Director of “Drawdown Lift”

The World’s Leading Resource for Climate Solutions

Project Drawdown is a nonprofit organization that seeks to help the world reach “Drawdown”— the future point in time when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline. Since the 2017 publication of the New York Times bestseller Drawdown, the organization has emerged as a leading resource for information and insight about climate solutions. Cities, universities, corporations, philanthropies, policymakers, communities, educators, activists, and more turn to Project Drawdown, as they look to advance effective climate action. We aim to support the growing constellation of efforts to move climate solutions forward and move the world toward Drawdown—as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible.

See The Drawdown Review—2020 for the latest update to our work.

Position Summary

Project Drawdown is hiring an inaugural Director of “Drawdown Lift” – a new effort that will explore the links between climate change solutions, poverty alleviation, and improving human wellbeing worldwide. In particular, this effort will aim to find solutions that can simultaneously address climate change and human wellbeing in developing nations.

Currently, poverty reduction and climate mitigation efforts are done in silos, despite the immense overlap and interdependence of these fields. Drawdown Lift will work to break down these disciplinary walls and find solutions that can address climate change and extreme poverty at the same time.

Fortunately, there are encouraging places to start. Already, there are solutions that substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide economic, health and education benefits for everyone, including communities living in extreme poverty. Project Drawdown has already identified an important subset of these, and we will work to find additional best practices for climate solutions so that they have co-benefits to human health, education, and economic development. And there are undoubtably solutions for extreme poverty alleviation that also have significant benefits to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change.

This project will investigate and promote the best “win-win” climate and poverty solutions, that demonstrate strong benefits in both areas with a special focus on applications in Sub-Saharan African and Asia.

This project will focus on three key priorities: (1) Synthesize knowledge about climate and poverty solutions that already exist, and explore potential synergies among them; (2) broadly communicate these findings, and the “win-win” solutions they reveal, to key leaders and broader audiences; and (3) influence decision-makers to deploy these “win-win” solutions to climate change and extreme poverty in their global development approaches.

We are looking for a seasoned leader who can launch and lead this exciting initiative, working with the larger Project Drawdown team. The position also comes with funding to hire two additional staff members, reporting to the Director of Drawdown Lift. Additional funds may be raised in the future.

The Director of Drawdown Lift will report to the Executive Director of Project Drawdown and collaborate closely with other senior leaders in the organization.

Project Drawdown welcomes people of all backgrounds, identities, and beliefs to join us in helping the world reach Drawdown quickly, safely, and equitably. We are a 100% remote organization based in the U.S. Candidates currently authorized to work in the United States (US Citizens, green card holders, and work visa holders), who reside anywhere within the US may apply.

Essential Responsibilities

The Director of Drawdown Lift will:

• Help launch, oversee, and manage the new Drawdown Lift initiative.
• Execute and manage the three key threads of activity within Drawdown Lift:  (1) synthesize knowledge about climate and poverty solutions that already exist, and explore potential synergies among them; (2) broadly communicate these findings, and the “win-win” solutions they reveal, to key leaders and broader audiences; and (3) influence decision-makers to deploy these “win-win” solutions to climate change and extreme poverty in their global development approaches.
• In particular, we the Director of Drawdown Lift must lead the core intellectual effort to discover and disseminate knowledge linking climate solutions to improving human wellbeing. This is pioneering work, so building a robust intellectual and empirical foundation for this work is an absolute must.
• Hire and oversee others on the Drawdown Lift team, to help fulfill the broader mission.  It is anticipated the Director will largely lead the research effort, with additional staff assisting in communications, engagement, and other tasks.
• Build partnerships to enhance the work of Drawdown Lift.
• Be a “public face” of Drawdown Lift activities to the broader world. Write research articles and popular opinion pieces. Speak to technical and non-technical audiences worldwide. Engage broader audiences through digital and social media.
• Fulfill other tasks as requested.

Education and/or Experience

The ideal candidate will possess a combination of the following education and/or equivalent experience:

• Master’s degree or Doctorate in relevant field(s) of natural science and/or social science
• Professional experience in areas related to climate change, ecological and human impacts, human wellbeing, or poverty alleviation
• Strong interdisciplinary experience linking natural and social sciences, with quantitative rigor and excellent communications abilities
• 5+ years of experience in leading research, communication, and engagement activities in a team setting
• Proven record of success in leading a team, and working across a larger organization
• Strong writing and editing skills 
• Experience working with outside partners
• Impeccable organization skills, thoroughness and ability to multitask in a fluid environment

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The qualifications listed here are necessary to perform this job successfully. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions:

• Ability to lead a multifaceted research, communication, and engagement project focused on solutions to climate change and human wellbeing
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple workflows on deadline
• Excellent written, speaking / presentation, and interpersonal communication skills to engage effectively within the organization and with external collaborators / stakeholders
• Fluency in English

Location

As with all positions at Project Drawdown, this will be 100% remote. Employees can work anywhere within the United States. Candidates currently authorized to work in the United States (US Citizens, green card holders, and work visa holders), who reside anywhere within the US may apply. Some business travel may be required.

Compensation

This is a full-time position with benefits. Compensation and benefits are competitive.