Washington, DC or Remote

Head of Policy & Market Transformation, Rewiring America

The Organization

About Rewiring America

The climate crisis is being driven in large measure by the billions of machines we depend on where we live, work, learn, play, and pray and how we get between those places. There is no empirically plausible way to stay inside of 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming unless we electrify all of those machines. We do not have time to spare. Addressing the crisis, therefore, is not abstract, but a set of actions to electrify all of those machines, and the location of all that activity is in our physical communities. These are the places where we can focus our attention, measure our progress, and directly benefit from our actions. We believe that the electrification of the economy — starting with understanding the American household as the keystone of our infrastructure — is the most equity-centered way to address the climate crisis.

Meeting this moment requires market transformation. Our view on this involves storytelling and data to ratchet up ambition, policy that jolts the market into action and removes barriers to adoption, a groundswell of consumer-driven demand, and real time demonstration that electrifying everything is a strategy for individual and family wellness and community renewal and reinvestment.

Rewiring America is a rapidly growing nonprofit organization that is pulling policy levers at all levels of government and tying together, repointing, and retraining a fragmented ecosystem of manufacturers, financiers, installers, and customers. We are connecting the abstract and overwhelming idea of climate change to those billions of decisions we will be making over the coming decades. Said simply, it is just one machine at a time.

The Opportunity and Position Summary

With a clear and inspiring vision, smart strategies, and significant and sustained financial support, we are growing our team and seeking an entrepreneurial Head of Policy & Market Transformation to join our leadership team. This position reports to the organization’s CEO.

In this newly created position, the Head of Policy & Market Transformation will drive the development and execution of a strategy to make electrification the default climate policy in Washington and in leading states. Building on our work over the last year, Rewiring America will accelerate the policy transition to demand-side electrification as the most tangible and common sense strategy for addressing the climate crisis. We will do so by building the base through our electrification caucus in Congress and our federal electrification policy coalition, which includes environmental justice, civil rights, energy security, affordable housing, climate, industry, and trades-focused groups. Organizing these stakeholders in Washington, DC and state capitals around the country will be a critical part of the Policy & Market Transformation team’s work.

The incoming Head of Policy & Market Transformation and their team will further develop Rewiring America’s policy leadership role by designing and publishing a federal electrification plan, including next steps of legislative and regulatory action and other market levers, and applying these strategies to at least two states by the end of 2022, with additional markets in 2023. A core part of the work will be navigating the future of electrification with key stakeholders, including labor, utilities, and manufacturers, and tying a political strategy to every policy objective Rewiring America pursues.

Rewiring America is also determined to finish the job on Build Back Better, and the Head of Policy & Market Transformation will continue advocating for the kitchen table provisions in the bill and the effective implementation of the bill’s provisions, with a particular focus on the ease-of-use and market dissemination of consumer-facing provisions.

This is a high profile role for a proven policy leader who has a solid track record of setting and driving bold and inspiring change through policy action. This is a role for someone who can see the big picture and the steps necessary to achieve them. In doing this work, the Head of Policy & Market Transformation will further establish Rewiring America as a national policy leader and a go-to resource for policymakers, policy influencers, and climate advocates around electrification at all levels of government.

What You’ll do

Strategy Development, Advocacy & Market Transformation

  • Develop and drive our federal policy agendas and frameworks, iterating as we identify and leverage key pressure points and ensuring that our priorities are equity-centered and delivering for families and communities with the most to gain from electrification.
  • Identify policy opportunities related to our issues, leading the development of Rewiring America’s policy positions and messaging.
  • Relentlessly focus on identifying market transformation levers from federal to local and public to private, incorporating them into Rewiring America’s express policy work as well as across the organization’s tools and capabilities.
  • Develop deep, strong, and collaborative relationships with federal agencies, partner organizations, coalitions, legislators, congressional staff on both sides of the aisle, and other stakeholders to advance shared goals.
  • Develop our state and local policy agendas, leveraging the federal blueprint and identifying the most promising opportunities to advance our work and build momentum for national scale.
  • Support the drafting of materials for lawmakers, the public, and the media to help advance our policy priorities, including opinion editorials, press releases, letters to the editor, action campaign emails, factsheets, bill summaries and policy briefs, regulatory comments, analyses, and presentations.
  • Work closely with Rewiring America’s policy advisors, leveraging their expertise and networks and further building out this group as a way of advancing our objectives.

Coalition Building & Convening

  • Support the recruitment and convening of coalition partners as part of Policy & Market Transformation team efforts, including members of the Bicameral Electrification Caucus and Federal Electrification Policy Coalition.
  • Support the building of new organizational relationships and alliances that reflect the centrality of equity, diversity, and environmental and economic justice, including with organized labor.
  • Identify new partners with aligned efforts to accelerate electrification and leverage resources, relationships, and research.
  • Partner closely with Rewiring America’s Communications, Engagement and Partnerships, Research and Product teams to ensure strong coordination and leveraging of policy and advocacy priorities across Rewiring America’s platform.

