Director, Projects and Planning - Climate and Energy Program

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is seeking a Director, Projects and Planning to coordinate and plan UCS' projects in our newly combined Climate and Energy Program.  This position will serve as a member of our Climate and Energy Leadership Team.
 
UCS is the leading science-based nonprofit organization working for a healthy planet and a safer world. Founded in 1969, UCS currently has a membership and activist base of more than 100,000, a staff of over 100, and offices in Cambridge (MA), Washington (DC), Berkeley (CA), and Chicago (IL).
 
Responsibilities:
Under the direction of the Climate & Energy Program Director, plan and coordinate activities of Climate & Energy Program projects; develop and enforce standards for application of project management to UCS work; place staff as a resource on projects program wide and across programs and work to support staff in prioritizing and resolving conflict as may occur across or within projects.

Help develop project plans and prepare/help to oversee and track program’s budgets. Monitor and audit work results and integrate various department activities. Directly support Project Managers in achieving project goals. Implement management strategies for effectively achieving project and program goals and guiding staff to achieve or exceed those goals. 

In collaboration with the Development Department, ensure that Project Managers are coordinating input into grant proposals and grant reports for the funding supporting their programs.   

Foster a positive team spirit that easily crosses departmental lines and leverages the collective resources of the organization.  Actively engage in problem solving around relevant strategic questions, issues of substance, and matters of staff time prioritization and resource utilization.

Qualifications:
Requires expertise in cross-functional staff time and financial resource management for projects, and ability to help plan and coordinate multi-year work across a large, dynamic, and growing program.  Experience accurately scoping, and managing or coordinating most if not all of the chain of activities in producing complex, research-based deliverables through to their public promotion, outreach, and use. 

Strong facility with basic software for management of projects and programs (e.g. Excel, MS Project, etc.). Good team player with ability to help define roles, resolve conflicts, forge teamwork solutions, and complement the work of scientists, technical experts, and policy experts through sound management of process. High comfort level with balancing staff time, scheduling, and budgetary responsibilities competing between longer term project deliverables and short term program “rapid response” demands. Experience working with scientists and with climate and energy issues and policy desirable but not required. 

Experience:
Position requires eight to twelve years of progressively responsible and relevant experience, including three to five years of senior level management experience. Advanced degree (MBA, MPA, or comparable), and facility/familiarity with current best practices in project management tools and methodologies preferred.  

Position Details:
This position will be based in our Cambridge or D.C. office. UCS offers salary commensurate with experience and training, excellent benefits, and a flexible and friendly work environment. UCS is an equal opportunity employer continually seeking to diversify its staff.
 
To Apply:
Send a cover letter referencing where you learned of this job opening, résumé, representative sample of relevant work (e.g. Project Plan or similar), and salary requirements via email to jobs@ucsusa.org; please include “Director, Projects and Planning” in the subject line. Electronic Submissions Only. 
 
No phone calls, please.