Job details
Job type full-time
Full job description
Job title: managing director of energy equity, research, and impacts
Status: exempt, 40 hours a week
Location: portland, or | tucson, az | madison, wi | san diego, ca | washington, d.c| remote
Position background
Illume advising, llc is a research consultancy that supports the clean energy industry by providing market research, evaluation, strategy, and policy services for programs, services, and new clean energy technologiesHistorically, the energy industry has under-served diverse groups, including people of color, residents with limited incomes, rural customers, and those for whom english is not their first language, among othersWe support our clients in remedying these disparities through empathic research and incisive data scienceWe are doubling down on this long-held commitment and are seeking a leader to help drive our work by centering equity in the clean energy transition.
We are looking for an exceptional professional to join our team as a managing director with an emphasis on our equity researchCandidates should have either previous or current work in strategic planning, research, method development, and evaluation tethered to multi-stakeholder engagement and an intersectional understanding of where environmental work intersects with public health, economic mobility, community resilience, and racial/social justiceThis is a leadership position to support illume in expanding on our core mission to:
Elevate the voices of our colleagues through collaboration and the voices of the public through research.
Build a thriving clean energy economy with a focus on environmental and social justice.
Equitably transform the energy industry to the benefit of all communities.
Our ideal candidate is driven by a desire to help our clients remedy disparities in clean energy opportunities by taking a holistic view of the challengeBy examining the intersection of energy policy and social, racial, and environmental justice, this position will amplify our company’s core mission and help to push our work— and our industry—forward.
We welcome candidates from backgrounds such as energy, public health, and environmental justiceTo be successful, interested candidates will have had experience in business environments, thrive working under deadlines, and feel fulfilled problem-solving among a team of committed researchers and strategists.
Primary contributions to company health
Subject matter expertise, project team supervision, and mentorship, and training on best practices in research methods and analysis with under-served population studies; continuous monitoring of approaches to optimize project performance and company health in area of expertise; proactive communication on project and staff performance issues to enable informed action and contingency planningProactive account development, existing and new client outreach, and results-driven business development in research and strategy to examine and remedy disparities in clean energy investments and benefits.
North star statement
The managing director of energy equity, research, and impacts grows and strengthens illume’s portfolio of equity work and the company’s presence within the industry in equity research and beyondAs a leader, the managing director must proactively develop the skills, capabilities, and competencies of illume’s consultant and analyst team members to deliver exceptional work and drive innovation across portfolios of equity-related projectsThe managing director models excellence as a researcher and as a team member.
Job description
The managing director of energy equity, research, and impacts oversees large and complex research portfolios, high-profile projects, “small tent” strategic projects, and key accountsThe managing director of energy equity, research, and impacts will ensure that illume has the technical and analytic depth necessary to meet our clients’ needs in the equity space in the immediate and long-termThey will oversee and guide managing consultant, consultant, and analyst teams as they work to deliver on client projects and ensure project deliverables exceed industry standards and client expectationsThis includes providing subject matter expertise in study design, qualitative and quantitative research design and methods, and qualitative and quantitative approaches to addressing issues related to equity and diversity in the energy sectorThe managing director of energy equity, research, and impacts will advise on strategy and provide guidance on technical resources needed to develop and deploy illume products and services in this specific area of workThe managing director of energy equity, research, and impacts will keep up with industry best practices both within and outside of energy and integrate them into our team and approach.
The managing director of energy equity, research, and impacts is a senior member of the illume team and is responsible for representing illume in key forums and supporting company business development and sales effortsStrategic thinking and strong business acumen are essential in this role.
The managing director of energy equity, research, and impacts contributes to the company’s strategic priorities with respect to equity and, with an eye to both current and future goals, working towards that strategic visionThe managing director of energy equity, research, and impacts will leverage personal (as well as illume team) areas of expertise to expand work and contribute meaningfully to illume’s operational and multi-year strategic growth planThe managing director of energy equity, research, and impacts will work to prioritize and set action plans to address issues and meet the company’s needs to foster equity-related research in energy.
The managing director of energy equity, research, and impacts will work closely with other team members to ensure cross-functional integration to achieve organizational success.
The managing director of energy equity, research, and impacts accomplishes this goal through a respectful, constructive, and energetic style, and guided by illume’s mission, vision, and values.
Key results areas (kras)
Portfolio and project leadership
Method development
Staff development, training, and mentorship
Business development
Key account creation, maintenance, and oversight
Portfolio and project leadership
Support illume in retaining and growing key accounts by identifying and mentoring project leadership on quality, delivery, and advancing client work.
Empower project managers to ensure projects are delivered on budget and in a timely manner, while meeting illume brand and quality standards.
Provide technical oversight and direction to portfolio or project team.
Align project teams to ensure methodologically sound approaches to the work, foster creativity, and meet or exceed industry best practices.
Support, mentor, and coach team to successfully deliver projects on tasks, timelines, and deliverables.
Monitor the financial performance of all projects when serving as an executive-in-charge (eic), documenting projected overages, and working with the project team to identify options to minimize or recover for overages.
