Growald Climate Fund - Sr. Program Associate, Field Innovation

Senior Program Associate | Full Time | Based in Brookline, MA

Reports to Director, Field Innovation

About Growald Climate Fund

We are a high-impact venture global philanthropy fund catalyzing the rapid transition to a clean energy future. We believe that philanthropy plays a key role in nurturing new climate solutions, supporting a vibrant and growing civil society, and promoting objective research and analysis for use by governments and key partners.

About the Role         

The Program Associate will manage a diverse and rich portfolio of tasks and responsibilities. From working with grantees, to researching new and innovative energy transition areas, to supporting strategic convenings, this role is a deep dive into the fields prioritized by the Field Innovation team (see below) and climate philanthropy. This position reports to the Director of Field Innovation.  

About You

You are passionate about the global transition to clean energy. Your professional experience may include climate research, project management with multiple stakeholders, report writing, and/or data analysis. Ideally, you have spent time working in  the energy sector and/or emerging economies. You are ready to jump into a wide range of tasks and responsibilities with agility, flexibility and focus. You are able to be a support and resource-person, while also taking leadership of projects when necessary. 

About the Field Innovation Pillar

Field Innovation addresses ecosystem gaps in energy transition globally through innovative grantmaking and strategic leadership.

Grantmaking Portfolio:

• Special projects, including incubation of new initiatives that address bottlenecks in the ecosystem
• Strategic research - identifying catalytic areas or gaps (such as coal asset retirement mechanisms, land rights issues for renewable energy, key geographies) 
• Strategic convenings that bring together diverse parties for: high trust strategy development or diplomacy opportunities; to explore new potential areas of work; to foster the development of new collective impact efforts  
• Rapid response grants for catalytic/innovative moments

Strategic Leadership:

• Supporting field coordination to address (such as coal retirement mechanisms, RE finance barriers) emerging priorities and diplomatic efforts
• Leading on strategic research when a grantee partner is not readily available
• Strategic convenings

Responsibilities of the Position Include: 

Strategy Development 

• Support the FI team to develop its priority areas, goals and indicators, provide insights, and contribute to  delivering them.

Grantmaking 

• Act as a point of contact for FI grants responding to various communications including requests for information and questions.
• Project-manage the FI grants management cycle by tracking all grant requirements and liaising with leads to make sure all requirements and reports are completed by established deadlines. 
• Aid in  the development of quarterly Grant Dockets and annual impact reports by drafting FI’s section outline and inputting known information. 
• Own pipeline management for prospective Field Innovation grantees:register ideas,potential grantees and organize information to be inputted into GivingData, our grants management system.
• Support the identification of grantees that fit FI requirements.
• Support scoping and contracting of key research and convening products with external NGOs and consultants.
• Review grantee reports, request for proposals, and other materials and provide an initial assessment of completeness and alignment with FI criteria.

Research & Reporting 

• Conduct energy landscape mapping and fulfill other FI research needs to help address bottlenecks hindering the transition.
• Develop blogs, articles and presentations on FI issues as requested by Growald’s CEO and FI team.
• Conduct data gathering and analysis on technical and strategic  FI issues as requested by Growald’s CEO and FI team.
• Project-manage and draft  reports and strategic documents for Growald board and philanthropic partners.

Convenings

• Assist FI team to deliver Growald’s strategic convenings with various stakeholders involved in climate and philanthropic initiatives, including funders, community members, and partner organizations
• Coordinating meetings with partners and grantees (including scheduling logistics, note-taking and meeting follow-up). 

Qualifications

• An academic background or experience in energy, finance/economics or related field. 
• Masters degree in energy, finance, economics or related field.
• At least three years experience in energy and/or climate finance, or the energy sector (be it within a government, international o