Organizational and Team Management

  • Serve as a member of the Leadership Team with responsibility for the success of Rewiring’s overall strategy, financial strength, and inclusive organizational culture.
  • Determine and manage the policy and market transformation budget, ensuring cost effectiveness and accurate reporting to funders.
  • Support overall fundraising efforts related to the policy agenda and priorities.
  • Build and manage a policy staff and consultant team as appropriate, including establishing annual objectives (to support overall goals established in the policy agendas), provide regular feedback and appropriate recognition, conduct annual performance reviews, and support ongoing professional development.
  • Develop dashboards to track progress and benchmarks against the policy agendas and proactively produce reports and analyses of campaigns to inform strategies and improve results.
  • Routinely report to advisors and committees on policy activities, campaigns and events, providing quantitative and qualitative analyses to support their oversight and engagement.
  • Ensure compliance with all legal and lobbying requirements, as appropriate.

Who You Are

The incoming Head of Policy & Market Transformation will be driven by a belief in, and commitment to, Rewiring America’s vision and mission. Through their track record and expertise as a policy innovator, and as a proven coalition- and team-builder, the successful candidate will develop and drive federal and sub-national policy agendas that generate policy wins to support Rewiring’s market transformation and movement building efforts. The Head of Policy & Market Transformation builds authentic and lasting relationships with policymakers, regulators, and coalition members, listening to their interests and goals and engaging with them as partners in Rewiring’s work. They are creative and solution-seeking in policy design and politically savvy and experienced, with the practicality and know-how to get wins on the board quickly in order to build momentum and scale.

The successful Head of Policy & Market Transformation joins a fast-paced team that operates with a sense of urgency and a track record of success in science, technology, art, business, policy, and politics. The Head of Policy & Market Transformation is entrepreneurial and has the experience of growing and scaling a successful policy shop. Rewiring America has the opportunity to take its advocacy to the next level and seeks a leader with ambition, determination, and the ability to instill confidence, trust, and inspiration.

This role requires an ethos of collegiality, strong collaboration skills, and the ability to manage through influence in a matrixed team. Despite the enormity of the challenges that lie ahead, Rewiring America’s leadership understands how to celebrate successes and seeks a Head of Policy & Market Transformation who leads with positivity and a belief in what is possible. The successful candidate demonstrates a zeal for policy, coalition building, and climate justice and models excellence and integrity in all they do. The selected candidate will also possess the following Core and Preferred qualifications:

Core

  • Strong commitment to the mission, vision, and goals of Rewiring America.
  • At least 10 years of increasing responsibility in policy, with a proven track record of equity-centered policy accomplishments that have driven lasting change.
  • Experience leading successful campaigns and coalitions that engage diverse communities most impacted by injustice.
  • Experience in drafting and driving federal or state policy or regulations, building and leading winning campaigns and teams.
  • Proven leadership skills with clarity of vision and a commitment to the highest levels of integrity, quality, and collaboration.
  • Mastery of relationship-building skills with a wide range of diverse external constituencies, from elected officials and staff, public agencies and government regulators to manufacturers, labor unions, community-based organizations, manufacturers, and philanthropic institutions.
  • Outstanding oral and written communications skills that demonstrate an ability to:
    • Convey a compelling story about Rewiring’s mission and impact;
    • Translate complex data and analysis into persuasive narratives;
    • Communicate Rewiring’s strategies with accessible expertise (without jargon).
  • Deep understanding of market and consumer-related data, with the ability to integrate these into policy design and action.
  • Ability to manage a growing team with competing demands; not easily flustered nor easily overwhelmed by a high volume of activity and projects.
  • Sets and achieves high-performance expectations that are motivating and results-oriented.
  • Seeks out and delivers timely and direct feedback that contributes to the ongoing development of oneself, team members and a positive organizational culture.
  • Promptly resolves problems through timely consultation in an environment of mutual respect.
  • Highly collaborative work style with the ability to operate as a peer and thought partner to the CEO, other Leadership Team members, and advisors.

Preferred

  • Bachelor’s or advanced degree, particularly in policy, political science, public administration, or law.
  • Recent legislative or executive branch leadership experience (at the federal or state level).
  • Entrepreneurial drive to build an organization from the ground up; prior start-up experience is optimal.
  • Content knowledge in electrification and renewable energy.

How To Apply

Hiring Statement

Rewiring America is a project of Windward Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity that incubates new and innovative public-interest projects and grant-making programs. Windward Fund is committed to attracting, developing and retaining exceptional people, and to creating a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding and enables each of us to realize our potential. Windward Fund ‘s work environment is safe and open to all employees and partners, respecting the full spectrum of race, color, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, and all other classifications protected by law in the locality and/or state in which you are working.

Compensation

The salary range for this position is $175,000-$225,000 commensurate with experience. Rewiring America also offers a very generous and competitive benefits package, including includes 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance, 6% employer match on 401k contributions, pre-tax transportation benefits, and paid holidays, vacation, sick, and volunteer time off.

Commitment to Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Rewiring America values diversity in all its forms and is committed to inclusive and transparent recruitment, hiring and promotion processes. Candidates of diverse backgrounds and lived experience are strongly encouraged to apply.

COVID-19 Statement

To center the safety and well-being of its employees, Windward Fund requires that any employee who is required to conduct in-person activities for their job must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 within four weeks of their start date. This position may require candidates to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Accommodations may be sought and approved in accordance with the law by contacting human resources at HR@windwardfund.org.

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