NRDC is seeking a Climate Advisor to work with the City of Los Angeles 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 City Advisor will work with city officials to assist with the execution of initiatives designed to advance carbon reductions through policies and programs focused on buildings and energy. 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 sector, utility companies, industry, and other organizations in the community.
- Project Management: Develop and execute a detailed work plan to deliver on LA’s goals for benchmarking and auditing existing buildings as well as develop policies to achieve building decarbonization. The work plan should include at a minimum, methods for enhanced data collection and analysis, staff training to support implementation, recommendations for new rebates and incentives at LA Department of Water and Power, and outreach strategies for building owners.
- 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 apublic-facing documents; navigating internal city processes in coordination with our partners; develop public outreach and engagement strategies Coordinate engagement with internal and external stakeholders and partners, manage clear communication, identify new partnerships. Enhance existing stakeholder support with the Existing Building Energy and Water Efficiency (EBEWE) Resource Center. Incorporate the perspectives of multiple communities, including communities of color, in the consideration of impacts and outcomes of a decision-making process.
- Education and Policy Engagement: Educate city stakeholders and the local community on the role of building decarbonization in meeting the city’s climate goals. Successfully support sustainability measures in the face of competing city priorities. Provide legislative review and policy research and analysis, with a focus on buildings policies and programs. Develop an engagement strategy to better represent Los Angeles residents and stakeholders on climate issues, focusing on frontline communities that are often underrepresented in civic forums. Help LA influence and stay connected to state policy development on the topic, including coordinating with other ACCC cities in CA working on the same topic (and other ACCC cities outside of CA).
- 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.
- 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 policy or advocacy experience on buildings and/or clean energy policy
- Data analytics
- Experience working at the city level preferred. Knowledge of and/or experience in Los Angeles and California building and energy policies and programs 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.