Senior Program Manager - Charging Smart

Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC); United States; Remote; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) is seeking a Sr. Program Manager to support the Local Initiatives team in expanding EV charging adoption.

You will engage communities, provide technical assistance to local governments, and collaborate with partners to recruit communities for the Charging Smart program. You will focus on permitting and planning, government operations, utility engagement, and market development, working with a national nonprofit.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in public policy, economics, planning, local government management, public affairs, environmental studies, or related field.
• 4+ years of relevant work experience in municipal/regional government affairs, public affairs, solar industry, EV charging, or renewable energy.
• Demonstrated success with stakeholder outreach and program recruitment.
• Strong interpersonal skills and clear, persuasive technical writing skills.
• Ability to work independently with a distributed team and meet deadlines.
• Willingness to travel ~5% and present at meetings and conferences.
• Preferred: Master’s degree; experience managing federally funded programs; knowledge of local planning and permitting processes; EV charger deployment experience.

Responsibilities

• Support outreach efforts and recruit communities to the Charging Smart program.
• Promote the program benefits to stakeholders.
• Assist local governments in implementing programs to build EV charging markets.
• Evaluate local government policies for best practices.
• Design and deliver presentations to local officials.
• Manage external contractors to meet goals and deliverables.
• Facilitate meetings and build relationships with local officials.
• Lead or participate in internal working groups on evaluation, outreach, and criteria development.
• Support designation review, program data in Salesforce, and reporting.

Skills

Stakeholder outreach

Technical writing

Customer service

Travel readiness

Project coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

About the Position

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) is seeking a highly motivated Sr. Program Manager to support the Local Initiatives team in achieving aggressive goals to increase the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) and EV charging. The Sr. Program Manager will work with partners to recruit communities and provide technical assistance to local governments pursuing designation under the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Charging Smart program. You will work as part of a small, dynamic team to help communities reduce local barriers to the adoption of EV charging. You will focus on permitting and inspection, planning and zoning, government operations, utility engagement, and market development as well as other federal, state, and local EV and EV charging topics. You will also work with a broad coalition of other stakeholders, demonstrating thought leadership at both the strategic and tactical levels. The Sr. Program Manager will occasionally perform other duties and support other programs as needed to meet the objectives of a small and dynamic national nonprofit organization. This is a term position ending July 31, 2027, with potential for extension based on funding.

Responsibilities

• Support outreach efforts and work with partner organizations to recruit new communities to the Charging Smart program;
• Promote the Charging Smart program by effectively communicating program benefits to stakeholders;
• Assist local governments in identifying and implementing programs and practices to build robust local EV and EV charging markets;
• Evaluate local government policies to determine if they meet Charging Smart best practices;
• Design and deliver presentations to local government officials;
• Manage external contractors to ensure project goals and deliverables are met;
• Facilitate meetings and build relationships with local government officials and their stakeholders;
• Lead and/or participate in internal working groups on program evaluation, outreach and recruitment strategies, criteria development, and technical assistance;
• Support designation review process and maintain program data in Salesforce;
• Develop new resources (e.g., white papers, fact sheets, presentations, tools) to help local governments learn from and replicate model practices;
• Develop and refine program-related supporting documents;
• Provide research, writing, and coordination support for Charging Smart and other projects at IREC;
• Support accurate, timely program reporting in compliance with federal grant requirements; and
• Support other IREC programs and initiatives as needed.

IREC team members collaborate primarily in a virtual environment, leveraging remote meeting, project management, and other collaboration tools to stay connected and on task.

Knowledge, Skills, Experience, and Qualities for This Role:

The successful candidate will bring the following qualities to our organization:

Required:

• An undergraduate degree in public policy, economics, planning, local government management, public affairs, environmental studies, or a related field;
• 4+ years of relevant work experience, preferably in municipal/regional government affairs, public affairs, the solar industry, EV charging, or other renewable energy field;
• Demonstrated success with stakeholder outreach and program recruitment;
• Strong interpersonal skills and clear, persuasive technical writing skills;
• Proven ability to provide high-quality customer service;
• Ability to work independently and with a geographically distributed team to meet deadlines (experience managing large groups of external stakeholders is a plus);
• Ability to build a professional network, travel (approximately 5% of time), and present effectively at local, regional, and national meetings, conferences, and other events;
• A demonstrated passion for transportation electrification or renewable energy; and
• Willingness to be flexible, adapt to new technologies, learn, and shift course as needs arise.

Preferred:

• A Master’s degree in a related field;
• Experience managing federally funded programs;
• Knowledge of local and regional planning, zoning, and permitting processes; and
• Education or experience in EV charger deployment.

IREC Foundational Values

• We value diversity of backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and thoughts and believe they result in better outcomes and greater organizational impact.
• We value the uniqueness and dignity of each individual and their right to be their true and complete self.
• We believe in the potential of the clean energy transition to advance equity in our nation.

IREC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and embracing a workplace with diverse voices and perspectives. We strongly encourage and seek applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds. Applicants are not discriminated against because of race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, medical conditions, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The application window is expected to close on November 15, 2026.

Applicants must be based in and authorized to work in the United States.