Manager, Federal & External Affairs, U.S. Climate Alliance

The salary range for this position is $90,000 - $100,000.

Position Overview

The U.S. Climate Alliance is a bipartisan coalition of governors securing America’s net-zero future by advancing state-led, high-impact climate action. The Alliance Secretariat helps its members accelerate climate action by providing a broad range of technical, analytical, policy, and capacity assistance and resources. The coalition has also built strong relationships with the Biden-Harris administration to help create and implement an ambitious, durable national climate framework. For more information on the Alliance, please visit www.usclimatealliance.org. 
 
The U.S. Climate Alliance seeks a highly motivated Federal & External Affairs Manager to steer our coalition’s engagement with the federal government and external partners as we approach the next major inflection point in U.S. climate leadership. Next year’s inauguration of a new presidential term and swearing-in of the 119th Congress will present new opportunities and challenges for Alliance members as they continue advancing ambitious climate policy and making progress toward the goals of the Paris Agreement. This position will be responsible for driving the development of a new, two-year federal policy agenda and strategy — in close partnership with member states and Secretariat sector leads — and executing on that strategy to further raise federal ambition and maximize the impact of state climate action. This role will also supervise a Federal & External Affairs Associate and coordinate across teams to support the Secretariat’s engagement with a broad range of federal and external partners, including non-profits, think tanks, and advocates in the climate community. The Federal & External Affairs Manager reports to the Managing Director and is part of the Energy and Climate team at the United Nations Foundation, which houses the U.S. Climate Alliance Secretariat. 
 
This position is based in Washington, DC (hybrid schedule) with consideration for remote work in the contiguous United States.

Essential Functions

​​Drive the development of the Alliance’s federal agenda and serve as primary advisor to members and staff on federal climate action.  

• ​Lead the creation of an ambitious and achievable federal policy agenda to guide the Alliance’s engagement with the federal government and Congress over the next two years.  
• ​Partner with member states, Secretariat sector leads, and coalition partners to evaluate and prioritize opportunities for the Alliance to engage strategically on federal climate action to advance progress and prevent back-sliding.  
• ​Where possible, cultivate strong and collaborative state-federal partnerships with the White House and federal agencies to support advancement of governors’ climate goals.  
• ​Advise Alliance members, leadership, and staff on relevant congressional action and opportunities for engagement as appropriate.  

​Manage the Alliance’s relationships with the federal government and coalition partners.  

• ​Act as a liaison with partner climate organizations, representing the Alliance and serving as a primary point of contact for cross-sectoral and federally focused partners and coalitions. 

• ​Act as liaison with the White House and relevant federal agencies, along with congressional leadership offices and committees as appropriate.  

• ​To maximize the impact of meetings or major federal dialogues with the administration, develop strategies, workplans and briefing documents to prepare for effective, results-driven engagement. 

• ​With the Policy Director, convene discussions among Secretariat staff with federal policy portfolios to ensure coordination across sectors, overcome barriers to action, and support the development of whole-of-government approaches to our federal work. 

• ​Support the Secretariat’s Executive Director, Managing Director, Policy Director, and policy sector leads in communicating regularly and maintaining relationships with key partners across the federal government.  

​Oversee major functions of the Alliance’s federal and external affairs work.  

• ​Supervise a Federal & External Affairs Associate.  
• ​Direct the modernization of an improved external partners database that can be used internally to keep track of key relationships and, with support from the Federal and External Affairs Associate, ensure that the database is regularly updated.  
• ​Lead federal components of the Alliance’s annual strategic work-planning process, partnering collaboratively with Secretariat colleagues to ensure alignment across teams and workstreams.  
• ​In partnership with the Communications Team, oversee the development and execution of rollout plans for Alliance annou