Executive Director, Breathe Cities

We are partnering with Daryl Upsall for the recruitment of this role. Please see details on how to apply below

The deadline for applications is Sunday 11th May 2025

Location: Ideally a London based role with offer of sponsorship for those without the right to work in the UK. Accra, Ghana, Jakarta, Indonesia or Johannesburg, South Africa also considered.
Location type: Hybrid. Ability to work from home for up to 50% of the time.
Reporting to: CEO
Manages: Breathe Cities Leadership
Annual salary: Competitive
Contract type: Permanent
Working hours: This is a full-time role that will require international travel.
Candidate level: Director

Background
Clean Air Fund is a global philanthropic organisation that brings together governments, campaigners, researchers, funders, and businesses to create a world where everyone breathes clean air. We all need clean air to live, grow and thrive. Yet 9 out of 10 people breathe harmful, dirty air, making air pollution one of our biggest health threats. Globally, over 7 million people die every year because of air pollution — more than twice as many as from malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined. The poorest communities, living in the most congested areas, are hit the hardest. Babies, children and older people suffer most. In addition to harming our health, air pollution is linked to climate change. It doesn’t have to be this way. Cleaning our air can be a solution to some of society’s greatest challenges, from public health to climate change to children’s development and sustainable economic growth.

How we work
From grassroots to government, Clean Air Fund supports partners to accelerate action on clean air. We do this by:

• Funding and partnering with organisations across the globe that promote air quality data, build public demand for clean air and drive action.
• Influencing and supporting decision-makers to act on clean air and to strengthen the air quality cause.
• Working with communities that are disproportionately affected by air pollution.

Breathe Cities

Cities generate huge carbon emissions and expose millions to deadly air pollution. Cities will house two-thirds of the world’s population by 2050, and their heavy emissions make them where the fight against climate breakdown will be won or lost. But through action on air pollution, cities can lead on climate solutions, radically and equitably improve global health and help save millions of lives.

To capture this opportunity, Clean Air Fund, together with our partner C40 Cities, and supported by a generous $30m donation from Bloomberg Philanthropies, is delivering Breathe Cities, an ambitious programme to halve health- and climate-harming emissions in some of the world’s most polluted cities.

We have teams and partners on the ground in 10 major cities worldwide – from Johannesburg to Sofia, from Bogota to Jakarta – and are supporting mayors to implement ground-breaking policies whilst developing the tools and the learnings to be able to deploy this at scale.

We continue to seek additional investment to scale to our ultimate goal of halving air pollution and climate emissions in 100 Breathe cities worldwide by 2030, with a focus on growing our footprint in the global South. We will work largely through local partners and local staff teams.

Purpose of role
The Executive Director is responsible for the successful implementation, impact and growth of the Breathe Cities project. Working closely with key partners and funders, the Executive Director will ensure the project has a clear strategy, strong relationships with mayors and partners, and robust on-the-ground delivery.

Scope of the role
The post-holder will have overall responsibility for Breathe Cities globally, overseeing strategy, owning relationships with our key partners and mayors, representing the project externally and ensuring strong implementation and impact.

• Lead relationships with senior stakeholders, including Bloomberg Philanthropies and other funders and prospective funders, founder partners, major external partners, and Breathe Cities advisory group members.
• Engage participating mayors to reinforce buy-in and encourage commitment to the implementation of ambitious air pollution and climate goals.
• Engage key partners to ensure Breathe Cities is deeply rooted in the global south and authentically addresses the interests and concerns of communities affected by air pollution.
• Position Breathe Cities for scale, raising significant funds to build the programme.

Act as an ambassador and global spokesperson for the programme and its achievements, showcasing successes, case studies and tools so that the work can be replicated and scaled.

The role sits on the senior leadership team (SLT) of the Clean Air Fund. As a member of the SLT, the Breathe Cities Executive Director will take collective ownership with peers and the CEO for leading the organisation: significantly contributing to the organisation’s strategic direction, improving operational processes, and developing and maintaining a healthy organisational culture.

Primary responsibilities
Strategy and insights (30%)

• Implement a clear strategy to deliver the Breathe Cities theory of change through the three pillars of enhanced data, citizen engagement and ambitious city policies, ensuring the programme is cohesive while adapting to local realities.
• Develop the tools and the learnings to be able to deploy this at scale. Capture, codify and share insights from implementation to ensure the project is as effective as possible and to support new cities and partners to adopt best practices for reducing emissions.

Stakeholder management and external representation (35%)

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key funder focal points and partner leads to ensure all parties continue to share the same vision for the project and how it is delivered, managing concerns and resolving differences.
• Engage mayors and senior city figures to problem solve, encourage cities to deliver against ambition, and gather insights that will support the successful rollout of the programme to other cities.
• Diplomatically balance the interests of different stakeholders while ensuring the right decisions are taken to ensure the Breathe Cities vision can be realized.
• Ensure Breathe Cities is well known, leveraging the project’s communications capability, networks and partner platforms to showcase policy advances and other progress.

