Job Summary
The Director of Policy leads all of CSE’s policy related activities, including regulatory, governmental affairs, coalition building and external relations. The Director of Policy also serves on CSE’s Executive Leadership Team which charts the strategic direction of the organization and conducts executive level decision making.
CSE’s policy group leverages CSE’s deep program operating experience and equally deep quantitative and qualitative data analytics capabilities to deliver unique, data-driven, operating experience-based policy recommendations to elected officials, regulators and other clean energy stakeholders. The Director of Policy leads frequent in-person and remote engagement with state and local officials, as well as with the senior-most ranks of federal leadership.
CSE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that generates over $200 million in annual revenue and operates on a fee for service business model. CSE has no paying members or donors and funds all its activities with revenue and surplus it earns from delivering service for value under contracts, which it competes for in the market against for-profit companies and other nonprofit organizations. CSE has leveraged its “fee for service” model to earn a nation-wide reputation as market-neutral, product-agnostic, technology and service provider that can be trusted to equitably deliver on programs that advance CSE’s mission, which it states in one word: Decarbonize. The organization operates like a for-profit company with the heart of a nonprofit.
CSE’s primary offering is the data driven, software-enabled design and administration of large-scale market transformation incentive programs in transportation and the built environment. Currently, the CSE’s portfolio of programs under management exceeds over $4 billion in total program value and includes programs in 12 states. These programs include largest statewide incentive programs for electric vehicles (EVs), EV Charging, and Solar for multifamily dwellings. CSE’s enhances its program administration with a data science team of over 30 professionals who oversee the collection of program data and the conversion of that data into insights that optimize program design and administration. A foundational component of CSE’s program management is CSE’s Caret suite of software products, which provide program automation and forecasting that allows pro-active, data-rich administration and allows stakeholders to escape the” set it and forget it and study it later” paradigm that prevailed in earlier eras. This deep program operating experience has imbued CSE with an unparalleled data-based understanding of way large-scale market transformation incentive programs work.
Essential Functions and Responsibilities:
Establish a strategic vision and implementation plan for the policy group in alignment with CSE’s strategic plan, including specific policy initiatives focused on existing and developing clean energy programs, including CSE’s programs
- Build and maintain long-term relationships with elected representatives, regulators and their staffs, partners and clients to position CSE for continued growth and further strengthen CSE’s reputation as a neutral, trusted advisor.
- Engage in regular and specially set face-to-face meetings with local, regional and state-level officials to educate them on CSE’s program work and the impact pending policy initiatives would have on the program and the benefits the program is intended to deliver to target recipients
- Infuse policy communications with data analytics and program operating experience that make CSE’s policy engagement unique.
- Review CSE communications to ensure that CSE’s data analytics and program experience both inform and are informed by the policy team
- Lead the Policy team in defining CSE positions, informed by CSE’s data analytics and program experience, on specific legislative and regulatory efforts in Distributed Energy Resources, Transportation, and Climate Change.
- Represent CSE, its programs, and its policy positions in public forums.
- Lead annual and multi-year resource planning and budgeting for the Policy team.
- Oversee all aspects of Policy team success including priority setting, budgeting, reporting, analysis, quality control, and employee development and performance.
- Lead a team of policy and subject-matter experts to ensure programs follow regulatory and legislative requirements for implementation and reporting.
- Recruit, manage, and mentor a team of policy specialists to support the development and execution of CSE’s policy objectives.
- Establish and monitor staff performance and development goals, assign accountabilities, set objectives, establish and monitor priorities, and conduct annual performance appraisals.
- Promote a culture of respect, performance, continuous learning, and a commitment to the individual.
- Perform other related duties as assigned.
Role Specific Responsibilities:
N/A
QUALIFICATIONS
Essential Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
Required
- Deep familiarity with the California clean energy policy landscape at the state and local level, and with federal energy policy that affects California.
- Demonstrated ability to interact directly with key stakeholders in the California policy environment, including elected officials and their staff, regulators, and staff at relevant agencies including in California CARB, CEC and CPUC, and leaders of relevant advocacy groups
- Demonstrated experience developing and maintaining relationships with industry stakeholders and appointed and elected officials.
- Ability to create and identify policy opportunities, develop forward-looking strategies, build partnerships, and lead a cross-functional team to achieve organizational success.
- Ability to support the organization’s strategic planning process and help define potential opportunities.
- Significant experience writing and editing, data-supported position pieces, official reports, comments, and analyses, as well as developing new policy concepts in the regulatory and legislative settings, or oversight of this activity.
- Outstanding communication skills with the proven ability to utilize these skills across groups within and outside the organization, including as a public speaker and spokesperson.
- Management experience, including tactical decision-making, facilitation, communications, and the ability to develop and attain goals, including:
- Demonstrated experience growing and leading teams to success.
- Commitment to values of mutual respect and collaboration, teamwork and diversity.
- Motivated and inspirational, capable of mobilizing a large workforce around a shared mission.
- Self-directed, effective communicator, strong time management skills, and a creative problem solver.
- A proven track record demonstrating the ability to work in a fast-paced, forward-moving environment with the ability to quickly learn new policies, concepts, and technologies.
Preferred
- Demonstrated familiarity with the energy policy landscape and appointed and elected officials in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Florida, Ohio and/or Texas
- Experience with federal clean energy policy and regulatory stakeholders
- Demonstrated familiarity with the EV, EV charging, solar and storage ecosystems in the US.
- Understanding of the multidisciplinary aspects of energy and transportation projects including planning, permitting, finance, and technology.
- Knowledge of state energy and transportation policies, priorities, and budgets and ability to identify opportunities for growth for CSE programs.
- Business/finance skills sufficient to understand and develop budgets.
- Demonstrated success in drafting scopes of work, budgets, and complex proposals that result in contracts.
Education:
- Required: Bachelor’s degree
- Preferred: Master’s Degree, Juris Doctorate, or Ph.D.
Experience:
- 15+ years of direct experience or a combination of direct experience and relevant graduate-level education. Management level at nonprofit, state or federal agency, clean energy and/or utility company is preferred.
- Licenses, Certificates or Registrations:
- None required.
