Associate Director, Clean Energy

Federation of American Scientists; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 155,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Job summary

Federation of American Scientists is seeking an Associate Director to lead and grow our work on clean energy, collaborating with climate, environment, and government capacity teams through FAS’s Center for Regulatory Ingenuity.

The role blends subject-matter expertise with policy entrepreneurship, guiding complex technical and institutional problems, building trust with policymakers, and translating ideas into legislative and implementation outcomes.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of relevant professional experience, including leadership roles.
• Deep understanding of the U.S. energy policy ecosystem and federal policy dynamics.
• Experience fundraising from philanthropic and/or public sources.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow FAS’s clean energy portfolio across government and donor streams.
• Serve as subject-matter expert and public voice on energy topics for diverse audiences.
• Build partnerships with policymakers and stakeholders to advance policy ideas.
• Manage projects, budgets, and staff; supervise contractors and internal teams.

Skills

Clean energy fluency

Institutional insight

Policy entrepreneurship

Coalition-building

Communication

Leadership and management

Fundraising sensibility

Depth of experience

Education

Advanced degree in a relevant field

Job description

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is seeking an experienced, creative, and energetic professional to help lead and grow our work on clean energy. This role advances evidence-informed policy at multiple levels of government to support a rapid, equitable, cost-effective, and durable shift to clean energy; the role includes a particular emphasis on ensuring that sound policy design is supported by robust government capacity for implementation. The ideal candidate will possess relevant technical expertise; deep understanding of the U.S. energy policy ecosystem; demonstrated ability to lead people and projects; experience fundraising from philanthropic and/or public sources; and genuine excitement about expanding the realm of the possible with respect to clean energy solutions.

Why FAS?

Does FAS sound like an organization that you would be energized to join? Is it aligned to your values?

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) takes quite seriously our role as a beacon and voice for the science community.

FAS has a rich history: after the devastating bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, a group of atomic researchers – deeply concerned about the use of science for malice – created an organization committed to using science and technology to benefit humanity.

The group they created – the Federation of Atomic Scientists – soon became the Federation of American Scientists in recognition of the hundreds of scientists across diverse disciplines who joined together to speak with one voice for the betterment of the world.

Today, we are a group of entrepreneurial, intrepid changemakers, forging a better future for all through the nexus of science, technology and talent. We value equity, inclusion, and transparency. As a collective, we are building an organization focused on being impact-driven, customer-focused, and growth-oriented as a force for good in the world.

Skills and Expertise

What skills do you need to show proficiency (or higher) in order to be a strong candidate?

We’re looking for someone who is both a subject-matter expert in clean energy and an entrepreneurial program builder. Strong candidates will bring most of the following:

• Clean energy fluency. A deep understanding of the U.S. clean energy policy ecosystem (especially key federal policies and programs, the respective roles of various government agencies, recent trends in state and federal policy priorities, and legislative dynamics), plus technical depth in one or more of domains relevant to current FAS work on clean energy: critical minerals, grid supply chains, clean energy deployment, clean firm power, geothermal, long-duration energy storage, distributed energy resources, large-scale transmission, advanced transmission technologies, grid-enhancing technologies, federal energy innovation, and DOE program implementation and institutional design.
• Institutional insight. Curiosity about, and ideally experience with, how government actually delivers: how agencies are organized for collaboration and execution, how federal-state-local relationships shape implementation, and what capacity constraints determine whether good policy actually gets done.
• Policy entrepreneurship. A track record of spotting opportunities for impact, developing policy ideas and building support for them, and moving those ideas through policy processes and into the real world. Ability to read political feasibility, prioritize among competing opportunities, and adapt strategy quickly in a fast-moving environment.
• Coalition-building and trust. Experience building and managing coalitions or multi-stakeholder partnerships across organizations with different interests, timelines, and priorities; a record of building trust with stakeholders across ideological, institutional, and sectoral differences.
• Communication. Excellent written and oral communication skills, with a strong ability to tailor to different audiences.
• Leadership and management. Experience managing complex projects, workstreams, budgets, and teams, plus supervising or mentoring staff. Capacity to shape and articulate overarching portfolio strategy as well as to operationalize strategy by breaking down big objectives into realistic, time-bound goals and deliver against them.
• Fundraising sensibility. Familiarity with the philanthropic landscape and comfort translating policy work into fundable concepts, growing funder relationships, and generally leading (with support from internal development functions and organizational leadership) fundraising needed for portfolio growth.
• Depth of experience. 10+ years of relevant professional experience, including time in a leadership, strategy, management, or senior project-ownership role. Advanced degree in a relevant field is a plus.

To Sum It Up…

What’s the “elevator pitch” for the role?

FAS is seeking an Associate Director to lead and grow our work on clean energy, working in particularly close collaboration with our climate and environment and government capacity teams through FAS’s Center for Regulatory Ingenuity.

We’re looking for an experienced, creative, and energetic professional who can operate as both a subject-matter expert and a policy entrepreneur: someone who can grasp complex technical and institutional problems, spot openings for action, build trust with policymakers and partners, and translate ideas into legislative, administrative, and implementation outcomes. Just as important as policy and technical expertise is genuine curiosity about what it takes to move an idea on paper into results and impact in the real world, and how to proactively anticipate and address implementation bottlenecks in ways that accelerate progress on clean energy while rebuilding public trust in government. Finally, we’re looking for someone who can be a portfolio leader: who can sharpen and evolve strategic direction for FAS’s body of work on clean energy, build connective tissue between this work and other internal policy teams, serve as a project and person manager, and spearhead fundraising.

In this role, you will:

• Steward and grow FAS’s diverse body of work on clean energy portfolio, starting with already-funded projects by:
  • Working with our Government Affairs team to ideate and drive bipartisan clean-energy legislation.
  • Working with our Government Capacity team to design and lead an initiative on federal institutional capacity to lead on clean energy – i.e., the talent, structure, and institutional capacity DOE needs to deliver across administrations.
  • Working with our Center for Regulatory Ingenuity to explore and advance novel approaches to energy policy at the federal and subnational levels.
• Serve as a subject-matter expert and FAS’s primary public voice on a variety of clean energy topics.
• Build partnerships with other stakeholders to advance policy ideas.
• Grow the portfolio by developing fundable concepts, shaping fundraising strategy, and owning and growing funder relationships.
• Manage projects, budgets, and grant deliverables.
• Supervise and mentor staff and contractors.
• Work across FAS policy teams and cross-cutting functions to align strategy and execution.

This is a hybrid role: both remote and in-person work can be accommodated, generally two to three days per week on-site and two to three days per week remote, depending on the needs of the organization.

Salary Range

$155,000 – $170,000

FAS offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits package that supports employees’ health, financial security, and overall well-being. Benefits include a competitive 403(b) retirement plan; medical, dental, and vision coverage; short-term and long-term disability insurance; life insurance; employee assistance support; pre-tax benefits such as healthcare and dependent care FSAs; and commuter benefits.

Hiring Statement

The Federation of American Scientists is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. The Federation of American Scientists prohibits discriminating against employees and job applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose the compensation of the employee or applicant or another employee or applicant. Employment is contingent on successful verification of eligibility to work in the United States.