as Program Officers or Managers. When aligned with CEA’s interest and values, Directors have latitude to build out business and client relationships in new areas.
We are interested in candidates coming from a range of professional backgrounds, including consulting, nonprofits, academia, finance/impact investing, private sector or corporate ESG, government agencies, foundations, and think tanks. Given the requirements of the position, consulting experience is highly desired.
Responsibilities
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
Lead climate-related projects, including climate policy analysis, grant-making strategies, grant-sourcing and diligence for philanthropic climate funders, GHG emissions or mitigation modeling, developing climate-related strategies for NGOs, and helping to operationalize or execute climate-related NGO strategies.
Develop and win new engagements, including from new and existing clients. This requires maintaining and building relationships in the field, developing new proposals, and initiating new projects either self-lead or handed over to other colleagues. Business development at CEA is often a collaborative process with other senior staff.
Serve as an engagement manager for projects, including serving as primary client contact, leading project design and execution, and ensuring quality deliverables.
Build and lead teams in executing multiple assignments for different clients.
Manage at least one junior colleague, overseeing their longer-term growth and development.
Design and execute projects that may include the following elements:
Formulate and test hypotheses via research, modeling, expert interviews, and data analyses.
Facilitate group problem-solving and brainstorming with project teams to generate novel solutions.
Synthesize disparate kinds of information to identify patterns, generate findings, and develop clear and succinct recommendations for clients.
Develop and communicate recommendations via clear and compelling deliverables (e.g., reports, presentations, briefs).
Ensure quality and rigor of outgoing work products and correspondence.
Participate in CEA’s journey as it continues to learn and improve to become a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable organization.
Qualifications
Desired Qualifications
Deep content knowledge and professional interest in climate mitigation and adaptation solutions, including climate change science and policy, energy policy, energy transition, transportation decarbonization, short-lived climate pollutants, hard-to-decarbonize sectors, and/or climate justice
A Bachelor’s degree and 12 plus years of work experience;5 plus years working on climate solutions;an advanced degree (e.g., MBA, MS, Ph.D.) is a plus.
Prior consulting experience is strongly preferred, particularly in senior roles at leading management consultancies or firms advising philanthropic entities.
A proven history of developing and winning new client work.
Experience developing and leading projects from start to finish, including creating a defined scope of work, budget, and deliverables.
Experience with philanthropy and grantmaking, including creating strategies and theories of change, pipeline development, due diligence, structuring grant agreements, and writing grant memos.
Exceptional writing ability across different mediums and for different audiences.
Degrees and/or work experience that include training in research methods (quantitative and/or qualitative), leading small teams, and working on multiple assignments concurrently.
Excellent verbal and interpersonal communication skills, including effectively communicating across internal teams and external stakeholders, including the ability to compellingly deliver formal and informal presentations.
Ability to work, multitask, and prioritize meeting deadlines and respond and adapt to changing client needs.
Proficiency in qualitative research methods (e.g., interviews, expert consultation, case studies) and analytical tools (e.g., qualitative data analysis software)
Ability to handle sensitive matters with discretion and interact with a wide range of stakeholders (e.g., scientists, policymakers, advocates, and industry representatives) with diplomacy and enthusiasm.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft’s Office Suite, particularly Excel and PowerPoint. Proficiency in other analytical software (e.g., GIS, Tableau) is a plus.
Other content knowledge supporting CEA’s work such as ocean conservation, marine fisheries management, area-based protection, land preservation, sustainable agriculture, community-led conservation measures, freshwater management, forestry, environmental justice, and/or air quality, is a plus.
Familiarity with common service agreement terms and concepts preferred.
Professional proficiency in a foreign language and demonstrated cultural competency are a plus.
How to Apply
Submit cover letter and resume to https://job.ceaconsulting.com/jobs/director-climate-solutions--san-francisco-ca-107401
