Associate Director, Clean Energy
Full-time FAS staff · Washington, DC
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is seeking an experienced, creative, and energetic professional to help lead and grow our work on clean energy. This role advances evidence-informed policy at multiple levels of government to support a rapid, equitable, cost-effective, and durable shift to clean energy; the role includes a particular emphasis on ensuring that sound policy design is supported by robust government capacity for implementation. The ideal candidate will possess relevant technical expertise; deep understanding of the U.S. energy policy ecosystem; demonstrated ability to lead people and projects; experience fundraising from philanthropic and/or public sources; and genuine excitement about expanding the realm of the possible with respect to clean energy solutions.
Why FAS?
Does FAS sound like an organization that you would be energized to join? Is it aligned to your values?
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) takes quite seriously our role as a beacon and voice for the science community.
FAS has a rich history: after the devastating bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, a group of atomic researchers – deeply concerned about the use of science for malice – created an organization committed to using science and technology to benefit humanity.
The group they created – the Federation of Atomic Scientists – soon became the Federation of American Scientists in recognition of the hundreds of scientists across diverse disciplines who joined together to speak with one voice for the betterment of the world.
Today, we are a group of entrepreneurial, intrepid changemakers, forging a better future for all through the nexus of science, technology and talent. We value equity, inclusion, and transparency. As a collective, we are building an organization focused on being impact-driven, customer-focused, and growth-oriented as a force for good in the world.
Skills and Expertise
What skills do you need to show proficiency (or higher) in order to be a strong candidate?
We're looking for someone who is both a subject-matter expert in clean energy and an entrepreneurial program builder. Strong candidates will bring most of the following:
Clean energy fluency. A deep understanding of the U.S. clean energy policy ecosystem (especially key federal policies and programs, the respective roles of various government agencies, recent trends in state and federal policy priorities, and legislative dynamics), plus technical depth in one or more of domains relevant to current FAS work on clean energy: critical minerals, grid supply chains, clean energy deployment, clean firm power, geothermal, long-duration energy storage, distributed energy resources, large-scale transmission, advanced transmission technologies, grid-enhancing technologies, federal energy innovation, and DOE program implementation and institutional design.
Institutional insight. Curiosity about, and ideally experience with, how government actually delivers: how agencies are organized for collaboration and execution, how federal-state-local relationships shape implementation, and what capacity constraints determine whether good policy actually gets done.
Policy entrepreneurship. A track record of spotting opportunities for impact, developing policy ideas and building support for them, and moving those ideas through policy processes and into the real world. Ability to read political feasibility, prioritize among competing opportunities, and adapt strategy quickly in a fast-moving environment.
Coalition-building and trust. Experience building and managing coalitions or multi-stakeholder partnerships across organizations with different interests, timelines, and priorities; a record of building trust with stakeholders across ideological, institutional, and sectoral differences.
Communication. Excellent written and oral communication skills, with a strong ability to tailor to different…