Director or Managing Director, Clean Electricity

Team: Clean Electricity
Employment Status: FTE
Salary Range: $ $90,000 – 112,000 (Director level)
$ 112,000 – 134,700 (Managing Director level)
Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota – Hybrid

Job overview and requirements

Are you the type of person who can complete rigorous analysis on complex topics, develop strategy, communicate effectively, and advocate to get results? Do you enjoy engaging, influencing, and working collaboratively with high-level professional stakeholders? Do you want to be challenged at work, have a lot of fun, be inspired frequently, and make a significant impact at an innovative nonprofit working to speed the transition to clean energy?

Fresh Energy is hiring a full-time Director or Managing Director of Clean Electricity to join our team. This position directs significant portions of Fresh Energy’s Clean Electricity work steering Minnesota to a fully carbon-free electric system. The Director will 1) significantly shape and drive the focus and priorities of Fresh Energy’s electricity work, 2) participate in PUC dockets and other forums to execute portions of the team’s strategies, and 3) manage other staff and consultants on the Clean Electricity team. We will also consider more experienced candidates at the Managing Director level.

We’re looking for someone who is visionary, yet pragmatic, to help us create a clean energy future that benefits all. If you have experience or the right skills to be successful in this area, thrive on the wonkiness of energy policy, love strategy, and have a results-oriented approach, please read on!

The role

As experts in energy and climate, Fresh Energy understands that there are solutions within reach that can help us prevent the very worst damages of climate change. For over 30 years, Fresh Energy has been speeding Minnesota’s transition to a clean energy economy to ensure that our region enjoys good health, a vibrant economy, and thriving, equitable communities today and for generations to come. Our mission is to shape and drive bold policy solutions to create equitable carbon-neutral economies by 2050.

Fresh Energy has historically worked to decarbonize the electric power sector. In recent years, we have turned our focus to additional sectors of the economy that also require urgent decarbonization, like buildings, transportation, and heavy industry. However, decarbonizing the state’s electric system remains a priority for greenhouse gas reductions and, importantly, because a clean electric supply is a necessity for replacing fossil fuels in these other areas of Minnesota’s economy. Doing our part to help Minnesota

successfully and equitably meet our landmark 100% Carbon Free Electricity standard is the team’s north star.

The Clean Electricity team is a regular intervenor in dockets before the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission and this position will manage a portfolio of these dockets as well as lead Fresh Energy’s participation in specific dockets as well. Our work also encompasses legislative policy and advocacy as well as coordination with other electricity stakeholders.

KEY SKILLS for this role include:

• READING: High level of reading comprehension, e.g. regulatory documents, statutes, reports, etc.
  • An example of what you’ll read: Xcel Energy Integrated Resource Plan
• WRITING: Strong writing, especially able to craft an argument and incorporate reports and references, and write to different audiences.
  • An example of what you might write eventually: Regulatory Comments
  • And this: Blog post
• ANALYZING: Comfort with analyzing and interpreting data and numbers, identifying trends, and figuring out the bigger picture of what’s happening.
• PRESENTING: Comfort presenting Fresh Energy positions to public audiences or decision-making venues like the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
• COLLABORATING: Willingness to listen, ask questions, consider, and seek multiple viewpoints from nonprofit partners, utilities, regulatory staff, private companies, and more.
• MANAGING WORKFLOW: Ability to set, prioritize, and manage tasks to completion, in collaboration with manager and partner organizations
• LEADERSHIP: Identify priority issues and projects and lead or assist with overall teamwork planning. Ability and interest in managing team members is preferred.

Reports to

Lead Director, Policy & Programs

Essential Responsibilities

A. Policy Work: support Fresh Energy’s strategic imperative to generate all of Minnesota’s electricity with zero-carbon resources, and the vast majority with wind and solar.

