Program Associate

The New York City Climate Action Alliance (“The Alliance”) has an excellent opportunity for a Program Associate to support the Alliance in achieving an equitable transition to a carbon neutral future.

ABOUT THE ALLIANCE

New York City is facing a moment of climate change reckoning. Its iconic skyline has long symbolized the can-do attitude of New Yorkers. We are innovators. We solve problems. We overcome challenges and find ways to prosper. Yet New York City’s buildings also account for approximately two-thirds of the city’s greenhouse gas footprint, contributing to far-ranging environmental, economic, and health effects. These effects disproportionately burden the city’s most vulnerable populations and communities.

To mitigate the impacts of climate change not only from our iconic buildings but from all greenhouse gas contributing sectors, the city is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. This visionary goal, which the city pledged to accomplish in a just and equitable way, pushes the limits of the possible – and for New Yorkers, that’s nothing new.

The NYC Climate Action Alliance is a not-for-profit organization working with New Yorkers in the private sector and civil society to support New York City’s ambitious goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment. The Alliance:

• Convenes stakeholders in neutral forums to discuss complex challenges and innovative sustainability solutions;
• Focuses on reducing carbon emissions from our buildings to make deep energy retrofits of the industry standard;
• Helps our network and outside stakeholders realize the competitive advantage of investments in sustainability; and
• Researches, analyzes, and maps major trends to understand core challenges and help structure policies, goals, strategies, actions, and proposed investments to advance sustainability.

CURRENT PROJECTS

The Alliance has three active projects serving to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption from the built environment:

Decarbonizing NYC Offices

In coordination with the key partners, the Alliance is engaging stakeholders at each stage of the leasing and facility management process to help tenants and building owners save money, create sustainable and healthy workplaces, meet local and state environmental and public health regulations, and reduce energy use and carbon emissions. This two-year effort will result in pragmatic and actionable resources to facilitate meaningful collaboration between building owners, tenants, brokers, lawyers, designers and others involved in leasing and office utilization decisions. This work will ensure that actors within the commercial tenant sector have access to the right information at the right time to make deep energy retrofits of commercial spaces the industry standard.

Strategic Advisory Services: High Performance Leases + Success Stories

The Alliance is developing and promoting high performance lease language to more equitably align the costs and benefits of energy savings between landlords and tenants. The Alliance is also developing success stories that highlight the power of collaboration between landlords and tenants with respect to energy efficiency and carbon reduction opportunities.

Market Research on Multifamily Retrofits

Working with Bard MBA students, the Alliance will conduct market research to position multifamily condos and coops to comply with the recently enacted Local Law 97. As part of the effort, the team will:

• Develop a summary of motivations and barriers for coops and condos to advance energy efficiency retrofits;
• Identify a list of 15-25 coops/condos that are most likely to advance energy efficiency projects;
• Create an educational toolkit to allow condos/coops to advance retrofits on their own;
• Prepare an outreach and delivery strategy to bring the resources to the market; and
• Deliver one “lunch and learn” to multiple coops and condos.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Program Associate will support the Alliance’s effort to drive market adoption of decarbonization strategies. This position will work hand-in-hand with the Executive Director to guide the strategic direction of the Alliance.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and manage an event series to keep building professionals informed of relevant sustainability regulations and initiatives and to share best practices and new solutions.
• Develop and manage a public marketing campaign to raise awareness on the ambitious climate goals that NYC has set, highlight how critical it is to meet those goals, and offer steps that New Yorkers should be taking to help meet the goals.
• Manage the Alliance’s social media by posting relevant energy related tips and stories across our LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.
• Support the Alliance’s fundraising efforts by tracking our donor database, drafting foundation grant applications, identifying candidates for corporate giving, and soliciting donations from individuals and corporations.
• Support project work, which will range project to project. Tasks may include case study research, data analysis, community engagement, and more.
• What We’re Looking For
• 3-5 years of relevant experience, with a working knowledge of environmental sustainability, building decarbonization, and real estate; a bachelor’s degree is required with an advanced degree a plus.
• You’re a thinker and a doer – this role will require you to think strategically, and to roll up your sleeves and dig into the work.
• You have command of the room and top-notch presentation and interpersonal skills that resonate with audiences of different backgrounds – this role will require you to communicate persuasively, concisely, and unambiguously.
• You are a strong writer with an understanding of fundraising principles – this role will require you to prepare dynamic fundraising communications and grant applications that are calibrated to be responsive to each funding opportunity.
• You’re a self-starter who can produce results with limited oversight – this role will require you to be resilient, adapt to new situations, multitask, bring an entrepreneurial edge, and work independently and as part of a team.

Salary Range

• Salary is negotiable and is expected to be around $55,000-$60,000 depending on experience.

To Apply

• Please click "Apply" submit one file that includes both your cover letter and resume.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Alliance is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion — in our organization and work with stakeholders — to strengthen the engagement, dialogue, learning, and integrity required to effectively achieve our mission. BIPOC applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.