All jobs Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with adherence to the deadline
Background
Clean Air Fund is a global philanthropic organisation that brings together governments, campaigners, researchers, funders, and businesses to create a world where everyone breathes clean air.
From grassroots to government, Clean Air Fund supports partners to accelerate action on clean air. We do this by:- Funding and partnering with organisations across the globe that promote air quality data, build public demand and drive action for clean air.
- Influencing and supporting decision-makers to act on clean air and to strengthen the air quality cause.
- Working with communities that are disproportionately affected by air pollution.
Find out about our ‘Clean Air For All’ strategy here. Learn more about where we work here.
Purpose of role
Clean Air Fund is looking for a dynamic leader with a strong health or climate science and policy background to direct the talented teams delivering our ambitious super pollutants and health programmes.
This role will bring together two programmes poised for growth – driven by an exciting grant-funded research agenda that looks at black carbon and tropospheric ozone through a health and climate lens.
You will supervise both the super pollutant and health teams, encouraging synergies while ensuring the delivery of the vital work done by the respective portfolios that lie outside the research nexus.
While we deliver policy-relevant research into pollutant health impacts, we are also building an ecosystem of partners taking sectoral action on air pollutants, including black carbon and tropospheric ozone, designing health grants together with our regional and country offices, and working to provide governments with the tools and evidence needed to tackle the health harms of air pollution.
We want someone with sophisticated political skills, who can bring credibility, initiative and programme management experience to drive our grant-making, our advocacy for action on super pollutants and health with governments and international bodies, our fundraising, and our support to new scientific research.
This is a fascinating opportunity for someone inspired to work at the nexus of climate and health, adept at translating complex science into actionable policy recommendations, and excited to nurture team members to deliver against stretching programming targets.
You will play a key role in building and connecting the climate and health and super pollutant movements, collaborating and leading initiatives alongside senior stakeholders across governments, UN agencies, finance institutions and international NGOs.
You will forge and strengthen relationships with funders, understanding and influencing their strategies and anticipating how we can respond to their needs. Leadership, forward planning, clear and proactive communication, effective proposal writing and careful budgeting are critical to sustaining our programming.
Super Pollutants and Health at the Clean Air Fund
Super pollutants have contributed to half of global warming to date and represent the only near- term strategy to keep the Paris Agreement’s goals within reach. Clean Air Fund leads a portfolio of work tackling those super pollutants most closely linked to air pollution and contributes to the global effort to address the wider super pollutant challenge.
Building on current delivery of a 3-year $15M super pollutants initiative, we are embarking on a major programme to better understand the health impacts of super pollutants, and the effectiveness of policy responses. This complements existing and continuing international advocacy towards governments and UN agencies, grant support to health NGOs and investment in understanding and communicating the deadly impact of air pollution and fossil fuel emissions.
CAF’s programming contributes to thinking and action by philanthropy, government and civil society on super pollutants and health broadly. The work spans research, campaigns, policy and pilot implementation to drive increased regional, national, city and corporate action on super pollutant emissions.
Primary responsibilities
The job holder will have the following key responsibilities:
- Direct the Clean Air Fund’s work on health and super pollutants, deliver the objectives of research grants, lead other super pollutant activity and the health portfolio strategy, ensuring that projects achieve their desired impact.
- Ensure our large-scale climate and health programmes are well-led, deliver to plan and create policy-relevant research outputs to inform our super pollutant and health advocacy.
- Scale up the super pollutants programme by securing future funding and implementing grants and projects spanning science, strategic communications, policy and advocacy, and implementation.
- Support team leaders to take forward portfolio strategies, supporting grant-making, building key relationships and strengthening the health focus in our regional, country and city work.
- Function as the senior external face of CAF on both super pollutants and health, communicating with high-level audiences, including ministers, donors and leading academics, simultaneously raising CAF’s profile and leading partnerships and initiatives.
- Ensure the teams generate expertise on climate science and climate policy as required across the organisation.
- Lead the development of Clean Air Fund’s growing work on super pollutants and health, expanding its scope and ensuring scientific credibility and strategic alignment with Clean Air Fund’s other thematic work and geographic portfolios.
