Senior Manager, Program Communications

ABOUT U.S. ENERGY FOUNDATION

U.S. Energy Foundation’s (EF) mission is to secure a clean and equitable energy future to tackle the climate crisis. We envision a healthy, safe, equitable economy powered by clean energy. We believe a thriving clean energy economy can create sustainable opportunities, spur innovation, and protect our climate—for today and future generations.

EF supports education and analysis to promote non-partisan policy solutions that advance renewable energy and energy efficiency while opening doors to greater innovation and productivity—growing the economy with dramatically less pollution. For more than 30 years, EF has supported grantees to help educate policymakers and the general public about the benefits of a clean energy economy. Our grantees include business, health, environmental, labor, equity, community, faith, and consumer groups, as well as policy experts, think tanks, universities, and more.

At EF, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are top organizational commitments. We are working daily to uproot racism and other forms of oppression and create equitable systems that support people to flourish. We aim to bring humility, transparency, respect, and an appreciation for others’ lived experiences to our interactions with colleagues, grantees, and partners.

EF’s Fundraising Philosophy

As EF’s primary clients/partners are our funders and grantees, EF commits to acting as a strategic and thought leader for our current and prospective funding partners and the field by:

1. Collaborating—and co-creating, where feasible and desired—on strategy development including the hosting and/or managing of funder collaboratives
2. Highlighting the opportunity for climate philanthropy to maximize benefits to disadvantaged communities and those most impacted by climate change
3. Offering excellent, responsive service by providing proactive, compelling and timely updates and information

EF is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, and our more than 100 staff members are based in locations throughout the Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, and Western regions, where they can best serve our programs, partners, operations, and other functions.

POSITION SUMMARY

EF is looking for a new member of our Program Team, who will serve as the primary storyteller for EF’s—and our sister 501(c)(4), Energy Action Fund's program work, responsible for ideating, executing, and overseeing content development with our donors as a primary audience. They will execute this work within the broader frame of an organizational communications strategy developed by our Strategic Partnerships (SP) team and organizational leadership. This role will require a familiarity with trends and key issues related to climate and clean energy advocacy along with expertise crafting narratives and synthesizing technical information to generate compelling stories and content across different mediums, particularly for a donor audience. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The primary responsibilities of the position are to proactively develop funder-facing content to tell our story of program impact and lessons learned and, in collaboration with SP’s Director, Partner Communications, and EF/EAF leadership, serve as the lead developer for a host of products, from grant proposals and reports to issue briefs to breaking news alerts. The Senior Manager will be an exceptional writer with a creative vision, collaboration skills, and the ability to understand and work with stakeholders, synthesizing information from a variety of sources. Working closely with teams across the entire organization, the Senior Manager will write and edit regular newsletters, fundraising proposals and reports, and other compelling updates to keep our audience of funders and other partners informed and engaged.

Responsibilities include:

●       Following a narrative strategy and editorial calendar created by—with this position’s input—SP’s Director, Partner Communications, develop and own EF’s and EAF’s pipeline of funder-facing content, ensuring a steady cadence of outputs that demonstrate EF/EAF’s and our grantees’ impact.

●       Develop and manage a process to work with grantees and EF/EAF staff to tell the story of the work EF/EAF are funding and its impact. This includes overseeing all aspects of the process, from planning to execution, helping EF/EAF staff contribute in the most effective ways.

●       Remain informed on key initiatives, and distill complex, programmatic initiatives into simple and motivating communications assets.

●       Serve as the primary drafter for most funder proposals and reports, synchronized with the overall narrative we are using to communicate with these products. Work with programmatic experts to identify the content to highlight in close collaboration with SP staff.

●       Synthesize and summarize information provided by program experts into regular compelling updates on EF’s and EAF’s work in priority geographies, sectors, and key venues, as well as meeting strategic imperatives like advancing equity in our work.

●       Regularly and proactively produce content to share with our funders overseeing consultant contracts where necessary to do so, including soliciting updates from program team members on areas of priority work. This includes text for emails, team-specific “breaking news” funder updates, text messages, website updates, longer-form briefings, strategy documents, and video or digital content.

●       Work closely with SP’s Director, Partner Communications to produce additional content that meets our communications objectives for the year.

QUALIFICATIONS

●       Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated experience synthesizing and distilling complex written material into concise and polished products. Ability to synthesize content from a range of sources into compelling stories that lift up themes, lessons learned, and successes.

●       Decisive and detail-oriented project manager with the proven ability to simultaneously manage multiple complex projects to completion in a matrixed organization. 

●       Superior organization, time management, and prioritization skills.

●       Strong storytelling skills, with a demonstrated history of proactively engaging expert colleagues to get the information needed to tell cohesive stories.

●       Outstanding writing and editing skills with the proven ability to engage a variety of diverse audiences (previous experience engaging with donors is a plus).

●       Ability to handle multiple projects under tight deadlines and to be able to work well in a complex organization. 

●       Entrepreneurial spirit and ability to think creatively, take initiative, and work independently while thriving in a collaborative work environment and knowing when to seek support.

●       Understanding of the major issues and trends in climate and clean energy advocacy.

●       Experience producing communications materials for a donor audience.

●       A high degree of cultural competence and emotional intelligence, experience participating in or leading DEI initiatives, and track record of contributing meaningfully to a workplace where equity and inclusion are core values in our internal and external work. 

●       Solutions-oriented problem-solver who is committed to working collaboratively in a diverse, dynamic, and complex environment with a combination of local, regional, and national staff and partners.  

●       A service orientation for your work, with a commitment to helping the program team thrive and the organization fulfill its mission. 

●       Comfort working independently and managing up, down, and sideways.

SUPERVISION

Reports to the Senior Vice President, Programs.

COMPENSATION

This is a full-time position. The target salary for this position is $171,000 for a candidate based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and $153,000 for candidates in other areas of the U.S. EF provides a comprehensive benefits package, including competitive salary, medical, dental, vision, disability, and retirement benefits and paid time off.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Ability to travel two to four times a year for three to four business days at a time.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to spend extended hours at the computer. This position requires moderate levels of domestic travel.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

EF is a remote-first work environment. This position may be based in any of EF’s offices or may work remotely from anywhere in the U.S.

The office environments include some shared workspace, some individual offices, and shared kitchen facilities, with moderate noise levels and a collegial atmosphere. On occasion, there are activities or events after work hours.