Senior Associate - Climate Aligned Industries, Carbon Dioxide Removal

Are you passionate about the role of policy and markets in scaling new climate solutions? Are you a tenacious problem-solver and a collaborative teammate? Can you communicate complex topics to a variety of audiences? Do you have experience designing policy and market mechanisms to drive change? If yes, then join our growing team!

The Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Initiative at RMI is seeking a Senior Associate to join our team. This person will focus on policy, market design, and stakeholder engagement to support the responsible scale-up of the CDR industry to meet global climate targets.

RMIers bring a variety of skillsets, and we welcome candidates with diverse educational and work backgrounds. We highly encourage individuals from underrepresented groups to apply.

Application deadline: Friday, July 19th

Program Overview:

The Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Initiative joined RMI in 2022 to support responsible deployment of carbon removal through advancing research and development; supporting first of a kind projects; and establishing the policy and market mechanisms to drive long-term sustainable demand for carbon removal.

Our research and development portfolio produces industry-leading technology assessments and roadmaps to identify promising CDR approaches and clarify where additional investment is needed. Our first projects portfolio works to activate new industries to invest in carbon removal and engages directly with project developers to inform project design and implementation. Our policy and market-shaping portfolio is convening stakeholders and providing actionable guidance to policymakers, agency staff, and CDR companies to establish the policies and institutions needed to scale CDR responsibly with a high bar for community engagement, equity, and justice. We work with a diverse range of partners in academia, the private sector, civil society, and government to execute this work.

The CDR Initiative sits within the Climate Aligned Industries (CAI) Program at RMI. CAI is focused on decarbonizing the harder to abate sectors through the development of policy, market mechanisms, and industry action. In addition to the CDR Initiative, CAI brings together heavy industry sectors (aviation, cement, chemicals, steel and shipping) with cross-cutting projects focused on green hydrogen, clean industrial hubs, community engagement, and demand creation.

Position Overview:

Senior Associates at RMI are creative problem solvers who use their research, technical, and analytical abilities to help shape RMI’s programs, advance the public debate, and influence decision-making across sectors.

RMI looks for candidates with a demonstrated aptitude for problem solving, systems thinking, and working in teams. We expect self-motivation, curiosity, creativity, and the ability to drive oneself and others toward meaningful results. As a teammate, you contribute to a culture of mutual respect and empathy for colleagues and collaborators and their ideas.

RMI Senior Associates are typically independent contributors that work closely with colleagues on projects under the direction of more senior staff. In some cases, Senior Associates may manage workstreams inside larger projects. They have begun to develop expertise in the content area of their initiative within RMI and can provide support internally to RMI on that topic.

Core Responsibilities:

• Build expertise to deliver insights and thought leadership on CDR policy and markets.

• Stakeholder engagement and convening to build support for CDR policy and inform smart policy and market design.

• Design and execute innovative problem-solving approaches to effectively address key questions and challenges facing the CDR field.

• Locate and manage high-quality data that sheds new light on problems and solutions.

• Synthesize and communicate key findings and recommendations in clear and compelling presentations and written pieces for technical and non-technical audiences.

• Communicate complex technical information to a variety of audiences in a concise manner.

• Contribute to strategies for scaling CDR policy and market frameworks responsibly and effectively, domestically and internationally.

• Collaborate effectively with external partners and help to design and execute effective collaborations.

• Engage with external experts via interviews, conferences, and responses to outreach requests.

• Contribute publicly at conferences, share expertise in response to media requests, and discuss our work with clients and donors.

• Represent RMI as an industry expert at key conferences and other public speaking events.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree and 3-5 years of experience.

• Demonstrated prior knowledge of carbon dioxide removal.

• Demonstrated effectiveness and creativity in solving hard problems.

• Strong skills in structured problem-solving, research, and writing.

• Commitment to and passion for the development and realization of frontier climate solutions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters degree in an applicable field (e.g., public policy, economics, environmental science, engineering) and 4+ years of experience.

• Demonstrated experience doing policy work ideally CDR policy, including policy design and analysis, stakeholder outreach, and advocacy

• Qualitative research and analysis experience (e.g. synthesizing literature, policy landscape assessment, expert elicitation)

• Quantitative analysis and visualization experience (e.g., decarbonization pathways modeling, leveraging tools like Tableau and Datawrapper to visualize data)

• Experience in helping to build thriving communities and collaborations for sharing knowledge and ideas.

Location

The CDR Initiative is geographically diverse, with team members ranging from eastern Europe to the west coast of the United States. The Policy Senior Associate role can be located anywhere in the contiguous United States.

RMI is a remote-ready organization with team members around the globe. Our beautiful and welcoming offices are available for meetings or focused work, whether you are traveling through or living nearby. Our U.S. offices are in New York City; Washington DC; Oakland, California; Boulder, Colorado, and Basalt, Colorado.

We provide you with the essential IT equipment plus a one-time home technology payment and a monthly work from home/commuter allowance to ensure you have a comfortable home office set up and necessary supplies.

We also love seeing each other in person! We occasionally gather for shared time together like retreats and learning experiences. Be ready to travel for occasional in-person meetings (and of course, we cover travel costs).

Compensation

RMI compensates based on the level and requirements of the role. Salary within our ranges may also be determined by your education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as required by the role, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data. Typically, new Senior Associates based in the U.S. join at the minimum to mid salary range of $84,000-$103,000. You would also have an additional 5% bonus target.

Benefits:

We offer a comprehensive benefits package adjusted to regional norms, including (for U.S. employment):

• Medical, dental, vision insurance

• 403b retirement options (up to 5% match immediately)

• Life, AD&D, short-term and long-term disability

• Professional and personal development (including LinkedIn Learning access)

• Generous paid time off

• Parental leave

• Work from home and commuter allowance

Diversity

Increasing the diversity of thought, perspectives, ideas and opinions within RMI is a critical change element supporting our long-term sustainability and mission to build a clean, prosperous, and secure energy future.

We strive for a level of diversity that reflects the communities we serve. Achieving this—regardless of ability, race, ethnicity, ancestry, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, veteran status, socioeconomic class, educational attainment or other social identities—is critical to the success of each RMIer and collectively as an organization. This ensures that we:

• Have the different array of thinking that comes from diverse backgrounds and cultures, enabling us to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.

• Strive for a culture of inclusion and belonging by treating others with dignity, respect and appreciation enabling them to feel welcomed, supported and valued.

• Effectively connect, communicate and build long-lasting relationships with decision makers, stakeholders and constituents within diverse communities.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.