Position Overview

The Rockefeller Foundation is uniquely positioned to accelerate an inclusive energy transition, unlocking energy abundance as a catalyst for human opportunity. Our ambition is to build a transformative platform that empowers hundreds of millions of people with access to clean, reliable, affordable electricity, improving lives and livelihoods, creating millions of jobs, and avoiding billions of tons of carbon emissions. This position is pivotal in shaping and executing influence strategies that advance this ambition in the context of the Foundation’s overall mission.

To realize its ambition in energy, the Foundation spearheaded the creation of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), a collaborative platform launched with leading philanthropic, government, donor, private sector, and civil society partners. While driving GEAPP’s success is a central pillar of its strategy, the team also invests in high-impact solutions and partnerships that demonstrate how energy innovation can transform human development.

The Director reports to the Senior Vice President, Power, with a functional link to the Foundation’s VP for Strategic Communications and Advocacy. The Director will collaborate across teams to drive change through fostering effective policy dialogue, strategic communication, and coalition building. The ideal candidate possesses in-depth expertise in climate and energy, excelling at translating complex ideas into compelling strategies that shape public discourse, inform policy, and mobilize stakeholders.

Pay Range: $175,000 - $210,000. This represents the present low and high ends of the Foundation’s pay range for this position. Actual pay will vary based on various factors, including but not limited to experience.

Work Schedule: This role is on a hybrid work schedule, and required to be in the office on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a global strategy to galvanize policy action, build government support, expand media engagement, and deepen investor interest (public, private, philanthropic) in clean energy and electrification.
• Elevate and amplify a unifying global vision of energy abundance and the positive impacts of electrification on the well-being of humanity across key stakeholders.
• Build strategic policy partnerships with the government leaders, research institutes, and relevant networks to advance the Foundation’s ideas and agenda.
• Provide strategic counsel and support to expand the visibility and thought leadership of the SVP (and team) on clean energy and development.
• Build greater public and stakeholder awareness of GEAPP’s results and impact, and expand support for its mission.
• Deliver a multi-year Mission 300 campaign to electrify 300 million people in Africa by 2030, ensuring effective partnerships with all key stakeholders.
• Provide joint leadership with GEAPP to ensure that the Global Leadership Council drives concrete collective action around critical energy transition solutions.
• Ensure proactive coordination with key program influence resources and teams (e.g., Communications & Policy, Connected Leaders) to support the Power team’s ideas, solutions, and partnerships.
• Manage content strategy for the portfolio across traditional, social, and digital channels and track analytics on brand recognition, audience reach, and impact.
• Oversee and implement an effective project management system to track milestones and deliverables across different priority projects.
• Selection and management of grantees, consultants, and other vendors as needed.

Education, Experience, and Skills

• 10+ years of strategic communications and policy advocacy experience, with specific experience in energy, climate, and sustainable or international development.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., communications, journalism, public policy, political science, global affairs).
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and coalition-building skills.
• Experience managing complex initiatives, with multiple vendors and large budgets.
• Ability to translate technical concepts into compelling narratives.
• Comfortable working with senior leaders and external partners.
• Proven exceptional writing, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, and professional presence.
• Skilled in media relations, digital strategy, and content creation.
• Experience in handling sensitive information, including crisis management.
• At ease navigating between nonprofit, government, and corporate sectors, in the United States and globally, with an emphasis on Asia / Africa / Latin America.

Qualifications and Competencies

• Balances Stakeholders: Anticipates and balances the needs of multiple stakeholders.
• Develops Talent: Develops people to meet both their career goals and the organization’s goals.
• Directs Work: Provides direction, delegating, and removing obstacles to get work done.
• Manages Complexity: Makes sense of complexity, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.

• Values Differences: Recognizes the value of different perspectives and commits to being self-aware, respectful, and seeks to learn from new and different voices

About The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation that enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We make big bets to promote the well-being of humanity. Today, we are focused on advancing human opportunity and reversing the climate crisis by transforming systems in food, health, energy, and finance. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at http://rockefellerfoundation.org and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn.

The Rockefeller Foundation offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that includes health insurance programs, tuition reimbursement and student loan repayment, a generous 401K, parental leave, and various forms of paid time off, all to help our employees feel energized, cared for, and engaged.

As an organization, we focus on six values to advance our culture and continue our success. We are dedicated to being Transparent, Optimistic, Accountable, Collaborative, Trusted, and Equitable. We expect all employees at the Foundation to contribute by developing their unique perspectives and talent, challenging conventional wisdom through evidence and reason, and amplifying marginalized voices.

The Rockefeller Foundation is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity and compliance with all federal, state, and local laws concerning employment discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act. To this end, the Foundation ensures equal opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, lawful alien status, physical, mental, and medical disability, veteran status, liability for service in the United States Armed Forces, or any other protected status.

The Rockefeller Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer.