Manager of Adaptation

Center for Clean Air Policy

Washington, DC
 

OVERVIEW:

The Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP), a renowned leader for more than two decades in the global climate change policy arena, seeks applications and nominations for the Manager of Adaptation (Manager) position. The last few years have seen unprecedented interest in climate policy, and CCAP believes that local governments can take the lead in diminishing the impact of climate change upon infrastructure and vulnerable populations. Adaptation to climate change, a cutting-edge and complementary strategy to mitigation for effectively managing climate change risks within the context of a region’s sustainable development, is at the forefront of this surge in policy change.

To that end, CCAP is creating a new role, the Manager of Adaptation, to manage the Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative. The Manager will build CCAP and the Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative’s ability to offer local governments resources to influence regional land development and infrastructure decisions as well as its ability to help frame federal infrastructure policies which impact local adaptation efforts. This is an exciting opportunity to join CCAP and to work with local governments who are leading the way in climate change adaptation policy. Working closely and collaboratively with CCAP’s staff and partner cities and counties, the Manager will be responsible for helping these partners to implement specific adaptation projects and policies. The ideal candidate will help CCAP to establish credibility and expertise in the emerging field of adaptation policy, will build strong relationships with key partners and will develop and communicate an integrated approach to adaptation policy development. S/he should have experience in public policy, knowledge of relevant local government issues (e.g. land use, transportation, wastewater management), highly developed communication and interpersonal skills, and the humor, adaptability and creativity to affect change in local climate policies.

MISSION & HISTORY:

To significantly advance cost-effective and pragmatic air quality and climate policy through analysis, dialogue and education to reach a broad range of policymakers and stakeholders worldwide.

        -- CCAP Mission Statement    

Ned Helme, a leading expert on climate and clean air policy, founded CCAP in 1985 with the explicit goal to search for innovative solutions to environmental and energy problems. Under Ned’s visionary leadership, CCAP has developed unparalleled expertise in climate policy and has become a recognized leader in climate and air quality policy at the local, national and international levels.

By working closely with policy makers at all levels of government, CCAP seeks to develop, promote and implement innovative, market-based solutions to major climate, air quality, and energy problems while balancing both environmental and economic interests. CCAP is the only independent, international nonprofit think tank in the world working exclusively on these issues in all major climate policy markets in the U.S. and internationally. With a staff of 20 and a growing budget of $3.5 million funded by foundations, corporations and international governments, CCAP advances cost-effective and pragmatic policies using an active, on-the-ground approach.

CCAP has had great successes nationally as well as internationally throughout its 23 year history. In the U.S., CCAP played a major role in the landmark sulfur dioxide trading program and worked to develop a comprehensive climate policy strategy for New York State, leading to the successful creation of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Internationally, CCAP crafted the original design for the European Union’s CO 2 trading system and worked with three U.S. utilities to successfully finance the first carbon reduction project, the retrofit of coal-fired heating plant in Czech Republic. CCAP also produced with stakeholders the original design rules for the Clean Development Mechanism adopted as the Marrakech Accords.

To continue significant advancements in cost-effective and pragmatic climate policy, CCAP seeks to reach a broad range of policymakers and stakeholders worldwide through analysis, dialogue and education. Its current work is split evenly between international and U.S. programs. In the U.S., CCAP has three major program initiatives: the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), the longstanding multi-stakeholder dialogue that works to develop solutions to further advance the U.S. climate policy debate, the California Program, with the broad objectives to advise the California climate policy debate at both ends of the spectrum and affect the development and integration of climate change policies statewide, and the Urban Leader Adaptation Initiative, with the path breaking objective to serve as a resource for government partners as they face infrastructure and land use decisions that affect local adaptation efforts and develop climate resilient strategies. To capitalize on increasing awareness and concern for climate and clean air policy both domestically and internationally, CCAP is now working to develop greater depth and breadth within its own organization.

Moreover, as a leader in climate policy, CCAP is proactively developing its adaptation portfolio, and has recently secured a significant three-year grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to expand the depth and impact of its flagship U.S. adaptation program, the Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative. The Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative is designed to equip partner cities and counties with tools to make effective policy and investment decisions so that they might increase their resiliency to the impacts of climate change. Increasingly concerned about local capacity to regulate the carbon footprint of their regions and respond to external stresses such as extreme weather events, CCAP’s Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative partners (representing large U.S. counties and cities) are working to implement new adaptation plans, projects, programs and policies. Adaptation policies aim to address a region’s ability to adjust to climate change, to moderate potential damages, to take advantage of opportunities and to cope with consequences. Reporting to the Vice President of Policy, the Manager will contribute to the overall programmatic efforts of CCAP, with a specific focus on the Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative. The Manager will work as a leader of a team of highly sought after policy makers to build on CCAP’s legacy of cutting-edge work in strategic areas of environmental policy seeking to address increasing awareness of and concern for global climate changes.