Oversight, governance and delivery (35%)

• Ensure the programme delivers policy change, and real reductions in air pollution, in the initial 10 cities.
• Work closely with senior leaders in CAF to deliver Breathe Cities harmoniously, ensuring the work of the programme is integrated into the organization, leading through influence where necessary, and leveraging capabilities that sit in other teams.
• Supervise key decisions on partner selection, and ensure implementation of agreed processes, targets and budgets.
• Ensure that the needs of those most affected by air pollution are addressed and their voices heard in decision making.
• Lead engagement with Breathe Cities’ Advisory Committee and Clean Air Fund’s governance to secure approval for country strategies and grant-making plans, report on progress and seek advice on overcoming major challenges.
• Working with the fundraising teams, ensure funders and prospective funders are well briefed on Breathe Cities and contribute to efforts to raise further funding.

Person specification
We value diversity. Air pollution is a universal concern, and we need people from all backgrounds and walks of life to help create clean air for all. Clean Air Fund’s team is collaborative, dynamic and evidence-informed. We have high standards and are results-focused. We are deliberate about the kind of team and culture that we are building, seeking team members who are not only strong in their own aptitudes but are inclusive and care about supporting each other's growth.


Essential technical competencies.

• Strategy and thought leadership. Ability to guide the team to gather and analyse complex information, identify long-term goals, and make difficult choices to ensure the programme remains distinct and cohesive, whilst also reflecting local priorities.
• Communication and influencing. Proven track record of influencing, negotiating with and building effective strategic partnerships with a range of stakeholders, and maintaining relationships and partnerships over the long term. Ability to speak and write articulately in English, and to gain credibility with a variety of audiences.
• International experience. Experience of working internationally including in politically sensitive environments.
• Team leadership. Outstanding people management, mentoring and leadership skills. Strong ability to prioritise and to support others to do the same. Experience in driving for results over both the short and long-term. Track record of managing high-performing teams and influencing and leading team members who report to others.
• Operational oversight. Significant experience in overseeing strategic programme design and delivery in multi-stakeholder environments. Comfortable making resource allocation decisions, including both financial and human resources. Reasonable level of financial literacy.

Desirable technical competencies

• A background in air quality, climate or environment
• Experience working with city governments and/or on policy
• Experience in philanthropy
• A track record of raising funding
• Mission alignment. Demonstrable alignment with CAF’s mission of clean air for all.
• Clear fit with Clean Air Fund’s values:
• Dynamic and results-focused, able to work at pace and balance responding to new opportunities with the delivery of existing objectives. Decisive, with a pragmatic and problem-solving approach. Resilient and able to manage periods of high work intensity. Flexible and able to respond to rapidly changing external environments.
• Evidence-informed – analytical, inquisitive, and able to think critically and objectively.
• Collaborative with strong interpersonal skills, quick to build relationships. Trustworthy and able to act with discretion and diplomacy.
• High standards, motivated by delivering quality and impact.
• Courageous, shares own views, regularly seeks and gives clear and constructive feedback to others, and is willing to take calculated risks.
• Inclusive and supportive, recognises the value that different perspectives bring, relates well with people of different backgrounds and supports others.
  

What Clean Air Fund offers
We are clear about what we offer and what we expect from everyone in the team.
We offer the opportunity to be at the heart of efforts to drive the air quality agenda and tackle air pollution across the globe. You would be joining an ambitious and highly successful organisation that has raised over $200M USD since its launch six years ago. We have a fantastic reputation: our dedicated team has delivered measurable impact and our relationships with donors are excellent. We offer a competitive reward package and flexible working plus a commitment to supporting your learning and professional development.

Everyone who works with us is expected to share our values — collaborative, dynamic and evidence-informed — and to do their utmost to deliver our strategic objectives according to their role. Comfort with change and the ability to work at pace is vital, as is the desire to improve, to engage across and to grow with the organisation. We are intentional about building trusting relationships and, to facilitate a strong culture across the team, everyone comes into the office for 50% of their time.

Further information

• This is a full-time role that will require international travel to visit Breathe Cities, consulting our teams and partners and building relationships with senior stakeholders.
• Ability to work from home for up to 50% of the time (whilst not on travel).
• London based role with the offer of sponsorship for those without the right to work in the UK.

Please apply via Daryl Upsall's website: Executive Director, Breathe Cities
If you have any questions about the role or organisation and would like an informal chat ahead of submitting a formal application, please reach out to Zoe Oldham at zoeoldham@darylupsall.com

An applicant’s pack is also available upon request at the same email.

As an employer, we are committed to ensuring the representation of people from all backgrounds regardless of their gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, religion, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity, disability status, returning parents, carers or any other aspect which makes them unique. We particularly welcome applicants from under-represented groups to apply and would encourage you to let us know if there are steps we can take to ensure that the recruitment process enables you to present yourself in a way that makes you comfortable. We are committed to ensuring the safety and protection of our employees from all forms of harm.