Executive Director for Energy, Climate, and Environment #86524

About

At the University of California, Berkeley, we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom and belonging make it a special place for students, faculty and staff.

The Office of the Associate Provost for Energy, Climate, and Environment (APECE) provides strategic leadership and vision to harmonize and accelerate UC Berkeley's efforts in research, curriculum, and outreach on energy, climate, and sustainability; they will foster a vibrant climate community across campus in a manner consistent with Berkeley’s commitment to a just and fair society and its desire to lift up all communities, especially those that have been disproportionately impacted by climate change. Additionally, the AP-ECE works with campus leaders to ensure that campus operations are environmentally sound and socially responsible. An overarching goal is to create an inclusive platform for collaboration among faculty, students, and staff dedicated to addressing climate challenges.

The Executive Director serves as the chief operating and administrative officer of the Office of the Associate Provost for Energy, Climate and the Environment and reports directly to the AP-ECE. They are responsible for operationalizing the AP-ECE's priorities; managing the day-to-day operations of the office; contributing substantively to fundraising strategy and prospect engagement (in partnership with the Associate Provost and the Chief Development Officer), proposal development, and external partnerships; coordinating ECE efforts across a highly decentralized campus; designing programs and infrastructure; and collaborating with a remarkably diverse range of internal and external stakeholders — from faculty and students to policymakers, philanthropists, industry leaders, community organizations, and national laboratories.

For the full job posting, please visit: https://jobs.berkeley.edu/executive-director-energy-climate-and-environment

Key Responsibilities

Research Support, Program Development, and Campus Coordination

• Support the AP-ECE to ensure UC Berkeley is recognized as a world leader in energy, climate and sustainability research by promoting the campus's expertise and successes via targeted communications, conferences, symposia, workshops, and other programs - with particular emphasis on research-to-action impacts.
• Support campus capacity to pursue and deliver results from large grants, contracts, philanthropy, and other funding opportunities across the full breadth of climate and sustainability research - including mitigation, adaptation and resilience, environmental justice and equity, in both the natural and built environments.
• In collaboration with the Vice Chancellor for Research Office, serve as a key coordinator for large-scale, multi-investigator proposal efforts: identifying opportunities, building awareness, helping to build proposal teams, managing proposal development processes, and ensuring competitiveness.
• Foster innovative, interdisciplinary research collaborations as a critical member of the leadership team; assess needs and help establish necessary research capacity; provide guidance regarding funding, partnership development, and resource support.
• In collaboration with the academic leadership, promote efforts to curate and catalog existing courses and programs in climate and sustainability, making information more accessible to students and faculty.
• Support the development of experiential learning opportunities, leveraging campus programs, external internship and apprenticeship partnerships, and programs at the UC centers in Sacramento and Washington, DC.

Strategic Leadership And Planning

• As a key member of the AP-ECE leadership team, develop and manage the office’s short - and long-term strategic plans for programs, operations, and campus-wide coordination.
• Create annual strategies and benchmarks, implement long-term objectives, track progress, and advise the AP-ECE on milestones and course corrections.
• With the Chief Development Officer (CDO), develop funding projections, staffing models, and financial sustainability plans. Co-design and develop fundraising strategies with the CDO to identify and pursue funding opportunities and revenue streams.
• Represent the AP-ECE's office to internal UC Berkeley units, campus leadership, and external organizations.

Operational Leadership And Management

• Develop business models, policies, procedures, and systems to ensure efficient and effective administrative and operational support across all office functions.
• Lead administrative operations and supervise the immediate office staff.
• Manage and cultivate a growing team, including professional staff, program managers, and non-faculty academic appointees, postdoctoral fellows, or student employees as the office scales.

Fundraising, Development, And Donor Stewardship

• Collaborate with AP-ECE Chief Development Officer and the University Development & Alumni Relations (UDAR), campus administration, and deans and unit fundraisers to attract philanthropic, foundation, corporate and government funding for climate and sustainability initiatives for the ECE office and broader campus climate research enterprise. In coordination - steward relationships with donors and programmatic sponsors, including reporting. Also works in partnership with the Berkeley Research Development Office.

External Engagement, Policy Impact, And Partnerships

• Support the AP-ECE in promoting UC Berkeley's research and curriculum efforts.
• Strengthen support for community-engaged research and build relationships and active partnerships with entrepreneurs, community leaders, and government leaders in the climate and sustainability space.
• Foster industry-academic collaborations that enhance intellectual and financial resources for UC Berkeley's research and societal impact, including support for climate incubators, accelerators, and collaborative research centers on campus.
• Develop partnerships with external organizations that advance Berkeley’s ECE's mission.
• Identify opportunities and develop workshops, conferences, and convenings for national and international audiences with participants from academia, industry, government, and community organizations.

Campus Community Building

• Support the AP-ECE in collaborating with strategy leaders across campus and platforms such as the Berkeley Climate Change Network (BCCN) - to build and sustain an inclusive, vibrant campus community dedicated to addressing climate challenges.
• Facilitate seminars, events, networking opportunities, and professional development programming that connect researchers, students, staff, and external partners across disciplines.
• Support efforts to integrate climate and sustainability objectives into campus operations, including collaboration with the Vice Chancellor for Administration on initiatives such as the Clean Energy Campus.

Commercialization And Technology Translation

• In partnership with UC Berkeley’s Chief Innovation and Entrepreneurship Officer, support entrepreneurial efforts and climate incubation on campus, in collaboration with relevant campus units.

Required Qualifications

• Significant leadership experience in a research-oriented, mission-driven, or complex academic organization with progressive responsibility for strategy, operations, and program development.
• Strong project management and collaborative leadership skills, with the ability to move complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives to timely completion while maintaining alignment with long-term strategic goals.
• Demonstrated ability to articulate a compelling narrative about an organization's mission and impact to diverse internal and external audiences, including the ability to translate complex scientific and policy topics accessibly.
• Expertise in building and sustaining partnerships across academia, industry, government, nonprofit organizations, and/or community groups.
• Expert organizational management skills, including administrative, budgetary, human resources, and/or financial management in complex, matrixed environments.
• Expert ability to lead and motivate cross-functional teams, including administrative, programmatic, and/or scientific staff, in a collaborative and inclusive manner.
• Knowledge of fundraising, development, and/or grant writing experience, with the skills to lead the successful acquisition of philanthropic, foundation, corporate, and/or government funding.
• Demonstrated passion for advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and environmental justice within an organization and through programmatic work.
• Cultural fluency with academic institutions and a demonstrated ability to work effectively in a shared-governance, highly decentralized environment.
• Excellent communication skills - written, verbal, and interpersonal - with the ability to work effectively with faculty, students, staff, senior administrators, policymakers, donors, and community leaders.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent experience and training.

Salary & Benefits

For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University, please visit the University of California's Compensation & Benefits website.

The budgeted salary that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $204,700 - $210,000. The full salary range for this job classification is $138,200 - $271,200.

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter on jobs.berkeley.edu.

This search is being supported by Berkeley Executive Search (BES).

The First Review Date for this job is June 10, 2026. For full consideration, please submit application materials by June 30, 2026.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer.