• Philadelphia, PA
• Posted 2 years ago
• Applications have closed

About BEI
The Building Electrification Institute (BEI) is committed to helping cities across the U.S. accelerate an equitable transition away from fossil fuels in buildings through building electrification. Our team engages deeply with sustainability and other local public agency staff in 12 leading cities to help develop policies, programs, research, and strategies to equitably electrify their buildings. Additionally, we work with partner organizations to host learning groups and cohorts for dozens more cities to quickly disseminate
lessons learned and best practices.

We believe that a successful and equitable transition to building electrification will require collaborating with leaders across policy sectors, including but not limited to housing, public health, workforce, labor, and energy policy. The transition will also require deep engagement with key stakeholders and communities, particularly communities of color and others who have been historically marginalized and are typically left out of the policymaking process, to design more holistic approaches with an equitable distribution of benefits. BEI partners with our cities on policy research, stakeholder and community engagement plans, program design and implementation, policy and strategy development, and other needs.

Through our work, BEI is committed to cultivating and maintaining a positive and inclusive work environment that rewards individual curiosity, creativity, and collaboration with a wide range of partners. More information about BEI, including a list of our cities and examples of our research and deliverables, can be found on our website.

About the Role
BEI seeks a Managing Director to work closely and collaboratively alongside BEI’s Executive Team (the Executive Director and additional Managing Director) to play a leadership role in BEI’s growth and continued evolution. The Managing Director will help define BEI’s strategic direction; develop management, oversight, and operational processes; manage BEI staff (Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors, and City Policy Advisors) on the implementation of high-impact projects and strategies within cities; and provide mentorship and coaching to BEI staff. Additionally, the Managing Director may be responsible for guiding or overseeing external communications and partnerships, overseeing specific regional, state, and/or federal policy initiatives, representing BEI at industry events and conferences, and supporting the Executive Team with fundraising.

BEI is looking for candidates who are enthusiastic about solving climate change and addressing racial injustices and who will enjoy overseeing a growing team and working with a diverse range of nonprofit, government, and private sector partners to advance building electrification. BEI is a remote-first work environment (BEI does not have offices), however the Managing Director should live in or be willing to relocate to San Diego, California, or commute to San Diego at least twice monthly for Executive Team meetings (travel expenses will be reimbursed by BEI). The salary range is $135,000-145,000, depending on experience.

Specific tasks of the Managing Director will include:

• Work closely with the BEI Executive Team to structure and lead teams to implement projects and strategies that accelerate equitable building electrification across BEI’s partner cities. This includes supporting BEI staff to develop big picture strategies and helping them put together
  detailed work plans that are flexible and responsive to each city’s needs. It also includes providing mentoring and coaching to BEI staff and serving as an approachable sounding board throughout project development and implementation process.
• Track industry trends and develop thought leadership on emerging topics and practices related to equitable building electrification and collaborate with key partners and stakeholders to identify and implement high-potential strategies that influence policy change at all levels of government.
• Cultivate and deepen BEI partnerships with state, regional, and national organizations to accelerate progress and increase BEI’s organizational impact. This includes representing BEI at conferences, in meetings, and other public venues and maintaining critical relationships on behalf of the organization, including cultivating and deepening BEI’s relationships with racial justice and community-based organizations rooted in communities of color to advance equitable building electrification strategies that shift power and resources to historically marginalized communities.
• Lead and support BEI’s regional, state, and federal policy initiatives, potentially including engagement on California and Vermont statewide initiatives and efforts to equitably implement the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This may also include tracking and sharing information with BEI staff and partners to support our cities in implementing their equitable building electrification efforts.
• Support knowledge dissemination and communications across BEI cities and stakeholders, including the development of reports and educational resources, webinars, newsletters, and/or other presentations.
• Collaborate with the BEI Executive Team to manage a growing team of BEI staff to create and maintain a positive and inclusive work environment and help foster an organizational culture that recognizes each team member’s humanity and rewards collaboration, growth, and transformational leadership.
• Partner with the BEI Executive Team to develop fundraising strategies and implement internal organizational needs including organizational planning, budgeting, contracting, grant-writing, reporting, event planning, and other tasks as needed or requested.
• Identify ongoing opportunities to improve internal processes and systems, with an eye toward future needs and budget realities.
• Play a leadership role in defining BEI’s strategic direction, opportunities for growth and expansion, and areas for improvement as the organization evolves in alignment with BEI’s commitment to equity.

A successful candidate will:

• Have at least 5-8 years of relevant work experience.
• Have demonstrated experience successfully managing and cultivating high performing teams.
• Have exceptional interpersonal relationship and management skills.
• Demonstrate political acumen, critical and strategic thinking, and a collaborative spirit.
• Be able to build constructive and lasting partnerships with diverse individuals and groups.
• Exhibit strong attention to detail.
• Be passionate about addressing social and racial equity and accelerating climate policy.
• Be willing to partner and collaborate with the BEI Executive Team on all organizational needs and decisions, be comfortable bringing a problem-solving mindset, and enjoy working on high-ambition and high-impact teams.
• While not required, BEI strongly prefers candidates who have worked in or deeply with local, state, regional, and/or federal government departments on sustainability or related field(s) including but not limited to housing, public health, workforce and labor policy, and/or economic development.
• While not required, BEI prefers candidates who have experience with direct community engagement and/or working closely with community-based organizations representing under-served or marginalized populations.
• While not required, BEI also prefers candidates have some familiarity with building electrification and/or building energy systems.

BEI acknowledges that people from historically marginalized communities have been excluded from the sustainability and clean energy fields, and therefore we will seek to engage in outreach to identify candidates who have lived experience in or serving these communities within our hiring process. We welcome candidates who will align with and strengthen our commitment to racial justice and equity. We also acknowledge that hiring is only one element of uprooting systemic racism. BEI’s Commitment to Racial Justice describes the actions we are taking to address both our internal processes and our broader role to advance social and racial justice across the climate, clean energy, and building electrification fields.

How to Apply
Candidates may apply by emailing a cover letter and resume to BEIJobApplications@gmail.com by September 15, 2023. Applications and interviews will be reviewed and conducted on a rolling basis. Please check our LinkedIn page for any updates on our hiring process and timeline.