Program Manager, Global Energy Transition Initiative

Job Description

About the Organization

ClimateWorks Foundation is a catalyst for accelerating climate progress, driving bold solutions that benefit people and the planet. We connect funders and implementing organizations worldwide to identify and scale transformative solutions across sectors and geographies, achieving faster, greater impact together. Since 2008, ClimateWorks has granted over $2 billion to more than 850 grantees across 50 countries, working with over 80 funders. We helped grow the field of climate philanthropy to where it stands today, establishing infrastructure, global networks, and momentum for continued growth. Through our Global Programs and Services, we equip philanthropy with global knowledge, networks, and solutions to drive climate progress.

• Scaling solutions: Our collaborative Global Programs — focused on solution areas including carbon dioxide removal, cooling, industry, transportation, and more — produce results that are bending the greenhouse gas emissions curve. From the U.S. to Europe, China, Brazil, and beyond, we collaborate with a diverse community of funders, NGOs, and climate leaders to accelerate just and equitable climate solutions.

• Guiding and supporting funders: Our Global Services provide funders with comprehensive resources to assess, build, evolve, and execute high-impact climate-giving strategies. Our Global Intelligence service equips funders and the climate community with climate insights to pinpoint opportunities for impact and philanthropic insights to help identify investment priorities. We facilitate Global Collaborations that enable funders to increase individual and collective impact. Our Global Grantmaking services enable funders to invest in climate solutions around the world. 

• Fostering collaboration, exploration, and growth: Our collaborative approach and commitment to learning ensures that we continuously explore innovative ideas and emerging opportunities — all with the aim of scaling philanthropy-supported initiatives to help end the climate crisis.

As experts in climate science, public policy, economic and social analysis, and strategic philanthropy, ClimateWorks’ staff understands the multi-faceted challenges and opportunities of climate change. We are researchers, strategists, collaborators, and grantmakers who care passionately about our mission. For more information, please visit www.climateworks.org. 

Department Summary

The ClimateWorks Programs Team drives innovation and climate solutions that scale. Through our portfolio of global and transnational climate mitigation strategies and grantmaking, we help funders maximize their philanthropic impact. ClimateWorks supports climate change mitigation efforts from early explorations to scaled initiatives. We help develop innovative and high-impact solutions, fund their implementation, and scale up those that show the greatest promise.

The ClimateWorks Programs Team is nearly 60 strong and growing. It includes 12 senior experts (Program Directors and Strategists), each of whom engages partners in many countries to advance climate solutions globally. Senior Programs staff are sought-after international experts, authors, speakers, and network-builders. Information on ClimateWorks’ Global Programs can be found here: https://www.climateworks.org/programs/

Program Summary

ClimateWorks Foundation’s (CWF) Global Energy Transition Initiative (GETI) supports efforts to rapidly transform the global power sector toward clean energy, beginning with 15 emerging economies across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These are countries where power demand is projected to rapidly grow, and there is huge potential for solar, wind, and other renewable energy deployment in this decade. The benefits of a transition to clean energy go far beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change. It creates jobs, builds local manufacturing value chains, improves infrastructure, protects public health by keeping pollutants out of the air, and provides affordable and accessible power. By shifting to clean energy, developing nations can secure a resilient and thriving future. 

The Global Energy Transition Initiative has developed an initiative to support the solar industry associations for unifying missions and voices, providing policy and regulatory inputs, shaping public communication and narratives, coordinating knowledge and standard leadership, and ensuring financial sustainability and business models. 

Essential Tasks 

As part of the Project Management Unit (PMU), the program manager will report to the Head of PMU and work closely with the Associate Director for Solar Industry Associations. The program manager will also work with the regional leads for Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the grants and compliance team, and finance and accounting.

The program manager is responsible for project management, grant management, developing and maintaining a work plan, internal and external coordination, funder reporting, and coordinating/organizing the convenings at the global and regional events.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities 

Project Workplan Management within ClimateWorks

• Lead project management of the Solar Industry Association Initiative workplan, ensuring strong coordination and alignment with partner workplans across regions.
• Support overall project management responsibilities in grant processing, compliance, and grantee engagement. 
• Oversee effective and timely delivery of project outputs, proactively identifying risks and implementing mitigation measures to maintain momentum.
• Maintain and regularly update project timelines and global event calendars, and provide strategic recommendations on high-impact and priority activities to the Global Head of GETI and the Associate Director for the Solar Industry Association.
• Support the Global GETI Lead, Project Management Unit and Associate Director (Solar Industry Associations)  in organizing briefings and events (lead the planning and execution).

