The Organization
Pisces Foundation and ClimateWorks Foundation are collaborating to hire a self-directed, strategic, and proactive innovator to help us make a step-change in super pollutant mitigation through the Fast Action on Super Pollutant Today (FAST) Initiative. This is a unique opportunity to join a fruitful partnership at a critical time in the climate movement united by a collective goal to double resources dedicated to these efforts within the next three years.
About the Pisces Foundation
At the Pisces Foundation, we believe if we act now and boldly, we can quickly accelerate to a world where people and nature thrive together. We support organizations, advocates, and activists who, working together, are doing what’s necessary to have clean and abundant water, a safe climate, and kids with the environmental know-how to create a sustainable world. By mainstreaming powerful new and equitable solutions, we will spark immediate gains and lasting benefits for people and nature. We know that our Foundation’s vision, of people and nature thriving together, can only be realized in an equitable and just world. To learn more about Pisces please visit: piscesfoundation.org
About the ClimateWorks Foundation
ClimateWorks is a global organization committed to ending the climate crisis by amplifying the power of philanthropy. Since 2008 we have directly awarded over $1 billion in grants to 500+ organizations advancing climate solutions around the world and have advised/assisted our climate mitigation funding partners in allocating $6.7 billion more. For more information, please visit climateworks.org
Position Overview
About Super Pollutants
Pisces and ClimateWorks have prioritized mitigation of super pollutants, a class of fast-acting, powerful climate warming agents including methane, black carbon, and hydrofluorocarbons (F-gases or HFCs). They are also referred to as short-lived climate forcers or non-CO2 pollutants. Mitigating super pollutants is the fastest way to slow the pace of climate change, to avert tipping points, and to get the world on track to limit average global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Mitigating super pollutants will also improve air quality and avoid millions of premature deaths in communities most impacted by fossil fuel pollution. Pisces’ super pollutant strategy aims to boost super pollutant mitigation in the U.S., China, India, and globally, while supporting movement-building for climate and environmental justice and strengthening overall field capacity. ClimateWorks’ super pollutant initiative tracks closely with Pisces’ effort with the addition of implementation work in Kenya and Central Asia. Together, Pisces and ClimateWorks are striving to bring more attention and resources to this effort. Our goal is to double total philanthropic investment in super pollutant mitigation within the next three years.
FAST Initiative Officer
We are seeking a self-directed, strategic, and proactive innovator – ideally, with previous experience in collaborative, philanthropic endeavors – to help us make a step-change in super pollutant mitigation. We commissioned an in-depth review of the existing super pollutant campaigns including: focal areas, strategic objectives, communication strategies, and overall alignment with current and emerging funder interests. That work yielded important insights that are primed to advance to the next stage through the Fast Action on Super Pollutant Today (FAST) Initiative: a field-wide effort to vet, prioritize, and scale work in this area. The goal is to increase the scale and speed of super pollutant mitigation by doubling resources dedicated to these efforts within the next three years. This two year, limited-term position was created to build off existing learnings and networks and develop creative strategies to catapult this critical work. The successful candidate will help us refine our strategy for doubling overall funding to the field by reviewing our current work and then proposing and implementing a fundraising strategy to achieve our goals. The review would include our positioning, strategic communications, and the use of webinars, summits and other gatherings or mechanisms to stimulate funder interest. With guidance from existing and potential grantees, the candidate would develop a fundraising strategy that would include an attractive portfolio of impactful investment opportunities reflecting the super pollutant potential to achieve climate, public health, sustainable development, equity, and social justice goals.
Specific Responsibilities
● Take a fresh look at the commissioned review of super pollutant opportunity for funders (first 3- 6 months): Did our consultants get it right? If so, how should we implement their programmatic recommendations? Do recent events require a significant adjustment either to what we’re doing or how we talk about it? Are we deploying our collective assets in the best way possible to achieve our fundraising goals? We are interested in a fresh perspective on these topics, unfettered by past or current super pollutant investment priorities.
● Identify ways to center equity and social justice in the FAST Initiative (by end of first year): The goal here is to articulate equity and social justice benefits in the super pollutant sphere that either align with what other climate foundations are doing, or which push the envelope on what is possible in the philanthropic space to center equity and social justice.