• Shape and drive the planning, execution, and reporting on clean electricity work.
• Propose and conduct policy, legislative, legal, technical, regulatory, and financial analysis as related to policy proposals, changes, and approaches.
• Work with Energy Markets team to develop Public Utility Commission strategy, based on your analysis, and execute that strategy through written and oral advocacy.
• • Manage Clean Electricity staff and expert consultants.
• Make written and oral presentations to collaborators, community groups, policy makers, and other stakeholders as part of the program’s outreach and advocacy functions.
• In collaboration with the Communications department, create and publish web content (e.g. webinars, podcasts, etc.), e-newsletters, white papers, and other program information. When appropriate, work to optimize media coverage of program goals, activities, and successes; this may include media interviews as well as writing op-ed pieces, and includes the recruitment and training of effective messengers.
• Participate in a culture of collaboration, communicating, and working across teams to achieve Fresh Energy’s mission.
• Ensure that the team’s work is appropriately considering and engaging under-resourced communities, rural communities, BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and people of color) communities, and other traditionally under-represented Minnesotans.
• Support the creation and management of the annual budget for the Clean Electricity team.
• Regularly assess opportunities for new partners or collaborations that will advance the team’s goals.
• In a Managing Director role, represent Clean Electricity work in interactions with funders and regularly evaluate new opportunities for fundraising in collaboration with our excellent Development team.

B. Participate in culture of collaboration and model our core values.

• Exemplify openness and humility, and continuously seek improvements in program, policy, workflow, organizational expertise, or individual skills.
• Shape and support organization-wide systems such as our fundraising activities, career development, and performance review systems.
• Work effectively in the context of your immediate team, the broader Fresh Energy team, and with external partners; enhance collaboration by maintaining honest communication, seeking and respecting diverse viewpoints, engendering trust, fulfilling responsibilities, and ensuring that all team members and their contributions are valued.
• Model organization core values and culture such as practicing the coach approach, nurturing an intrapreneurial attitude, embracing a learning attitude as means to progress professionally, developing work autonomy, acting with honesty and integrity, and collaboratively seeking ways to advance equity and justice. You can read more about our core values and mission here: https://fresh-energy.org/about-us.
• Exhibit a clear commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and provide leadership in continually advancing Fresh Energy’s commitment to equity and being an anti-racist organization. You can read more here: https://fresh-energy.org/our-commitment-to-diversity-equity-and-inclusion.

Job qualifications

If you’re excited about this position, but feel you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications, please apply. We’re looking for a great fit for this role, not a list of qualifications.

• Demonstrated expertise in the electricity system and clean energy, and/or experience advocating before a Public Utilities Commission; comfort with stakeholder engagement and policy design; an understanding of or experience working in the Midwest is highly preferrable.
• A BS or BA plus at least eight years of experience in energy, environment, policy, economics, technology, or related fields; OR a MS or MA plus at least –6-7 years of experience in energy, environment, policy, economics, technology, or related fields; OR a JD or PhD plus MS and proven ability to lead a program department team.
• Ability to conduct rigorous information-gathering and compile findings into easily digestible and compelling formats.
• Experience engaging, influencing, and working collaboratively with a variety of stakeholders across different interests.
• Experience presenting before regulators, policymakers, utilities, and other key stakeholders.
• Experience engaging in regulatory, legislative, and administrative proceedings preferred.
• Planful and results oriented.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Solid computer skills in Windows environment, including MS Office.
• Self-starter who can work independently.
• Team player who desires to work in an environment where working as a team is valued and practiced.
• Demonstrated ability to perform well in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work occasional evenings/weekends is required.
• Demonstrable experience and passion for climate and energy issues, with an openness to learn from different ideas or perspectives, equally balanced with humility with fellow staff, partners, and opposing views.
• Must be currently authorized to work in the United States without any employer sponsorship for such work authorization.

