Open Position:
Director of Operations and Projects

Position Summary
Climate Change AI (CCAI) empowers a global community of innovators, practitioners, and decision-makers to accelerate responsible climate action through the use of AI, by addressing critical gaps in expertise, education, coordination, and research-to-deployment infrastructure. CCAI is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and is run by a small team of staff alongside a dedicated team of volunteers hailing from five continents and bringing significant breadth and depth of expertise on both AI and climate change.

We are seeking a full-time paid Director of Operations and Projects to support the activities of our organization. You will join a dedicated and mission-driven team of experts and work in close collaboration with staff members and core team volunteers to oversee project development and execution, as well as the implementation and management of operational infrastructure and processes.

Applicants to this position should have a proven ability to translate organizational strategy into project execution and evaluation, background in topics related to climate change and/or machine learning, and experience in multi-stakeholder communities and working with volunteers. Applicants should also be amenable to working in a startup-style environment and to work independently and proficiently in a remote setting.

Day-to-day collaboration with most team members will be virtual, as the CCAI team is distributed worldwide across several time zones. A collaborative mindset focused on continuous improvement and learning, combined with clear and transparent communication and documentation related to process design, project planning, and task execution, is essential for success in this role.

We are an interdisciplinary and international team and believe that diversity, inclusion, and equity are not only fundamental to the organization but also to progress in addressing climate change as a whole.

Start date: Feb 2025

Commitment: Full-time (40 hours/week)

Location: Remote within the United States

Eligibility: The applicant must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship, now or at any time in the future

Compensation: $120K-150K (USD)

Roles and responsibilities

• Lead strategy execution for the organization, to ensure processes and activities align with the organization’s mission, values, and strategic plan, in collaboration with the Executive Director.
• Oversee project management, and advise and support team members by monitoring progress, coordinating team efforts, identifying planning or execution gaps and needed improvements, providing critical project input, and taking a hands-on role in managing and mitigating risks.
• Design and implement systems to track and evaluate process and project execution and impact of the organization’s activities, in order to ensure that work is scoped to organizational strategic goals.
• Lead/support staff hiring and recruitment of volunteers, and spearhead onboarding and offboarding processes.
• Design, implement, and manage the organization’s CRM database, expense tracking, and reporting systems, in support of our multi-stakeholder community-building and educational initiatives in the AI-for-climate space.
• Set up and maintain back-end legal, financial, and logistical infrastructure to support the organization’s activities.
• Assist in impact assessment of the organization’s activities.

Qualifications

Required skills:

• Demonstrated experience in planning, executing, and monitoring projects to ensure they are completed according to established strategic goals, timelines, quality metrics, and budget
• Demonstrated ability to build, mentor, and manage teams of staff and volunteers, fostering a collaborative and inclusive work environment that aligns with organizational values, strategy and culture
• Demonstrated experience in designing, building and maintaining essential operational tools, both by leveraging off-the-shelf products but also by creating custom systems
• Proficiency in implementing data-driven systems for tracking, evaluation and reporting
• Background in climate change and/or machine learning topics
• A strong track record of engaging effectively with cross-sectoral stakeholders and community groups, e.g., in academia, communities of practice, policymaking, etc, as part of internal and external facing activities
• Strong problem solving, organizational, time-management, and project management skills, including expertise in coordinating multiple work streams and synthesizing data
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Strong administrative, project budget planning, and reporting skills
• Ability to work independently without close supervision
• Proven experience and proficiency in working within a remote environment
• Full professional proficiency in spoken and written English

Preferred skills:

• Experience in data analysis, database management, and reporting tools
• Experience in scripting and programming languages such as Python, JavaScript, or SQL for automating processes, data analysis, and workflow optimization
• Familiarity with using web development frameworks and APIs for integration and customization of operations applications
• Eagerness to learn and adopt appropriate tools and technologies to enhance the organization’s operational toolchain and efficiency
• Basic familiarity or aptitude in dealing with administrative, financial, and legal obligations of a non-profit organization, particularly a US 501(c)(3) public charity
• Ability to engage in occasional job-related travel (expenses paid)

Additional Attributes

We look for the following in all CCAI team members, in addition to the role-specific requirements listed above:

• Mission alignment: Team members must be passionate about catalyzing impactful work at the intersection of climate change and machine learning, per CCAI’s mission, goals, and guiding principles.
• Proactiveness and responsibility: Team members must be proactive and responsible to ensure our organization can run as effectively as possible.
• Attention to detail: Team members are mindful of the work that they carry out, which helps CCAI ensure high quality of its activities.
• Team ethic: Team members must be able to work productively and collaboratively with team members, and otherwise foster a collegial environment.
• Comfort working in a digital environment: CCAI’s team is based across the world, and communicates primarily using Slack and video conferencing tools. While we are happy to onboard newcomers to the particular technologies we use, team members must in general be comfortable working and collaborating in a primarily digital environment.
• Curiosity: CCAI is always embarking on new initiatives to catalyze impactful work. We encourage new ideas from within (and outside) the team!
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion: We are an interdisciplinary and international team and believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are not only fundamental to the organization but also to progress in addressing climate change as a whole. Team members are expected to hold DEI as a central consideration when organizing and executing CCAI activities.

About CCAI
Climate Change AI (CCAI) empowers a global community of innovators, practitioners, and decision-makers to accelerate responsible climate action through the use of AI, by addressing critical gaps in expertise, education, coordination, and research-to-deployment infrastructure. Since 2019, CCAI has inspired, informed, and connected thousands of stakeholders through networking and knowledge-sharing events, summer schools and other educational programs, international policy reports, and multi-million dollar global grants programs. See the CCAI website for further details.

Application

To apply, please send the following to apply+operations@climatechange.ai:

• Your current CV or resume
• Cover letter discussing why you are interested in this position and in working with CCAI, and providing examples of relevant past experiences

The selection process will include both interviews and technical assessments. References may be requested at a later stage of the process.