● Develop and implement fundraising strategy (by middle of second year): Pisces actively networks with other foundations, encouraging them to join the super pollutant effort. ClimateWorks has its own development team and is a core partner of the Climate Leadership Initiative, which is attempting to attract high-net-worth individuals to support climate mitigation. The Initiative Officer will identify and evaluate additional ways to increase the visibility and attractiveness of investing in black carbon, methane and F-gas mitigation specifically.
• Help build portfolio of impactful projects (ongoing): Moving money quickly and effectively is harder than it looks. The Initiative Officer will help us build an up-to-date pipeline of shovelready and other projects able to absorb at least $20 million in additional funding (ideally more), and will create a system for keeping that pipeline current and relevant to evolving events.
Desirable Skills and Qualifications
● A minimum of 5-7 years of professional experience within philanthropy, non-profits, or other change-making endeavors, in the private or public sectors with a bachelor’s degree or higher or experience in excess of the minimum.
● Experience with and aptitude for collaboration across a range of colleagues and stakeholders including: o Ability to build relationships with staff, board members, funding partners, grantees, and other stakeholders in a respectful and authentic manner. o Experience working with people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
● Demonstrated successful fundraising experience with strong results-orientation.
● Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills and the flexibility and emotional intelligence to adapt those skills to different cultural environments.
● Demonstrated ability to think and work independently and effectively and to plan, prioritize, follow through, and track multiple work streams in a dynamic environment.
● Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
● General experience in/knowledge of climate, energy, air quality and/or environmental justice related advocacy, policy, interventions and/or movement-building.
● Commitment to the mission of accelerating and deepening super pollutant mitigation.
● Specific expertise and relationships in super pollutants preferred but not required.
● Comfort with ambiguity and the ability to work through solutions when there is no obvious path.
● Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and accuracy.
● Adept in Microsoft Office Suite—Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook—and ease with databases.
● Ability to attend early morning and/or late evening virtual events to accommodate international colleagues and the ability to travel occasionally (once it is safe to do so).
● Desire to help create an impactful philanthropic program.
Title, Location and Reporting Relationship
The successful candidate will serve as an Initiative Officer at Pisces (partially underwritten by ClimateWorks), working both independently and in tandem with the Pisces’ and ClimateWorks’ super pollutant teams. Guidance will be provided by Pisces’ Senior Program Officer for Climate and Energy, as needed. The candidate will work remotely until the San Francisco County Public Health Officer approves returning to normal office operations and, at that time, will consult with Pisces and ClimateWorks as to the desirability of working out of its offices in San Francisco or continuing to work remotely.
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing this position, the employee is regularly required to operate a personal computer for up to 8 hours a day, to talk on the telephone or webcam for multiple hours per day, to travel by plane and car service, and to have the ability to talk and hear. The employee is occasionally required to lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.
Compensation
Pisces offers an excellent compensation package including platinum-level health and welfare benefits, generous retirement contributions, and a competitive salary that is commensurate with experience and reflects our geographic location and field. Pisces Foundation participates in multiple compensation surveys for grantmaking organizations and conducts an annual review of market-based salary trends. The salary range for this position will be pegged at the Program Officer level.
How to Apply
Pisces and ClimateWorks are partnering with Walker and Associates Consulting – a values-aligned, Bay Area-based, Black woman-owned and -led strategic consultancy – for this search. To apply, email a cover letter; resume; short, relevant writing sample (no more than 1-2 pages); and a list of three references (candidates will be notified in advance of any outreach to references) to FAST@walkeraac.com by 5:00 pm PT on Friday, August 6, 2021. Questions or Nominations? Email Jeannine N. Walker, President and CEO, at jwalker@walkeraac.com. Candidate review begins immediately.
● Use the subject line “FAST Initiative Officer.”
● One combined PDF file is preferred.
● Writing sample will ideally demonstrate fluency in climate advocacy, policy, and/or research or in fundraising (e.g. an appeal or development plan) and may be shared as a link to a blog or multimedia piece.
We know there are strong candidates who may not have all the qualifications described above but encourage those with other relevant skills and experiences that would be an asset to the role to please apply. We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and with a variety of skills, experiences, and ideas. People of color, those from under-resourced communities, immigrants, LGBTQ+, and others with diverse backgrounds and a variety of skills, experiences, and ideas are encouraged to apply. We are an equal opportunity employer. Employment selection and related decisions are made without regard to sex, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, race, age, disability, religion, national origin, color, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.