Associate / Sr. Associate - Climate Intelligence Program
Do you love to solve challenging problems, thinking in numbers, and working in groups? Do you also have the self-motivation, curiosity, creativity, and ability to persuade others toward meaningful results? Do you have a passion for making the world a better place? If yes, then join our growing team!
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is seeking an Associate or Senior Associate to support its Climate Intelligence Global Program. RMI staff bring a variety of skillsets, and we welcome candidates with diverse educational and work backgrounds. We will carefully review each application to determine the appropriate starting position level (Associate or Senior Associate), which will be communicated during the interview process.
Application Deadline: November 27th, 2020
Program Overview:
RMI’s Climate Intelligence Global Program focuses on curating emissions and climate data while also translating this data into actionable insights and tools for those best positioned to reduce emissions. We collaborate with a global network of businesses, financial institutions, and policymakers to deliver data and insights that are accurate, actionable, and real-time, ultimately enabling emissions reductions in some of the largest industrial sectors. Our work focuses not only on quantifying the risks of climate inaction, but also on identifying emerging opportunities to reduce emissions.
As part of the Climate Intelligence Global Program, the Supply Chains initiative seeks to demystify complex materials production systems and to develop insights that drive decarbonization. The Supply Chains initiative has launched COMET, the Coalition on Materials Emissions Transparency, to create a universal carbon accounting framework, in turn making emissions data more comparable, reliable, and actionable. COMET is a collaboration with MIT Sustainable Supply Chains program, the Columbia University Center on Sustainable Investment, and the Payne Institute for Public Policy at Colorado School of Mines. For more information, please visit rmi.org/comet.
Position Overview:
As an RMI Associate or Senior Associate, you are a creative problem solver who uses your quantitative, technical and analytical abilities to conduct compelling research and assessment around vital energy issues. Your role in the team will range from contributing to the creation of harmonization guidance on carbon accounting, all the way to conceiving, facilitating and setting up use-cases for the visualization and attribution of carbon emissions. In the day-to-day, this will take the form of deep research into existing accounting methods, as well as supporting the creation of big data solutions for supply chain traceability.
Your key job responsibilities as an Associate primarily include:
- Provide quantitative analysis, modeling, and support to our projects.
- Locate and manage high quality data that sheds new light on problems and solutions.
- Create innovative problem-solving approaches to drive project insight.
- Synthesize recommendations into clear and compelling presentations and written reports.
- Present quantitative information in a clear, visual format.
- Engage with external experts via phone interviews, conferences, and on occasion, respond to outreach requests.
Your key responsibilities as a Senior Associate include the above, and:
- Structure and guide the work of more junior team members.
- Design and create approaches and quantitative models to effectively address key questions and challenges posed by our research goals and clients.
- Contribute publicly at conferences, share expertise in response to media requests, discuss our work with clients and donors, and direct RMI research collaborations.
Minimum Qualifications:
- A graduate degree or equivalent experience in an applicable field such as engineering (mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical, energy), business (marketing, finance, international), economics, computer science, mathematics, social sciences, OR undergraduate degree and 2-4 years of cumulative work experience and excellent work references.
- Ability to design, create, and run Excel-based models.
- Understanding of basic financial analysis and metrics (e.g., NPV, cash flows).
Preferred Qualifications:
- Familiarity with energy, climate science, and the supply chains of one or more sectors including metals (steel, copper, aluminum), plastics, cement, and/or agriculture/land use.
- Familiarity with the basics of carbon accounting, and the ecosystem of national, corporate and product level emissions reporting.
- Ability to conduct detail-oriented work examining complex flows of information.
- Prior experience in consulting, project management, or other related fields.
- Ability to stick with a problem through resolution but also knowing when to ask for help.
- Ability to listen actively, be diplomatic, and share knowledge and information well.
- Willingness to plunge into unfamiliar disciplines and take risks by exploring and testing new ideas.
- Experience working among diverse groups with varying perspectives and/or facilitating challenging conversations.
- Demonstrated initiative and accomplishment in previous work.
Location
These positions will remain remote through the COVID-19 pandemic. Once the COVID-19 situation improves, it is expected that these roles be based at one of our office locations in the United States. This will be discussed further throughout the interview process.
Compensation:
The starting Associate level salary is $68,000, and the starting Senior Associate salary is $76,500. Both levels have a 5% bonus target, and there is potential to earn more based on experience that will be vetted through the interview process.
Benefits
We offer a comprehensive benefits package including:
- Medical, dental, vision insurance
- 403b retirement options (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
- Commuter and wellness benefits
- Casual work environment
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 RMI staff 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.
Rocky Mountain Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
About Rocky Mountain Institute
Rocky Mountain Institute transforms global energy use to create a clean, prosperous, and secure low-carbon future. That is our mission. That is our passion. And every day, every member of our team of nearly 250 works relentlessly to achieve it. We are driving the global energy transition from fossil fuels to efficiency and renewables by working in partnership with businesses, communities, institutions, and entrepreneurs to advance market-based solutions. We achieve this by developing breakthrough ideas, testing and refining them, reshaping markets, and bringing solutions to scale. RMI is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with an annual budget of $70 million and offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing, China.