Senior Policy Analyst

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 our people helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act 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; Chicago; New Delhi; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; and Washington, D.C.

 

NRDC is seeking Senior Policy Analyst to work with the Data & Policy Analysis team in the Science Office in our Washington, DC office.

POSITION SUMMARY  

The Senior Policy Analyst will develop, conduct, and help oversee detailed analyses of the impacts of environmental regulations, federal and state-level legislation, and other clean energy policies on the power sector and broader U.S. economy. The analyst will work closely with staff in the Policy and Data Analysis division, as well as other NRDC colleagues in various programs, to provide impactful analytical and modeling support for NRDC’s energy-related advocacy portfolio.  

The Senior Analyst will lead NRDC’s in-house modeling project. NRDC has a license to Evolved Energy Research’s EnergyPATHWAYS + RIO, an economy-wide energy model used by states, countries, utilities and academics to assess decarbonization trajectories for the U.S. The Senior Analyst will work with other analysts within the Policy Analysis team and program staff to develop decarbonization scenarios and sensitivities, run the model, analyze the data, and prepare internal and public materials on the modeling results. 

 

The Senior Analyst will also work with the federal energy team to develop and analyze federal legislative and regulatory approaches to decarbonize the power sector, such as Clean Energy Standards (CES) and carbon pollution standards. This work will involve active participation in coalition meetings and efforts, including co-developing policy scenarios and joint public-facing advocacy materials.  

The position you are applying for is part of the bargaining unit represented by The Washington Baltimore News Guild (WBNG / The Newsguild-CWA Local 32035).  

Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the following essential functions: 

• Work with members of the Policy Analysis team to support priority campaigns, including providing analytical and technical assistance to our Federal Energy team to defend recently finalized environmental regulations and develop, test and advocate for additional environmental regulations and regulatory approaches at the state and federal levels.
• Work collaboratively within NRDC and with partners to further NRDC’s and our partner’s environmental advocacy, serving as a technical resource for internal and external partners. 
• Perform analysis of the impact of existing and emerging regulations, policy proposals, and technologies, using both power sector and economy-wide energy models. This will include work with the EnergyPathways + RIO model.
• Collaborate with and manage work performed by consultants performing economic, energy, and health modeling of federal, regional, and state regulations and policy proposals. 
• Draft and oversee the development of materials pertaining to NRDC’s advocacy priorities, including fact sheets, blogs, policy briefs, and primers. 
• Present analysis and work to policymakers, media, and other external parties. 

The above list of duties is not comprehensive but generally demonstrates the types of matters under this position’s responsibility. Other duties may be assigned.  

Qualifications

Minimum Education & Experience:   

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, engineering, computer science, mathematics, or other relevant field.
• Master’s in economics, engineering, public policy, data science, applied mathematics, or other relevant graduate degree preferred.  
• 7+ years of post-Bachelor’s experience in policy or economic analysis; experience with energy and climate policy preferred.  

Skills, Abilities, Competencies  

• Proven experience in writing, testing, and deploying code to analyze large datasets, for example using Python or R and associated data science libraries, and demonstrated skills in data cleaning, analysis, and visualization. Facility and knowled