Senior Communications Associate (Policy)

~ Carbon180 is a new breed of climate-focused NGO on a mission to fundamentally rethink carbon. We know that our climate goals can only be met by rapidly reducing emissions and removing the carbon that already exists in our atmosphere. ~

The good news? Carbon is much more than mere waste. We work at the intersection of science, business, and policy to champion solutions that transform carbon from a liability to an asset and foster a prosperous, carbon-conscious economy. Our team has offices in Oakland, CA and Washington, D.C., with a few teammates that work remotely from other cities.

The Opportunity

Overview:

Carbon180 is seeking a Senior Communications Associate (Policy) to support our growing policy and legislative work in Washington, D.C. This role bridges Carbon180’s policy and communications teams to help enact meaningful, just, and durable climate policy. You will be responsible for tracking and sourcing high-quality media coverage, crafting messages that resonate with policymakers and partners, and developing and distributing original content and thought leadership. This position will work closely with the Managing Director, the policy team, and another Senior Communications Associate who focuses on the organization’s core communications channels.

Whereas our Senior Communications Associate (another position C180 has posted) focuses on overarching branding and messaging strategy + the translation of this strategy across internal and external channels, our Senior Communications Associate (Policy) will focus on specifically supporting the communications efforts of the policy team. In this role, you will build campaigns that target policymakers, ENGOs, and reporters in order to make sure we pass durable policies and build impactful coalitions in this space.

Major Roles + Responsibilities

• Work alongside Carbon180’s Managing Director, Director of Policy, and communications team to set strategy, vision, and goals for the way in which we elevate the extraordinary work of C180’s policy team to continue to establish our voice as a leader in the CDR field
• Build and lead communications and publicity campaigns around key policy initiatives to ensure that our work both reaches and resonates with target audiences who have the power to enact change (policymakers, other ENGOs, and media outlets)
• Execute these communications campaigns, including developing our core messaging around policy initiatives, planning and leading events to spread awareness, conducting media outreach and securing media placements, collateral creation, and supporting our policy team’s congressional outreach
• Drive the creation and maintenance of a quarterly C180 policy-centered newsletter, and write and publish blog posts and op-eds that highlight Carbon180’s policy positions
• Broadly across program areas, design and execute Carbon180’s media engagement strategy
• Provide story and copy-editing support for Carbon180 policy and non-policy related publications

Who You Are

Our ideal Senior Policy Communications Associate believes deeply in our mission. Beyond that, you are:

• You like to write, and you’re good at it. People go to you to help them convey complex ideas in a compelling manner and in the right format.
• You move fluidly from strategy to execution. You appreciate the big picture and feel inspired to set a bold vision, but you know it's all in the details. You manage projects fluidly, fiercely prioritize, and track timelines, data, and information in an organized and systematic fashion.
• You don't drop balls, miss deadlines, or forget to respond to someone's inquiry - and you’re not afraid to roll up your sleeves to do the work.
• You inspire and motivate others to action. You build relationships quickly and deftly, and people trust you. You leverage your storytelling skills to elevate the impact of our work in a way that inspires others to action.
• You leverage meaningful relationships to get things done. A relationship-builder at heart, the people you work with trust that you leverage relationships to get things done in a mutually beneficial, non-transactional way. You hold others to account, challenge assumptions, and support the people you engage in the pursuit of our shared goals.
• You excel on a small, nimble team. You are flexible, comfortable with ambiguity, have a quick bounce-back time after a setback, and get energy from building the plane as you fly it. You’re willing and excited to pitch in to support wherever needed to help the team achieve its goals, even if it means stepping outside of your “lane.”
• You have an eagle eye for detail. Typos and grammatical errors are no match for you. Clear branding guidelines make your heart sing.
• You’re comfortable getting into the weeds, but don’t stay there. You can quickly research, understand, and translate technical subjects. Your storytelling skills to elevate our work in a way that inspires action.
• You’re high impact, low-ego, maintain a sense of humor and optimism, and are kind to yourself and others. You take a collaborative, consistent approach to work. You know that the way you show up each day impacts the people around you, and you're committed to being someone who brings up the “positivity quotient” of the team.

Beyond that, you will need:

• Proven track record (3+ years) in communications, PR, or a related field
• Media relations proficiency. Media pitching experience preferred
• Passion for consuming the news and following media trends; interest in climate is a plus
• An excellent communicator with proven writing, editing, and proofreading ability
• Track-record of sustained, high-quality work in fast-paced environments
• Experienced project manager with a knack for staying organized and working across multiple competing projects and timelines
• A healthy dose of climate rage and the determination to do something about it

Compensation

• Carbon180 is deeply committed to providing competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits to our employees. The salary range for this position will be between $80,000 and $100,000, commensurate with candidate experience and adjusted for cost of living in the location of the position.
• Note: We will mostly likely consider candidates with less than 3 years of professional experience for an Associate-level role, with the opportunity to grow into a Senior Associate-level role based on performance within the first year of joining the team.
  • The salary range for the Associate-level role would be between $65,000 and $85,000, informed by the same guidelines as above.

Carbon180 is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other occupationally irrelevant criteria. Carbon180 continually seeks to enrich its staff and team culture. In particular, we’re dedicated to broadening opportunities for individuals from demographic groups that are historically underrepresented in the sciences and in environmental advocacy. We’re also committed to building an inclusive workplace culture where talented people of widely different backgrounds can thrive. We've adopted this commitment because we believe the inclusion of culturally diverse perspectives will improve our work and produce better societal and environmental outcomes for all, including historically disenfranchised communities.