Senior Director of Policy and Research

POSITION SUMMARY


Just Solutions seeks an entrepreneurial Senior Director of Policy and Research to lead the development, implementation, and evaluation of Just Solutions’ policy and research agenda, strategy, and deliverables. Reporting to the Executive Director, this position serves as a member of the senior leadership team to advance organization-wide priorities, supervises a five-person team, and engages closely with Senior Fellows on a wide range of climate justice efforts. In addition, the Senior Director builds and leverages Just Solutions’ external partnerships with state-based organizations, researchers, regulators, and policymakers to develop scalable climate policies.

Key responsibilities

Strategy and Impact

  • Provide the vision and long-term strategy for increasing Just Solutions’ policy and research capacity and impact within the climate movement.
  • Set long-term and annual policy and research priorities and deliverables, including:
    • Providing the movement with equity-centered, technical research and policy analysis on critical climate justice issues, best practices, and implications of policy threats, as requested by our state-based partners.
    • Proactively developing and advancing the most promising policy models for climate justice, especially when state and federal priorities are emergent or undefined.
  • Provide policy and research strategy and guidance in support of Just Solutions’ states program with coalition tables that bring together state partners, to problem solve, innovate, and replicate justice-centered policy solutions.
  • Partner with the Senior Director of Organizational Effectiveness to track and report the impact of Just Solutions’ policy and research efforts to Board, staff leadership, funders, and partners.
  • Collaborate with the Director of Growth and Impact to identify new opportunities for programmatic and partnership expansion.

Research and Policy Development

  • Lead the development and implementation of consistent research protocols to provide rigorous standards for data collection and analysis, review processes, engagement of community partners, and collaboration with external experts.
  • Lead research and policy analysis on mission priorities and provide consistent editorial feedback to enrich the work process and product.
  • Lead research, writing, editing, and publishing of reports, white papers, articles, or policy briefs (the team currently produces ~12 publications/year, including ~6 short-form analyses or briefs and ~3 in-depth reports), serving as the final approver of written products.
  • Identify and pursue funding and build resources for the team such as access to peer review journals, data, analytical tools, trainings, and professional development opportunities around research.
  • Attend and present at relevant convenings, conferences, webinars, panels, and other opportunities to strengthen Just Solutions’ leadership voice and broaden networks.
  • Collaborate with the Director of States Initiatives to address policy and research priorities of core partners; when requested, participate in core partner and related activities, including connecting partners to other experts, colleagues, and resources.
  • Collaborate with the Education and Communications team to ensure our policy and research contributions are accessible, action-oriented, and distributed to diverse audiences across the country, including the development of a new climate justice policy training and capacity building program.

Organizational Leadership and Team Management

  • Work closely with the Executive Director and other senior leadership staff to define and advance the organization’s long-term programmatic and operational priorities.
  • Advise on staffing structure, performance, budget, operations, and workplans to ensure the organization effectively delivers on its policy and research priorities.
  • Determine and manage the policy and research program budgets, ensuring cost effectiveness and accurate reporting to funders.
  • Support fundraising efforts, including providing guidance on proposals and tracking and reporting on accomplishments and impact.
  • Manage high performing policy and research staff and provide consistent evaluation, mentorship, and constructive feedback to support their ongoing growth and professional development.
  • Oversee and set clear expectations for the development and implementation of workplans (organizational, project, and individual) and lead the policy and research teams to deliver the highest quality deliverables on time and within budget.
  • Identify and oversee the work of consultants, as needed.

FOR A COMPLETE OUTLINE OF THE JOB POSITION INCLUDING benefits, CANDIDATE PROFILE, and REQUIREMENTS, VIEW THE FULL JOB DESCRIPTION HERE.

Reports to: Executive Director
Location: Remote USA
Salary: This is a full-time position with an annual salary of $155K – $170K, based on experience.

TO APPLY

Please submit to hiring@justsolutionscollective.org with Senior Director of Policy and Research in the subject line: a current resume, a brief writing sample that is focused on climate policy research or a published article, and a cover letter responding to the following questions:

  1. What motivates you to spend your time and talent on climate and environmental justice?
  2. Briefly describe the process you undertook in developing the writing sample you are submitting.
    • What was the research question on climate policy you sought to answer and influence OR what policy did you analyze and what were the goals of this analysis?
    • What kind of partnerships or coalitions were built around this effort, if any, and how did you engage partners in the process, if appropriate?
    • What was the impact of your efforts and how did you measure this impact?
    • What did you learn from the experience that you would bring to Just Solutions?

This position remains open until filled with an initial application deadline of 5PM Pacific on Monday, October 7, 2024. Our search processes are thorough, designed for mutual exploration, and take approximately three months. Thank you for your interest and patience.