Program Manager, Workforce Development

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) is a nonprofit working toward a 100% clean energy future that is reliable, resilient, and equitable. The IREC team is passionate about expanding access to clean, affordable solar energy. We place an emphasis on rigor and quality in everything we do. And we’re not afraid to have some fun in the process.

Position Overview:

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) seeks a passionate leader to advance change at the intersection of clean energy, equity, and inclusion. You will be a core member of IREC’s Workforce Development team, collaborating with colleagues and a broad range of partners and stakeholders on national and regional efforts to improve clean energy workforce recruitment, training and education, and job placement outcomes.

The Workforce Development Program Manager will manage day-to-day operations for projects focused on accelerating the growth of a highly qualified and diverse workforce, and ensuring that clean energy offers high-quality, family-sustaining career pathways. Initial tasks will focus on the recruitment of clean energy learners and workers and development of educational and career exploration resources for military veterans and other underrepresented communities, engagement with industry and training partners, and the development of related resources. The ideal candidate will have strong research skills to support data collection, analysis, and evaluation, ensuring alignment with project and organizational goals and delivering high-quality results.

Responsibilities:

• Support research and mapping of regional workforce development stakeholders in the clean energy sector, and conduct gap analyses to assess regional workforce needs
• Collaborate with colleagues and partners to design and implement initiatives that increase awareness of clean energy careers and improve job placement outcomes in the clean energy sector
• Prepare comprehensive reports, presentations, and outreach materials summarizing research outcomes, recommendations, and insights for various audiences
• Support program communications to drive engagement with target audiences including employers, education providers, learners and workers, and other stakeholders (i.e. draft email campaigns, blog posts, and other outreach materials)
• Support the implementation of renewable energy and energy efficiency workforce development programs according to scope, schedule, and budget
• Conduct project management tasks such as project planning, partner coordination, research and data collection, grant reporting, budget oversight, etc.
• Build and nurture relationships with clean energy and workforce development stakeholders throughout the United States
• Identify opportunities for process enhancements and contribute to the development of new research initiatives
• Support programmatic fundraising activities and grant applications
• Support internal initiatives to further strengthen IREC’s workplace culture and organizational impact

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

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

Required

• An undergraduate degree in public policy, economics, planning, local government management, public affairs, environmental studies, or other related field
• Work experience delivering clean energy and/or workforce development programs in a non-profit, government, education, private business, or organized labor setting
• Education or experience with research projects preferably in workforce development, labor market analysis, or renewable energy preferred, and ability to synthesize complex information
• Passion and enthusiasm for clean energy, climate, environment, and/or education, workforce development, and career support work
• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills, and keen attention to detail
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to produce clear, accurate, and compelling written materials for diverse public and professional audiences; comfort with public speaking
• Ability to establish measurable goals to demonstrate impact and inform adjustments to strategy and approach
• Ability to be a self-starter, working independently and collaborating with a geographically distributed team to deliver high quality work products on hard deadlines
• Willingness to be flexible, adapt to new technologies, learn, and shift course as needs arise
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA)

Preferred

• A graduate degree in public policy, economics, planning, local government management, public affairs, environmental studies, or other related field. Additional work experience will be considered in place of a graduate degree.

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 women, people of color, including bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.