Sustainability and Resilience Policy Director

About SPUR

SPUR is a nonprofit public policy organization in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through research, education and advocacy, SPUR works to create an equitable, sustainable and prosperous region, where all people thrive. We bring people together from across the political spectrum to develop solutions to the big problems cities face. With offices in San Francisco, San José and Oakland, we are recognized and respected for our independent and holistic approach to urban issues.

The Opportunity

SPUR works to create a sustainable and resilient region. The Sustainability and Resilience Policy Director would lead SPUR’s work to develop and implement an agenda for climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience. This role is perfect for someone with deep knowledge of the public policy process in California and/or the region, a strong personal commitment to environmental protection and social justice, and a passion to establish the Bay Area as the proving grounds of sustainable and resilient urban development.

This role includes significant applied research, writing, and policy analysis, as well as strategic thinking, effective advocacy, and coalition-building. This role involves significant collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to develop policy ideas and strategy, and to implement policy changes at the local and regional scales in the Bay Area. This role requires excellent project management and team management skills, fundraising experience, and engagement with SPUR’s Board of Directors, stakeholders, and the general public. This role would also be an ambassador to government staff, elected officials, business and community leaders, and staff at partner organizations.

SPUR’s Sustainability and Resilience policy vertical works to eliminate carbon emissions and create resilient, environmentally just communities. The Sustainability and Resilience Director will manage programmatic commitments in three areas: building decarbonization, earthquake resilience, and sea level rise resilience. In building decarbonization, SPUR is committed to enabling a smooth and equitable transition to zero-pollution building equipment for the Bay Area and streamlining the process of building electrification for building owners faced with complex local permitting for heat pumps and confusing utility processes for electric service upgrades. In earthquake resilience, SPUR seeks to bolster seismic safety standards for new and existing construction. In sea level rise resilience, SPUR encourages regional-scale planning and addressing the disproportionate hazards facing frontline communities.

This position reports to the Chief Policy Officer (CPO), manages two direct reports, and is a valued member of the policy team.

Requirements

• The candidate must have experience writing about, advocating for and making policy change, furthering sustainability and resilience.
• The candidate must be well versed in the major sustainability and resiliency policy issues affecting American cities today, and knowledge of California and Bay Area issues and institutions is highly desirable.
• The candidate must be a strong writer, who can make complicated policy issues interesting and intelligible to a general audience.
• The job requires strong meeting facilitation skills and the ability to work well with people from all different sectors of the community, and build coalitions and consensus to drive policy outcomes.
• The candidate must have experience effectively managing both projects and people.
• The candidate should have experience sourcing funding for their work.
• The candidate must also have strong quantitative reasoning skills and an ability to interpret and explain data, quantitative methods, trends and summary figures.
• Masters degree in public policy, environmental science, environmental planning, or a related field, or a minimum of five years equivalent experience.
• The candidate must be committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, and manifest that commitment in their policy, facilitation, advocacy and management responsibilities.

Benefits

The salary range for this position is $125,000-$145,000 and will be based on experience and commensurate with skills and qualifications. This is a full-time, exempt position. SPUR offers a generous and comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, dental insurance, vision care, basic life insurance, pre-tax commuter benefits, work from home stipend, employee assistance program (EAP) and retirement plan with twenty-five percent contribution matching.

Hybrid Work Environment

At SPUR the health of our employees and their families is our top priority. SPUR has a hybrid workplace model defined by a combination of remote and in-person work. We have mandatory all-staff in-person days on Monday and Wednesday, staff will be required to attend other in-person meetings, events, and programs around the Bay Area region as needed. All policies are subject to change.

Equal Opportunity Employer

SPUR is an equal opportunity employer with a strong organizational commitment to respecting differences of all kinds. SPUR prohibits unlawful discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, age, sexual orientation, political orientation or disability or any other basis prohibited by law. In that spirit, we strongly encourage applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, LGBTQ applicants and others that will contribute to the diversity of our staff.

Applicants With Disabilities

Reasonable accommodations will be made so that qualified disabled applicants may participate in the application process. Please advise in writing of special needs at the time of application.

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this position. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so assigned.