Senior Director, Economic Development

at Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Job Description

Senior Director, Economic Development
Job Locations

US-NY-New York | US-DC-Washington | US-IL-Chicago

Job ID 
2024-5517  

# of Openings 
1  

Group 
Green Finance & Economic Development
Overview

NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our team of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and the globe from our offices in Beijing; Bozeman, Montana; Chicago; New Delhi; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing.

NRDC's new Green Finance and Economic Development Team is seeking to hire a Senior Director to work in one of the following main U.S. offices: Chicago, New York, or Washington D.C., with a preference for New York or Washington, D.C.
The Opportunity:
NRDC creates impact around the world and for a better future, and we're looking for an equally ambitious and skilled Senior Director of Economic Development to help us maximize that impact. NRDC's Green Finance and Economic Development Department is dedicated to (a) reducing the risks that climate change poses to financial systems, (b) equitably finance the transition to a zero-carbon economy, and (c) ensuring the economic benefits of the clean energy transition benefits all, starting with the most vulnerable communities. The newly formed Department is comprised of the climate risk team, the blended finance team, and the economic development and financial inclusion team. We work nationally and globally.

The Senior Director will be responsible for leading the NRDC team in the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative (BASC). This innovative 3-year, 25-city project has as part of its mission using the federal investments under the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to invest in Black communities that have been experiencing dis- and under- investment and largely excluded from green growth opportunities, to target wealth inequities faced by these communities. The Senior Director will sit on the Management and Strategy Committee and be the lead collaborator with BASC partners and participating cities in identifying and implementing economic development strategies that address the causes and risk of climate change while reducing the racial wealth gap.

Reporting directly to the Managing Director, the Senior Director will develop the strategy for the Economic Development and Financial Inclusion team and lead and operationalize the people, structures, partnerships, and programs to execute the Department's advocacy strategy. This role requires a significant amount of collaboration and thought partnership with other internal teams, as we work within a matrixed structure of operation. Among others, close coordination with place-based teams who lead shaping and execution of NRDC's advocacy in specific geographies is critical.

The Senior Director will represent NRDC and the Green Finance and Economic Development Department at internal and external events and forums to elevate our reputation and profile as experts in economic development and financial inclusion. With the support of the Managing Director and the Strategy, Planning and Operations Lead, to advance the economic development and financial inclusion strategy, the Senior Director will effectively manage the group's budget and resources, work with Development to cultivate partnerships and support fundraising efforts, and develop an effective communications strategy in partnership with Communications. The Senior Director will be expected, and will be supported, to build this program even further to help meet the urgency of the moment.

If you thrive in a... For full info follow application link.

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming a diversity of voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.