Policy Director

POLICY DIRECTOR

Position overview

The Crux Alliance is seeking a dynamic Policy Director to manage, coordinate, and optimize the technical and analytical modeling efforts that underpin the Alliance’s mission. This role is key in guiding cross-sectoral initiatives, interpreting complex modeling data, and translating these insights to support strategic decision-making, fundraising, and Alliance-building. This is a new position reporting to Executive Director Joe Ryan and can be based anywhere in the US with a preference for Washington, DC, San Francisco, CA or Aspen, CO.

This role offers a unique opportunity to have a direct impact on global climate action by ensuring that Crux Alliance members deliver data-driven measurable outcomes that contribute to ambitious carbon reduction goals. As Policy Director, you will be at the heart of an organization that values continuous improvement, collaboration, and leveraging collective intelligence to drive change. Your work will help shape the future of global climate advocacy and ensure that the lessons learned from the Alliance’s efforts are amplified to accelerate systemic climate solutions worldwide.

Candidate profile

The optimal candidate is a strategic, relationship-focused professional with a passion for using modeling to tell compelling stories about climate policy impact. This individual ‘speaks modeling’ and is conversant with modeling tools and methods—particularly the Energy Policy Simulator (EPS) and related energy and/or climate policy scenario models—yet focuses on interpreting rather than building models. They possess a strong aptitude for transforming complex modeling outcomes into accessible insights that build confidence and trust among policymakers, donors and stakeholders.

The successful candidate is comfortable with the inherent limitations of model-based projections and can leverage this understanding to present nuanced, thoughtful insights that inspire action without overstating certainty. They have sectoral expertise in at least one of the Alliance’s focus areas—power sector, appliance efficiency, transportation, urban mobility, buildings, and industry—and are excited by the work in emerging economies around the globe.

The Alliance is a diverse global network of technical experts in climate solutions and climate policy. Our members are trusted brokers and technical advisors to key policymakers, blending data and diplomacy. The Policy Director must therefore have experience working in and navigating diverse regional contexts. They’re accustomed to working with a variety of stakeholders with high cultural competence, awareness of potential power dynamics in a partnership model, and facility with soft power.

Who should apply: a person who believes that smart policy design is critical to addressing the climate crisis and is able to collaborate with other parts of the ecosystem. We are insider advocates with a passion for using data to drive learning, mitigation, and policy impact in the fight against climate change.

Key responsibilities

Technical leadership & storytelling

• Oversee and refine the Alliance’s policy impact modeling approach, collaborating with key data partners who design and direct complex modeling exercises; understand and communicate the core assumptions, methodologies, and limitations of the models.
• Analyze and vet modeling outcomes, translating technical results into clear, actionable insights for non-expert audiences.
• Support Alliance members—Crux Policy Centers (CPCs)—in using modeling insights to further shared goals and to amplify shared learning.
• Coordinate and align results with philanthropic partners; develop compelling narratives using insights from the models and represent the Alliance with funders and external audiences.

Project coordination

• Serve as the central coordinator for key Alliance initiatives, ensuring CPC collaboration is strategic, efficient, and impactful.
• Oversee the progress of major cross-sector projects (e.g., heat pumps, hydrogen), providing support to CPC leads and ensuring objectives and key results (OKRs) are met.
• Manage renewal proposals for ongoing initiatives and facilitate the development of new initiatives, such as embodied carbon, grid integration, and city-level actions.
• Evaluate new cross-sectoral projects, offering strategic input to optimize design and outcomes.

Thought leadership

• Offer expertise in energy sector decarbonization trends, with an understanding of relevant policies across the top 20 countries where the Alliance operates.
• Provide insight into equity considerations and the socio-economic impacts of decarbonization policies, maintaining a balanced perspective on diverse regional contexts.
• Maintain and expand a network of experts in the energy sector globally, staying informed on emerging trends, policies, and technologies.
• Effectively communicate energy sector developments to philanthropic stakeholders and others, providing insights into how the Alliance’s work advances decarbonization efforts globally.

Qualifications

Required

• 10+ years experience in climate policy, energy systems, or related fields.
• Proven experience with policy impact models, ideally EPS and GCAM; strong analytical skills in interpreting model data and conducting scenario analysis.
• Policy expertise in at least one of the Alliance’s focus areas—power sector, appliance efficiency, transportation, urban mobility, buildings, and industry—including an understanding of equity concerns related to climate policies; familiarity with key climate policies across global regions.
• Demonstrated experience in managing multi-stakeholder projects; ability to oversee complex initiatives and ensure strategic alignment with organizational goals, leveraging leadership through influence rather than positional authority.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with the ability to translate technical data for diverse audiences, particularly within the policymaking and philanthropic sectors, and the ability to oversee the work of other technical experts respectfully.
• Deep commitment to equity and experience working in a cross-functional, collaborative environment, particularly with diverse teams across different sectors and regions in a virtual environment.
• Proven ability to build strong working relationships across technical, policy, and philanthropic communities, fostering collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and the highest standards of quality.
• Facilitative leadership style with high emotional intelligence and low ego.

Preferred

• Advanced degree in environmental science, economics, engineering, public policy, international relations, or related fields.
• Experience working for a global organization.
• Entrepreneurial drive, experience as the first in a new role and / or in a startup environment.

Salary and benefits:

This is a full-time position with an annual salary of $195K – $225K, based on experience. The Crux Alliance offers generous benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, 401k (with match), wellness, and home office setup allowance.

Application instructions:

Please submit your resume and a cover letter detailing your qualifications, interest in the position, and responses to the questions below to careers@cruxalliance.org with the subject line Policy Director.

1. What motivates you to spend your time and talent on global climate policy?
2. Briefly describe a successful policy outcome you contributed to that was based on modeled data. What was the context, your approach, and the outcome? What did you learn from the experience that you would bring with you to The Crux Alliance?

Initial deadline for applications and process: Monday, January 13, 2025. 

Application material review and phone screens begin immediately. In addition to phone screens, we anticipate two video panel interviews and a homework assignment. We hope to have our new Policy Director on board in Q1 2025.

The Crux Alliance is an equal-opportunity employer and encourages applications from individuals of all backgrounds and identities. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.