More information about the Center for Clean Air Policy’s U.S. and international programs can be found at: http://www.ccap.org.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE MANAGER OF ADAPTATION:

Charged with developing the Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative to influence and inform policy decisions at the local, state and national levels, the Manager will work with CCAP’s partners to implement specific projects, policies, plans, programs, processes and/or partnerships that incorporate adaptation strategies. The new manager will play a critical role in establishing CCAP’s voice and potential impact in this nascent field by fostering strong relationships between CCAP, its partners and the emerging adaptation policy community. This important and exciting role will present challenges and opportunities for the new Manager that are each key to the success of CCAP’s strategic goals. The key challenges will include, but not be limited to:

Establishing credibility and expertise in the emerging field of adaptation policy

In the emerging field of adaptation policy, new ideas, best practices and programs are discovered weekly. The Manager will develop and maintain an expertise in adaptation in order to help partners to develop and implement effective adaptation projects, policies, plans, programs and partnerships. S/he will be able to guide policy makers in understanding expected impacts, assessing vulnerabilities, prioritizing risks, identifying resiliency opportunities and implementing strategies. S/he will have the capacity to understand the evolving science of climate change and the ability to articulate what that means at the local level. Adaptation policy weaves together a complex tapestry of existing science, economics, local regulations and emerging knowledge. The new Manager will need to articulate an effective and consolidated message to a variety of audiences.

Forging and sustaining relationships with key partners to maximize opportunity for CCAP’s impact

The Manager’s success will be contingent on his/her ability to forge and sustain relationships with key partners. S/he will ensure that CCAP colleagues and Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative partners are kept up-to-date, and will encourage dialogue among partners through meetings and webinars and undertake one-on-one work to implement policy changes. The Manager will also seek to bolster local support for adaptation policies by helping Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative partners to capitalize on their political capital. Ideally, each partner will take politically visible and constructive steps in ways that matter locally. Working with all six partners, the Manager will aim to leverage Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative’s unique opportunities to inspire positive change.

Assessing and responding to partner’s needs

CCAP’s Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative partners are seeking to identify and stop maladaptive practices, to mainstream climate considerations into policies and programs, and to begin making more productive decisions. Each local political context is unique and as a result each CCAP partner faces unique priorities and challenges. The Manager will be responsible for assessing and monitoring partners’ individual needs, and for helping policy makers to cultivate partnerships with both the scientific and academic communities and the private sector. S/he will work to equip local leaders with needed tools and resources to assist these pioneers in establishing new institutional mechanisms for responding to climate change.

Managing and measuring success across diverse locations

The effectiveness of Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative is dependent upon meeting the overarching program goals—to equip partner cities and counties to make effective policy and investment decisions about climate change. The Manager will seek to build the foundation for resilient communities in each partner location. By establishing measurable program goals and milestones with each partner, the Manager will monitor partners’ progress and work to help each succeed.

Developing and communicating an integrated approach to adaptation policy development

One of Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiatives’s key goals is to work with partners to develop recommendations that help advance state and national adaptation policy. The Manager will document lessons learned and develop recommendations for new policy by disseminating program results and details to national and international audiences via conferences, workshops and dialogues. By developing and articulating an integrated approach to adaptation policy, CCAP will seek to raise the profile/visibility of adaptation as an approach to environmental policy. Over time, CCAP seeks to raise public awareness of adaptation in order to influence action by other communities as well as state and national policy. Consequently, the ideal candidate will have a strong understanding and some experience in the U.S. political environment at the federal and/or state levels. Familiarity with current environmental legislative programs would also be considered an asset. The manager will be required to hold briefings with senior political officials and/or staff on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
 

QUALIFICATIONS:

The successful candidate will have a minimum of seven years of public policy experience in a government or non-profit management position and knowledge of local government issues (e.g. land use, transportation, energy management, waste management, water management, flood control, emergency response, risk assessment, zoning, buildings, or public health). S/he will ideally hold a Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy, Environmental Planning, Economics, or a related field. Preference will be given to candidates with an advanced degree. Some travel will be involved. Additionally, the ideal applicant will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes and experiences:

• Highly developed communication and interpersonal skills, including demonstrated comfort working with stakeholders at various levels to influence and shape public policy in the environmental field;

• Demonstrated project management skills and experience bringing major deliverables to completion in a team environment;

• A deep knowledge of and commitment to the potential for climate change policy to dramatically influence the preservation of our natural resources;

• An understanding of and experience in the U.S. political environment and familiarity with current environmental legislative programs at the federal and state levels;

• The ability to be a fast learner and interest in developing new knowledge areas;

• Demonstrated successes in fundraising including crafting proposals and building relationships with donors and decision makers;

• The flexibility and ability to work in a collaborative environment;

• A sense of humor, adaptability, humility and creativity.
   

APPLICATION AND NOMINATION INFORMATION:

Nominations and applications are due by March 28, 2008. Due to the pace of the search, candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Applications including a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, your resume (in Word or pdf format), where you learned of the position and a salary history should be sent to: ccap-moa@nonprofitprofessionals.com. In order to expedite the internal sorting and reviewing process, please type your name (Last, First) as the only content in the subject line of your e-mail.

The Center for Clean Air Policy is an equal opportunity employer.

To see a pdf version of this job description, please click here.