Senior Policy & Research Associate

Please read the Job Description and apply through our portal: https://climate-xchange.org/jobs-internships/were-hiring-a-senior-policy-research-associate/

Climate XChange (CXC) is a non-partisan organization focused on supporting the needs of state actors advancing climate policy. Our mission is to achieve a rapid and equitable transition towards a zero-emissions economy by advancing state climate policy. We achieve this through our State Climate Policy Network (SCPN), which provides free virtual support to over 15,000 state actors working to pass ambitious climate policy, and our State Climate Policy Dashboard (Dashboard). 

The Dashboard is a leading data platform for up-to-date state climate policy information across all U.S. states and major climate sectors. It provides in-depth information on over 60 climate policies, with key resources, model rules, a state comparison tool, and other useful information for policy practitioners.

The Senior Policy & Research (P&R) Associate will work closely with the Policy & Research Manager to take on key responsibilities supporting CXC’s Dashboard and research agenda. This includes supporting the Dashboard’s maintenance, helping implement long-term improvements to the tool, and playing a critical role in staying on top of state-level climate policy developments.

Key ResponsibilitiesTrack state climate policy data

• Accurately track state-level climate policies across the country and maintain an up-to-date/real-time database of state policy.
• Maintain CXC’s policy tracking platform, Quorum, working with a detailed tagging system to cover all Dashboard policies and related topics.
• Generate weekly updates on policy developments for the P&R team.
• Independently draft state and federal Policy Progress updates for CXC’s newsletter.

Support the State Climate Policy Dashboard

• Compile and update policy information, resources, model rules, and relevant state examples for each policy on the Dashboard.
• Update greenhouse gas emissions inventories across states.
• Assist with the development of new content for the Dashboard, such as adding new policies, drafting model rules, or including additional layers of analysis.
• Work with the Policy & Research Manager to update the Dashboard’s website on a biannual basis.
• Oversee the feedback system on the Dashboard, alerting the Policy & Research Manager to new form submissions to ensure timely response to users.
• Assist with the maintenance and improvement of the Dashboard website.

Conduct climate policy research to support CXC’s research agenda

• Support ongoing climate policy research projects and partnerships.
• Support research to inform the Dashboard digest articles.
• Support research tasks related to custom SCPN assistance requests.

Help recruit, hire, and train Policy & Research interns

• Support the intern hiring and onboarding process, including outreach, interviewing, and training.

Required Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree in environmental or public policy, environmental science, political science, economics, or a related field.
• At least 2-3 years of relevant professional experience in climate and energy policy, public policy, state government, research and/or advocacy work.
• Experience with climate policy, which may include topics such as governance & equity, electricity, buildings, transportation, industry, renewable energy or natural resources. Experience in state climate policy is highly desirable.
• Proficient policy literacy and ability to read and interpret legislative and regulatory text.
• Strong writing and verbal communication skills, including public speaking on behalf of the organization.
• Excellent time management.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Strong alignment with CXC values. We’re science-based, impact-driven, committed to justice, equity, and diversity, led by empathy, and collaborative.
• Strong self-starter and self-motivated.