Program Manager – Local Initiatives

About IREC

IREC is an independent nonprofit that builds the foundation for rapid adoption of clean energy and energy efficiency to benefit people, the economy, and our planet. Our vision is a 100% clean energy future that is reliable, resilient, and equitable. IREC develops and advances the regulatory reforms, technical standards, and workforce and community-based solutions needed to enable the streamlined integration of clean energy.  IREC provides independent leadership and trusted clean energy expertise through three interrelated strategies:

• Workforce Development - IREC leads initiatives to build a diverse and qualified clean energy workforce while ensuring that clean energy workers have access to family-sustaining careers.
• Local Initiatives - IREC supports communities to develop policies and promote best practices that accelerate the equitable deployment of clean energy.
• State Regulatory Engagement - IREC represents the public interest in state regulatory proceedings and develops and disseminates best practices to ensure that distributed energy resources (DERs) can be equitably and efficiently integrated on the electric grid.

About the Position

Type: Full-time; exempt

Salary: $60,000 - $75,000 commensurate with experience and qualifications

Location: Remote; flexible 

Reports to: Vice President

Benefits: Health, dental, vision insurance, retirement contribution, personal time off, flexible work schedule

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) is seeking a highly motivated Program Manager to support the Local Initiatives team in working with communities to implement solutions to reduce soft costs and grow local distributed wind (DW) markets. This program will help make DW more accessible to community members in localities where DW can be cost-effectively and equitably deployed to support place-based energy transitions. The distributed wind program is a new national outreach, training, technical assistance (TA), and designation program that is focused on local governments (LGs) with DW potential. It will also be integrated with other IREC designation programs like SolSmart and Charging Smart. Integration of these programs will ensure clear and consistent communication with internal teams and LGs. The Program Manager will work with partners to recruit local governments to pursue designation under the program. 

In addition, the Program Manager will support outreach efforts to local governments and regional organizations for a new program focused on large-scale renewable energy siting to Mississippi. Note: (Large-scale is defined here as utility-scale, commercial and industrial). This project will establish a technical assistance hub for large-scale renewable energy for local governments throughout the state of Mississippi. The Program Manager will occasionally perform other duties and support other programs as needed to meet the objectives of a small and dynamic national nonprofit organization.  

Responsibilities

• Support outreach efforts and work with partner organizations to recruit new local governments to the DW and Mississippi programs;
• Promote the DW program by effectively communicating program benefits to stakeholders; 
• Design and deliver presentations to regional organizations and local government officials;
• Support the development of new technical resources (e.g. webinars, presentations, best practice case studies, and tools) to inform regional organizations and local governments;
• Provide research, writing, and coordination support for the DW program, the Mississippi and other projects at IREC;
• Assist with Salesforce data management (training will be provided if the applicant does not have prior knowledge);
• Help ensure proper program reporting to comply with federal regulations; and
• Support other IREC programs and initiatives as needed.

IREC team members collaborate primarily in the virtual environment, leveraging remote meetings, project management, and other collaboration tools to stay connected and on task.  

Knowledge, Skills, Experience, and Qualities for This Role:

The successful candidate will bring the following qualities to our organization:

Required:

• An undergraduate degree in public policy, economics, planning, local government management, public affairs, environmental studies, or other related field; 
• 1+ years of relevant work experience, preferably in municipal/regional government affairs, public affairs, the wind industry, or other renewable energy field;
• Demonstrated success with outreach and recruitment;
• Consistent and strong track record of superb interpersonal skills and clear and persuasive technical writing skills;
• Proven ability to provide high-quality customer service;
• Ability to work independently and with a geographically distributed team to meet deadlines (experience managing large groups of external stakeholders is a plus);
• The ability and willingness to build a network and travel and effectively present at local, regional, and national meetings, conferences, and other events; 
• A demonstrated passion for distributed wind or renewable energy; 
• Willingness to be flexible, adapt to new technologies, learn, and shift course as needs arise;
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA).

Preferred:

• Prior experience using Salesforce or another similar platform;
• Extensive and demonstrable knowledge of local and regional planning and community engagement;
• Education or experience in renewable energy project development, and/or resilience strategies involving renewable energy systems.

IREC Foundational Values

• We value diversity of backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and thoughts and believe they result in better outcomes and greater organizational impact.
• We value the uniqueness and dignity of each individual and their right to be their true and complete self.
• We believe in the potential of the clean energy transition to advance equity in our nation.

IREC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and embracing a workplace with diverse voices and perspectives. We strongly encourage and seek applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds. Applicants are not discriminated against because of race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, medical conditions, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until 8/29/24 or until the position is filled.

Applicants must be based and authorized to work in the United States.