Program Operations Lead - Carbon-Free Buildings (California-based)

Are you a program management professional who takes initiative, is flexible, and enjoys working in a results-driven, team environment? Are you able to exercise good judgment in a variety of situations, with strong written and verbal communication, administration, and organizational skills? Do you have experience streamlining systems and processes for programs and people? If yes, then join our team! 

Program Overview

In this role, you will become a team member within RMI’s Carbon-Free Buildings (CFB) Program, which seeks to decarbonize the building sector by 2050. We do this through efforts to deeply reduce energy consumption in residential and commercial buildings, electrify our building stock, dramatically reduce embodied carbon in the built environment and harness the mutual benefits of grid-interactive buildings. CFB drives impact in these areas through stakeholder engagement, tactical client engagements, thought leadership, R&D and demonstration projects. CFB balances research, technical analysis, boots-on-the-ground field work, communication, and collaboration to achieve its goals. Learn more about the CFB Program’s core initiatives here: https://rmi.org/our-work/buildings/

REALIZE, an initiative within CFB, is a market facilitation platform that seeks to establish high volume net zero carbon retrofit and new construction delivery programs across the US. Market facilitation activities include removing market barriers and aggregating demand while coordinating the supply chain to deploy high-quality, prefabricated retrofit and new construction packages that are easy to install, are affordable and are attractive to consumers. The REALIZE initiative also includes the Advanced Building Construction Collaborative, focused on scaling high performance construction leveraging industrialized construction and decarbonization technologies.

Position Overview

RMI is seeking a Program Coordinator with exceptional organizational and project management skills to operationally oversee REALIZE and facilitate successful grant and financial management for the REALIZE initiative. In this role, you will play a key role in everything from supporting REALIZE event logistics, to team meetings, to ensuring that all REALIZE team grants, namely state and federal funding sources, are effectively managed, reported on, and that all grantor requirements are met. You will also work to ensure all subrecipients are aligned with grant terms and requirements. Additionally, you will work closely with RMI’s central operations team to drive efficiency and support successful execution by designing and implementing systems to monitor and report on initiative activities, outcomes and resource usage. You will also ensure all project partners are appropriately resourced from the initiative budget, that progress and funding usage is appropriately tracked and reported to internal staff and funders, and that the initiative effectively coordinates and collaborates with stakeholders to drive the essential change required to rapidly scale building decarbonization technologies.

Your Key Responsibilities

Budget management and grant reporting:

• Maintain program budget by reforecasting on a monthly basis and support with annual budget creation both within Adaptive
• Work with Development and the program team to ensure coordination of key materials and all funding opportunities are up to date in Salesforce on a monthly basis
• Support program fundraising efforts by ensuring RMI and program qualifications are appropriately referenced in funding proposals
• Facilitate and manage the monitoring and reporting against all requirements in the program’s grant and contract agreements
• Manage grant management, tracking, and reporting in partnership with compliance manager, development officer, and program leadership
• Maintain a high-level view of the funding Pipeline and give feedback to leadership on future funding gaps
• Act as a liaison between finance and the program to ensure that the correct rates are being used for budgets in funding proposals and contracts

People:

• Support program team with full-cycle recruitment, including working with leadership to update and deliver on hiring targets and staff utilization
• Ensure that team members are participating in relevant trainings and utilizing their learning and development budgets
• Serve as point person for the program team on travel safety procedures and guidelines

Procurement and contracting:

• Plan, organize, and executes internal program-related events
• Manage invoices, current contracts, creation of new contracts and relationships with current and future program contractors
• Submit vendor bills correctly and in a timely manner
• Facilitate and manage procurement processes for the program with the support from RMI’s compliance manager

Project management:

• Ensure all team members are properly planned in project management tool
• Maintain project structures (including budget and project-specific data) and create new projects when needed in project management tool
• Review and approve timesheets and expense reports for the program
• Track RMI-standard KPIs and compiles results, generating actionable plans for improvement for leadership review
• Maintain the program’s SharePoint homepages

Internal (intra-institute) coordination:

• Serve as liaison between the program team and RMI’s operations departments, with a focus on efficiency and effectiveness
• Support operations in implementation of process improvements and RMI standards for program success
• Work with leaders to ensure consistent processes and tools are utilized across the program
• Facilitate internal coordination with other programs and operations on shared resources, providing frequent updates to leadership

Other/ miscellaneous:

• Additional responsibilities, as required

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible administrative, finance, operations, project management or related experience
• Experience managing multiple funding sources, especially U.S. government or multilateral funding
• Strong verbal and written communications skills
• Proficient budgeting, finance, and project management skills
• Experience working with complex budgets and funders

• Proven organization skills and flexibility when it comes to balancing priorities
• Strong team and interpersonal skills and the ability to work independently
• Ability to manage stakeholder relationships
• Demonstrable problem-solving skills
• Ability to effectively multitask
• Good judgment and strong decision-making ability
• Attention to detail and exceptional accuracy
• Grant and proposal writing and management

Location

This role will be based out of our Oakland, CA office or remotely in the state of California. It is a requirement that you live in California for this position. A relocation allowance will be considered.

Important Note: As a U.S. federal contractor, RMI must comply with requirements outlined Executive Order Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors. This Executive Order requires that all federal contractors and subcontractors mandate and verify that all U.S. based employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. If you are based in the U.S., you will be required to provide proof of full vaccination status as a condition of employment. You may request an accommodation for medical or religious reasons. If you are based outside of the U.S., this requirement does not apply.

Compensation

The starting salary range for this position is $63,000 - $74,000.  Salary to be determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

You would also have a 5% bonus target!

Benefits 

We offer a comprehensive benefits package including: 

• Medical, dental, vision insurance 
• 403b retirement options (5% match immediately) 
• Life, AD&D, short-term and long-term disability 
• Professional and personal development (including LinkedIn Learning access) 
• Generous paid time off
• Parental leave 
• Commuter and wellness benefits 
• Casual work environment 

Diversity

Increasing the diversity of thought, perspectives, ideas and opinions within RMI is a critical change element supporting our long-term sustainability and mission to build a clean, prosperous, and secure energy future.    

We strive for a level of diversity that reflects the communities we serve. Achieving this—regardless of ability, race, ethnicity, ancestry, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, veteran status, socioeconomic class, educational attainment or other social identities—is critical to the success of each RMIer and collectively as an organization. This ensures that we:    

• Have the different array of thinking that comes from diverse backgrounds and cultures, enabling us to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.    
• Strive for a culture of inclusion and belonging by treating others with dignity, respect and appreciation enabling them to feel welcomed, supported and valued.    
• Effectively connect, communicate and build long-lasting relationships with decision makers, stakeholders and constituents within diverse communities.    

RMI is an equal opportunity employer 

About RMI

RMI is an independent nonprofit founded in 1982 that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to align with a 1.5°C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. We work in the world’s most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 50 percent by 2030. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing.