NRDC is seeking a Climate Advisor to work with the City of Chicago as part of the American Cities Climate Challenge (ACCC). The American Cities Climate Challenge is an unprecedented opportunity for 20 ambitious cities to significantly deepen and accelerate their efforts to tackle climate change and promote a sustainable future for their residents. The Climate Advisor will work with city officials to assist with the execution of initiatives designed to advance carbon reductions through policies and programs focused on building energy efficiency and transportation. The Climate Advisor will be part of a network of similar positions located in cities across the country to support these building, energy, and transportation initiatives and will therefore be engaged at the local, regional, and national levels to advance the city’s goals. The position will interface with key influencers and decision-makers within city government, the real estate and transportation sectors, utility companies, industry, and other organizations in the community.
- Project Management: Develop and execute a detailed work plan to implement the city’s plans for climate mitigation through transportation and buildings policies and programs with expertise in performance management.
- Stakeholder Outreach and Management: Lead various work streams including but not limited to outreach to stakeholders, both internal to city government and the broader community of private sector, non-profit, philanthropic, and community partners; drafting internal and public-facing documents; navigating internal city processes in coordination with our partners; develop public outreach and engagement strategies to include Chicago residents and stakeholders in policy formation on climate issues, focusing on transportation priorities including low-carbon mobility options, parking management, and public transit reliability and user experience as well as buildings and energy priorities including energy code enforcement and EV and solar readiness and zero code adoption. Preference for candidates with the following experiences:
- Working within city government to develop and implement new policies
- Understanding of the role of various departments and agencies in a large urban government
- Incorporating the perspectives of frontline communities that are often underrepresented in civic forums, including communities of color, in the consideration of impacts and outcomes of a decision-making process
- Education and Policy Engagement: Exhibit strong written and verbal communication skills to educate city stakeholders and the local community on the importance of improving quality of life, driving economic development, and addressing harmful pollution through transportation and buildings policies and programs. Successfully support sustainability measures in the face of competing city priorities.
- Policy Development: Provide legislative review and policy research and analysis, with a focus on transportation and buildings policies and programs, specifically energy code enforcement, transit and mobility options and improvements, and parking management. Specific tasks may include researching current local, state, and federal policies or programs; developing various policy options appropriate for Chicago; researching costs and benefits of various approaches; understanding any revenue implications; and developing policy recommendations appropriate for Chicago.
- Network Development: Develop and manage strong relationships with the city government, key stakeholders, and partners in the community. Maintain appropriate communication and information flow with community partners. Strong working knowledge of City of Chicago or comparable government agency dynamics will be helpful to “hit the ground running” in this position.
- Challenge Participation: Actively participate in the ACCC network of cities. This includes joining regularly scheduled calls, participating in online trainings, and attending in-person convenings.
- At least 3 years of advocacy experience on climate and transportation policy. Additional experience with buildings or clean energy policy preferred.
- Experience working at the city level, specifically within city government, strongly preferred
- Exceptional strategic thinking, analytical, and interpersonal skills
- Experience managing projects in a team setting, including developing project plans and managing timelines
- Experience working at the intersection of equity and environment preferred
- Experience collaborating with diverse stakeholders to achieve goals.
- Excellent writing skills, strong verbal communication, and confident public speaker with an ability to present to diverse audiences, specifically racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse communities.