Senior Political Director

Want to have a direct, measurable effect on climate? Join the incredible team at Climate Cabinet! Every year, we sort through thousands of offices to find the highest-impact policymakers on climate. Then we support those policymakers: from the campaign trail to the capitol building. We win climate majorities and deliver bold, equitable climate solutions in key state and local governments across America. 

We need more climate allies in seats of power. That’s why Climate Cabinet exists. This role will directly elect climate champions to the highest-impact state and local offices across the country. 

We’re hiring a Senior Political Director to drive growth and execution of our 2025-2030 electoral program. This person will lead strategic planning, build the program for impact and scale, and proactively position climate progress on the national landscape. They will harness Climate Cabinet’s legislative and political power to pass and defend bold climate policy in state legislatures across the U.S. This role will report directly to organizational leadership.

The ideal candidate will bring…

• A tested program leader – highly skilled at setting program strategy, building teams, and communicating a shared vision.
• Obsessed with state-level electoral politics and climate/energy politics – experienced in political work at scale. Excited to build political power for the climate movement from the local level up.
• A passionate climate advocate committed to justice – committed to equity and building a climate movement that makes life better for all Americans.
• A cross-cutting thinker and narrative-weaver – the ability to synthesize large amounts of qualitative and quantitative information to ask questions, identify gaps, and proactively plan around threats and opportunities.
• A startup mindset driven by mission: Our team culture is driven by curiosity and impact. A great fit for our team will be excited to take initiative, experiment, and continuously iterate in pursuit of outcomes. The ideal candidate will be a great team player, and be excited about working in a mission-driven, remote national team. 

Key Responsibilities

• Design and execute a 2025-2030 electoral program that builds power for climate action and delivers tangible outcomes for climate progress. 
• Driving smart program growth: We expect this program to double or triple in size to cover a majority of US emissions by 2026 based on your leadership, in coordination with fundraising team and organizational leadership.
• Articulate a clear shared understanding of where the program is going, with short term and long term goals for each state and nationwide.
• Design, test, and iterate multiple strategies to achieve wins for state and local climate leaders across the country.
• Manage a fantastic team.
• Manage program staff to maximize results, personal professional growth, and a positive team culture.
• Ability to work in a wide variety of different contexts to achieve climate goals. Pragmatism over purity politics. 
• Build political capital to improve lives and solve climate change 
• As Tim Walz once said, “You win elections to burn political capital and improve lives.”
• We agree - so part of this job will be working hand-in-hand with the policy team to implement a political program that translates directly into climate policy progress. 
• Coordinate closely with data, communications, compliance, and fundraising to maximize results and build continued momentum for climate action.
• Creating narratives and communicating program impact
• Tracking and synthesizing electoral impact – through data and on-the-ground stories across states – and translating these into powerful narratives.
• Proactively positioning Climate Cabinet on the national landscape
• Building ongoing relationships with partners across the U.S. to identify needs and opportunities for deeper support or partnership.
• Being a spokesperson for the Climate Cabinet brand.
• Coordinating with other program directors and organizational leadership to help each other and the overall organization/impact grow.

Location: Within the continental US. This role will require out of state travel.

Compensation:

• Salary: $160,000 - $180,000 - negotiable depending on experience. 
• Medical, dental and vision insurance; premiums fully covered.

You should apply! We encourage applications from people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, women, first-gen and low-income people, and members of marginalized communities. Furthermore, if you don’t meet the exact job qualifications listed but feel called to the work — please apply. There are many ways to have developed the expertise necessary to excel in this position.

Who we are: We are a dynamic, passionate startup team of experienced climate activists, organizers, campaigners, utility researchers, software engineers, policy experts, and lobbyists. Our Moneyball approach speaks for itself. For example: In 2022, Climate Cabinet’s hard-side electoral program helped climate champions win majorities in Michigan and Minnesota - unlocking bold climate leadership across the Midwest. In 2024, we’ve analyzed almost 10,000 elections – narrowing it down to the 150 with the highest impacts – and delivering critical campaign resources to help climate candidates win. 

Want to learn more? Check out our recent interview on Volts and climatecabinet.org.