Senior Advocate, Southwest Power Pool

NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) works to safeguard the Earth, its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. NRDC combines the power of more than 3 million members and online activists with the expertise of some 800 policy advocates, lawyers, scientists, and communication experts to confront the climate crisis, protect nature, ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. As an international nonprofit environmental organization, NRDC is working to address the world’s most urgent environmental challenges and advance innovative, science-based, and enforceable solutions.

About the role

The Senior Advocate – Southwest Power Pool will lead the advocacy of NRDC’s Sustainable FERC Project (Project) at the Southwest Power Pool (SPP). This person will be responsible for advancing reforms in transmission planning, resource adequacy, and wholesale markets to expand clean energy deployment and maximize the reliability and affordability of energy in the SPP region. This role requires experience with technical regulatory matters relating to transmission systems and/or energy markets, the ability to collaborate in a team setting with internal and external partners, interest in cultivating relationships with SPP staff, state regulators and other stakeholders, and willingness to travel to SPP’s offices in Arkansas and Colorado, and elsewhere. This is a limited term 2 year position based out of any of NRDC's U.S. based offices (New York, DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Santa Monica). The position is part of the bargaining unit represented by The Washington Baltimore News Guild (WBNG / The Newsguild-CWA Local 32035).

Responsibilities

• Conceive and advocate for changes to SPP’s regional and interregional transmission, resource adequacy, wholesale markets, and interconnection rules and plans necessary to advance the Project’s and NRDC’s clean energy transition goals.
• Work to persuade key stakeholders and decision-makers to adopt NRDC’s preferred grid policies.
• Develop and implement SPP stakeholder-focused strategies necessary to advance goals and outcomes.
• Periodically reassess existing desired outcomes and identify new outcomes and strategies to achieve NRDC’s goals on complex grid issues.
• Represent the Project coalition and NRDC at SPP and in other forums, including participating in stakeholder meetings and conferences, making verbal comments, drafting stakeholder and FERC comments, and other advocacy activities.
• Collaborate with a coalition of partners, including coordination leading regular meetings/calls, tracking of SPP issues, and organizing periodic strategic planning, as well as working to build agreement within the coalition on complex problems.
• Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, especially SPP staff, state government officials, consumer advocates, and industry partners.
• Coordinate with the Project’s staff and with other teams at NRDC to develop complementary solutions and to align goals, strategies, and messages.
• Monitor relevant developments in other regional transmission organizations.
• Manage expert consultants as necessary to advance the Project’s advocacy objectives.
• Communicate the Project’s message to a wider audience, including media and state and federal policymakers, translating complex and arcane grid rules into simple and understandable terms.

The above list of duties is not comprehensive but generally demonstrates the types of matters under this position’s responsibility. Other duties may be assigned.

Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 7 years experience in a relevant field.
• Experience with electricity regulation, especially wholesale power markets and transmission planning.

Skills

• Proficiency in understanding and communicating complex concepts.
• Interest in cultivating relationships with partner organizations to advance the Project’s and NRDC’s goals.
• Experience navigating diverse stakeholders, building consensus on policy issues, and driving toward positive outcomes within a team, in a coalition, and with other external partners.
• Excellent writing skills and the ability to grasp and translate technical power grid issues into plain English.
• Oral advocacy skills and experience; comfort speaking in varied settings, including with media.
• Ability to work collaboratively across diverse stakeholders and cross-functional teams towards shared outcomes.
• A sense of mission and passion for public interest and environmental advocacy.
• Ability to travel nationally, including conferences and meetings convened by SPP and related entities, approximately 20% annually.
• Commitment to NRDC’s mission, values, and principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position.

• Frequently perform desk-based computer tasks.
• Frequently interact and communicate with employees and others as necessary.
• Frequently attend planned meetings and collaborate with management and coworkers.
• Frequently attend events and activities in the office or offsite.

Work is sometimes performed in an office. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet in office settings and moderate in other situations. Hours of employment may sometimes require working flexible and/or longer hours, including nights and weekends, when necessitated by projects. The job includes work-related situations such as those involving challenging, important, urgent, time-sensitive, or multiple matters.

Pay

Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and is commensurate with skills and experience. Internal equity will be reviewed and considered to determine a final offer. For this position, the salary range is $130,000 to $150,000.

Schedule

NRDC operates under a hybrid work model. Employees are required to come to the office 8 days per month.