We will also consider a Managing Director position for a candidate with the following additional qualifications:

• A BS or BA plus at least 12 years (Managing Director) of experience in energy, environment, policy, economics, technology, or related fields; OR a MS or MA plus at least ten years Managing Directo of experience in energy, environment, policy, economics, technology, or related fields; OR a JD or PhD plus MS or MA plus at least four years of experience in energy, environment, policy, economics, technology, or related fields. Proven exceptional ability to direct department level work and steer program growth.

All of the Director job qualifications requirements, and:

• In a Managing Director role, a proven experience to develop, design, grow revenue, and lead a program team.
• Demonstrated experience in negotiating clean electricity cases with the PUC, and utilities.

Compensation and benefits

• Starting salary range: $90,000 – 112,000 Director, $112,000 – $134,700 Managing Director based on experience with opportunity for compensation change based on performance, equity across the organization, strategy, and organizational budget.
• Employees of Fresh Energy foster a respectful, collaborative, and fun work environment. We host regular staff events and lunch and learns, and we are intentional in creating a relevant, inclusive, flexible hybrid workplace. In support of our cross-collaboration practice and our DEI commitment, we review our policies annually to seek alignment with the employee’s experience using the benefits.
• Full-time Fresh Energy staff (36 hours per week) receive 24 days of PTO (increases each year of employment) from day one of employment, as well as 15 paid holidays and a flexible, family-friendly schedule. Additionally, on Fridays the office closes at noon. We are committed to keeping your workload in alignment with true hours worked and respecting the space needed to take personal time to care for your wellbeing and your family members.
• Employees of Fresh Energy receive up to 12 weeks of parental leave eligible on the first day of full-time employment. Fresh Energy will pay an eligible employee for the first six weeks of leave with the rest of the leave being unpaid or being paid through the use of PTO. A full-time employee can utilize their bank of PTO to make up for the remaining six weeks of unpaid leave.
• As an employee at Fresh Energy, you can also expect:
  • Medical and dental plans, additional voluntary vision, short- and long-term disability, life, and AD&D insurance.
    • Fresh Energy contributes 50% toward staff health premium with dependents and 90% for single staff. For dental insurance, Fresh Energy pays 100% of an employee dental premium and contributes 50% for staff with dependents.
    • Cash contribution to employee’s FSA and HSA to promote health and wellness.
  • A 5% of annual salary contribution to your 403(b)-retirement plan from day 1 of employment. An additional, optional 1:1 matching contribution to your 403(b) up to 3% of eligible gross salary.
  • Generous parental and family care leave for up to 12 weeks.
  • A one-time work-from-home stipend of $300.
  • A cell phone purchase allowance and an approved contribution to monthly phone fees.
• Fresh Energy incentivizes transit, biking, and walking, offering a dollar-for-dollar bus pass match, $1 for each trip to and from work by bike or foot, and an indoor bike storage area. Fresh Energy pays 50% of the day’s parking for full-time employees coming into the office for work, and the employee pays the remaining 50% of the daily parking fee on a pay-per-use basis. There is also a gym and showers available for Fresh Energy staff as part of being a tenant of the Historic Hamm Building.
• Employees will receive individual and joint professional workshops and training. Each employee is eligible for $1,000 per year to support professional development activities.
• All employees are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. We update our in-person protocols to safeguard the health and safety for all employees.

Hiring Process and Timeline

• The position will remain open until filled and we will review applications on a rolling basis; preference will be given to applicants submitting on or before September 16, 2024. Please allow 1-2 weeks for candidate reviews.
• Our hiring team will select finalists for an initial 45-minute interview via video conference. Please allow 1-2 weeks for this process.
• Finalists will be invited back for an approximately 60-minute second-round interview in-person; at that time, we will ask for three references and two work samples relevant to this contract, e.g. a professional writing sample, or other relevant materials. Please allow 2 weeks for this process.
• Ideally the selected candidate would begin work on or before December 1, 2024.

Fresh Energy’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Equal Opportunity Employer Policy reflect our commitment to ensure equality, treat everyone with respect, and promote diversity in the workplace.