Senior Program Officer: Global Energy Innovation

The Bezos Earth Fund is a fast-growing philanthropy dedicated to combating climate change and protecting nature. Working under the direct supervision of the Director of Global Energy Innovation, we are seeking a Senior Program Officer to lead the conception, creation, and implementation of Bezos Earth Fund initiatives on energy. The Fund is committed to thoughtful strategy, strong internal coordination, effective implementation, and productive community engagement and leadership. Doing so requires data and research, coordination within the fund, and productive engagement with key communities & stakeholders.

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Key Responsibilities

The Bezos Earth Fund is seeking an experienced program officer who can demonstrate strong skills in strategy formulation and multi-stakeholder convening; can provide technical expertise and program management support to work closely with the Director of Global Energy Innovation across the breadth of their core activities. We seek someone with strong analytical, coordination and communication skills along with previous experience and understanding of the issues relating to the global energy (power) industry.

The successful candidate is an experienced generalist focused on accelerating the global energy transition through the following core responsibilities:

• Provide timely strategic and technical input into program and project concept and proposal developments, to facilitate the transformational change required to accelerate the global energy transition.
• Develop and implement specific activities and projects the Bezos Earth Fund actively oversees and is involved in.
• Conduct analysis to analyze the potential impact of different initiatives (e.g., business case development, demand sizing, cash flow modelling and impact sizing).
• Lead the Earth Fund’s engagement with stakeholder groups, grantees, and partner foundations to advance its initiatives in the area of energy innovation, including representing the Earth Fund at high-level meetings and organizing convenings as appropriate.
• Build and strengthen selected strategic partnerships within the industry, research organizations and other energy transition alliances, to support the work of the Bezos Earth Fund’s mandate.
• Contribute strategic and innovative thinking around emerging areas of focus to boost system change to accelerate the energy transition within this decade.
• Identify, vet and recommend organizations for grant funding.
• Liaise with the Director of Global Energy Innovation to prepare internal reports on project and program progress (including, attainment of outputs, KPI indicators, management of risks and documenting of best practices).
• Manage the delivery of projects across the lifecycle.
• Manage grant portfolios and relationships with partners/grantees.
• Participate in learning and evaluation activities to guide the evolution of programmatic work.
• May supervise the work of consultants, interns and others as appropriate.
• Perform other duties, as assigned.

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Education and experience

• Master’s degree in energy engineering, environmental engineering, environmental science, business strategy or economics.
• At least 10 years demonstrated experience and knowledge directly in the global energy sector with an understanding of climate and clean energy industry issues.
• At least 8 years’ demonstrated experience in industry with strategic advisory and project management responsibilities.
• Technical knowledge of renewable energy technology solutions and practical experience in renewable energy programs and project development and management.
• Experience working in international organizations and emerging markets preferred.

Skills and competencies:

• A deep commitment to the mission and values of the Bezos Earth Fund.
• Excellent academic credentials and professional drive.
• Strong analytical competency and quantitative skills, with proven ability to deliver high-quality work.
• Strong knowledge of technical and economic dimensions of clean energy challenges and solutions.
• Strong project management skills.
• Strong analytical skills, including experience in demand sizing, impact sizing and cashflow modelling.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and ability to identify new impactful ideas.
• The ability to bring diverse groups of people together to work towards a common goal
• Exceptional verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong coordination and project management skills.
• Great attention to detail, drive, enthusiasm, and self-motivation.
• Can think creatively about program development and manage multiple program components, from initial design to implementation & reporting.
• Self-starter with ability to juggle multiple assignments/priorities at one time and work under tight deadlines.
• Fluency in English.
• Strong experience of using Microsoft Office and Excel.
• Ability to both collaborate with teams and when required, work autonomously and/or lead on a stream of work (with minimal supervision).

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions:

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• May require extended hours for urgent issues or to meet established deadlines.
• This is a hybrid position based in Washington, D.C.
• May undertake domestic and/or international travel, per business needs from time to time.

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Salary Range

$175,000 - $220,000

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