Work with project teams to ensure projects meet illume brand and quality standards.
Proactively communicate issues that could affect company financials/company profit with the operations principal and vp.
Maintain and document the big picture of the client’s needs in the context of their policy and/or organizational environment.
Critically assess technical education, training, and equity subject area metrics to ensure they are actionable and appropriate for meeting related goals, providing suggestions and alternate metrics that will bring the team closer to goals.
Ensure teams are appropriately and rigorously using standard and best practice methodologies that adhere to qa/qc standards.
Ensure teams are effectively interpreting, and delivering, actionable findings and recommendations in relatable language appropriate for general and less technical audiences.
Method development
Discover and implement new methods, techniques, and/or technologies that innovate and expand our understanding of in equity-related work.
Identify opportunities to improve illume’s depth, services, and/or efficiencies through tools and strategies needed for equity efforts.
Regularly (annually or bi-annually) assess company technical and research competencies and identify those that need to be developed to improve illume’s standing in the equity field.
Staff development, training, and mentorship
Mentor and support the consulting team to ensure they are equipped to use equity research and analysis approaches strategically to meet client needs, with a focus on quality assurance.
As described above under the method development section, identify and support the delivery (or deliver) training to staff to support development needs.
Develop managing consultants and directors toward having the resources needed (training, staff, otherwise) to deliver increasingly larger and more complex equity-related projects.
Serve as a performance manager to select illume team members.
Mentor other illume team members as needed.
Business development
Support business development activities related to our equity research while aligning with illume’s technical team.
Monitor and track movement and trends in the energy industry and bring this knowledge back to illume to support company strategy and planning.
Work with the executive team to review and provide thought-leadership on opportunities to meet illume’s goals as laid out in the strategic and operations plan (near-term and longer-term).
Contribute to strategic thinking with the executive team on opportunities (existing and emerging) to meet the company’s technical competency, staffing, and cultural goals.
Key account creation, maintenance and oversight
Support in identifying and cultivating relationships with new or potential clients to expand illume’s client base by keeping up on who is driving equity work forward.
Explore ways to help clients utilize the full breadth of illume’s capabilities and teams.
Communicate challenges and opportunities related to key accounts where you are leading work (existing and potential projects) to the executive teamEnsure that illume executives are informed of the account’s status and needs.
Meet with key accounts where you are leading work (semi-annually to annually) to solicit feedback and identify current or emerging client issues/needs (supporting business development).
Provide, direct, and deploy illume consulting services to key accounts through one-on-one client interaction, group meetings and conversations, and/or facilitating complex or politically sensitive stakeholder meetings.
Engage project managers to identify client needs and issues to stay abreast of opportunities outside of existing project work.
Communicate leads and opportunities to the marketing and business development (mbd) and executive teams.
Support large sales opportunities (proposals) and drive small tent sales opportunities (scopes of work).
Help to expand illume’s presence at key industry events and in key organizations.
Other duties
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the team member for this jobDuties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time, with or without notice.
Collaboration
Collaboration is the minimum standard at illumeTeam members build trust through regular, open, and honest communication, and by working together across the company to ensure the success of every projectBy working together, we create the momentum to accomplish our company objectives and together attain exceptional results.
Technical proficiency
Must have excellent database and computer skills in ms teams, sharepoint, ms project, ms excel, ms word, and adobe acrobatExperience working on proposal submission websites such as ariba is a plusExperience working in a crm is a plus.
Minimum qualifications
Minimum requirement: bachelor’s degree in related fields
Minimum 5 – 10 years of related experience
Preference will be given to candidates that demonstrate
Expertise in topics such as diversity, equity, inclusion, racial, social, and economic disparities.
An understanding of and commitment to evidence-based policy, program, and service development.
Experience working in policy, legislative, and regulatory environments.
Demonstrated experience in successfully responding to requests for proposals or grant applications.
An ability to work in billable/“time and materials” business environments.
Past success in business development, client engagement, and outreach.
A work history in energy, public health, environmental justice, or similar fields.
At illume, we value
Optimism (illume has zero tolerance for cynicism)
The ability to collaborate as part of a team, as well as to work independently in quasi-remote settings
Grit (watch this video).
A commitment to self-improvement, doing better, and being better in all aspects of life.
Team members from diverse backgrounds interested in co-creating an equitable and just energy future.
Illume invests in its staff as a long-term and mutual investmentAt illume, we’re committed to building a valued business and rewarding careers while also maintaining healthy personal livesAt illume, you can expect to be a key player in an expanding consultancy that delivers on our core vision.
Working conditions
This position requires sitting (or standing) for long periods of time at a computer; and communicating by telephone, video conference, and emailDress code at illume is business casual (“pulled together”).
To apply
Illume has partnered with talent citizen to conduct this searchTalent citizen founder and president tracy welsh is leading the search with senior associate rachel partin and search coordinator alicia paquettePlease submit a cover letter, resume, and writing samples to illume-md@talentcitizen.com.
Download invitation to apply