Project Management in Coordination with Partners:

• Monitor and coordinate with grantees against agreed workplans, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality outputs.
• Collect, consolidate, and synthesize updates from grantees through regional leads to maintain a clear view of portfolio progress.
• Lead regular coordination meetings with industry association grantees, with particular focus on technical workstreams and implementation milestones.
• Provide weekly portfolio updates to the core project team and key funders, highlighting progress, risks, and required actions.
• Deliver structured reporting using agreed templates, ensuring consistency, clarity, and responsiveness to stakeholder requests.

Organizational development technical team support: 

• Provide a full range of project management support to technical expert teams from partner organizations
• Ensure the technical expert team’s support to Africa, Asia, and Latin America is structured, monitored, and delivered on time and to a high degree of quality
• Support capacity assessment and capacity building convenings across different continents

Grant management and grantee engagement: 

• Lead in grant processing for solar industry associations and other programmatic grants
• Support regional leads in engaging national and regional solar industry associations
• Support the grantees in strengthening institutional capacity, including member surveys, human resource plans, and reviewing the national plans according to the funding proposals.
• Facilitate coordination between grantees and technical/communications experts on regional and national policy recommendations

Required Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent
• 7 years of work experience in project management and the solar sector
• Strong attention to detail and deadline management skills
• Experience in complex project management and developing/ maintaining a precise work plan
• Experience in grant management and grant processing
• Experience in event organizing (1-3 hour events)
• Experience communicating directly with funders and developing concise reporting
• Working with consultants for capacity building, strategic communications
• Ability to juggle numerous competing demands and priorities, respond quickly to management requests
• Experience working in a global matrixed team
• Commitment to the mission and values of ClimateWorks Foundation

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in working with solar industry associations
• Experience in grant management tools such as Salesforce
• Data interpretation and analysis

Compensation

ClimateWorks offers an excellent benefits package and a competitive salary that is commensurate with experience (geographic differential applied based on location).

International salary range - will be determined based on the location and local cost of labor.

We recognize that compensation and benefits can vary across countries and understand that this can raise important questions. Our goal is to ensure fairness, equity, and competitiveness within each local context. To achieve this, we align our compensation structure with the economic conditions, labor market dynamics, and social benefit systems of the regions where we operate.

Salaries are determined based on country specific labor markets, allowing us to offer pay that is competitive within each region and consistent with other international organizations. Compensation is intentionally structured to be above lead local market averages and appropriate to the regional cost of labor. This approach supports our commitment to equity across our global workforce while enabling us to attract and retain top talent in diverse locations.

Location

ClimateWorks Foundation is based in the San Francisco Financial District. This position is Global Flexible. Geographic differential will be applied to compensation based on local cost of labor.

This is a full-time remote job with frequent travel requirements. Candidates will be expected to work across time zones, especially the US West and East Coast, the UK, Myanmar, Indonesia, Brazil, Kenya, and Nigeria.

Commitment to Racial and Social Justice

At ClimateWorks Foundation, we are driven by our vision of creating a thriving planet for all living beings for generations to come. We aim to foster an inclusive workplace that values diverse lived experiences and emphasizes the voices of marginalized people — especially Black, Indigenous, and People of Color — who are most vulnerable to climate impacts, and whose voices, ideas, and leadership are crucial to winning the climate fight.

To ensure that we are making meaningful progress, we have made a set of diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments across all dimensions of our work to further our mission and realize our vision. For more information, please visit: Fostering Racial and Social Justice in Pursuit of our Mission

Equal Employment Opportunity

Equal employment opportunity and having a diverse staff are fundamental principles at ClimateWorks Foundation and as such we are committed to creating a diverse and multi-cultural work environment. We strongly encourage and seek applications from women, people of color, and bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race (including traits historically associated with race), ethnicity, religion, color, sex (including childbirth, breast feeding, and related medical conditions), gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, uniform service member and veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, age, protected medical condition, genetic information, disability, or any other protected status in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws.

This policy extends to all aspects of our employment practices including, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, discipline, termination, promotions, transfers, compensation, benefits, training, leaves of absence, and other terms and conditions of employment.

ClimateWorks Foundation is committed to complying with all laws protecting qualified individuals with disabilities, as well as employees’ religious beliefs and practices. This policy extends to all aspects of our employment practices including, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, discipline, termination, promotions, transfers, compensation, benefits, training, leaves of absence, and other terms and conditions of employment. ClimateWorks Foundation will provide a reasonable accommodation for any known physical or mental disability of a qualified individual and/or employees’ religious beliefs and practices, as required by law.

If you require accommodation, please notify Human Resources. Once ClimateWorks Foundation is aware of the need for accommodation, it will engage in an interactive process to identify possible accommodations.

Application Process

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. To be considered for this position, interested candidates must submit a resume and cover letter. This position will remain open until filled.

Employment at the ClimateWorks Foundation is at-will.