- Lead strategic thinking on Clean Air Fund’s role at the intersection of climate and health research, through the lens of super pollutants. Work with the leadership team and other colleagues to embed super pollutants and health across Clean Air Fund’s programmes.
- Develop and communicate compelling strategies that inform the wider super pollutant ecosystem’s approach, as well as Clean Air Fund’s.
Programme management and team leadership (40%)
- Direct the delivery of Clean Air Fund’s Super Pollutant and Health programmes, empowering team leaders to manage workplans, systems, and other operational and programmatic activities.
- Ensure team leaders deliver health and science grants and projects, meeting key project milestones and objectives.
- With team leaders, track and manage programmes and monitor project performance through regular, structured conversations with grantees, partners and funders. Propose appropriate and proportionate interventions to help projects stay on track.
- Be accountable for budgets, forecasting and financial performance.
- Actively contribute to CAF-wide corporate planning and organisational leadership.
Policy, networking and fundraising (40%)
- Ensure the Super Pollutants and Health programme is actively supporting the drive toward global emissions targets set by leading international climate and health bodies.
- Proactively shape Clean Air Fund engagement with policy makers and key stakeholders to support countries to adopt health- and climate-centred targets for reducing air pollution and to drive fast action on super pollutants – working in close consultation and coordination with grantees, funders, partners, and other donors in the field.
- Alongside the CEO and Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships, identify, cultivate and manage relationships with funders to increase funding, and support adoption, replication, or scaling-up of CAF programmes.
- Orchestrate convenings of key stakeholders to build the field and coordinate efforts to centre health in the response to air pollution and to tackle super pollutants, identifying opportunities for greater engagement with governments, the private sector and civil society at global and regional scales.
- Act as a representative and advocate of CAF and its policy positions externally with a variety of audiences including politicians, global climate leaders, senior civil servants, NGO leaders, academics, business leaders and CAF’s donors.
- Keep abreast of developments within the health, super pollutants field globally and relevant high-emitting sectors, establishing relevant connections, and enabling networks and systems that will deepen professional knowledge and skills for the team.
Key working relationships
- Clean Air Fund senior leadership team.
- Thematic and geographic portfolio leads.
- Super Pollutants and Health team leaders and team members.
- External decision-makers on climate, health, air quality science and policy globally.
- Our current and prospective funders.
- Senior leaders and key staff at main partner organisations, including the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, WHO, HEI, the Arctic Council, UNFCCC, UNECE, SPAA, etc.
Profile
The following offers an aspirational view of our ideal candidate profile; however, we encourage applications from candidates with a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, especially those from underrepresented groups.
Essential technical competencies
- Empathetic and effective leadership skills, capable of flexing styles to differing work contexts, working through senior direct reports and leading interdisciplinary teams.
- Extensive professional experience directing policy-relevant projects and research with varied deadlines and deliverables.
- Experience of senior partnership development and high-level external representation.
- Experience with financial management, particularly managing large budgets ($10M+) and the ability to interrogate grant costings.
- Exceptional planning, time management, and multi-tasking skills while working on a wide variety of complex tasks.
- Experience of working on health, air pollution, super pollutants and climate change, potentially within a research setting.
- Ability to understand, communicate and advance both the science and policy elements of air pollution, health and climate mitigation.
- Strong interpersonal skills that translate into an ability to build effective networks and manage team members productively.
- Experience with philanthropy and grant making.
- Fluent in English, excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
Desired technical competencies
- Familiarity with environmental justice and fluency with equity, diversity and inclusion
- Practices.
- Additional languages advantageous.
Behavioural competencies
- Ability to cooperate with others across projects to achieve shared objectives.
- Proven ability to build strong formal and informal networks and relationships with diverse constituencies.
- Identifies and seizes new opportunities, showing initiative and encouraging it in others.
- Ability to plan and adjust effectively to create contingency plans.
- A self-starter, with resilience and interpersonal flexibility.
- Effective communicator (verbally and in writing) and able to adjust according to the audience.
- Organised, with great attention to detail.
- Experience of working in a range of cultural and socio-economic contexts, adapting style and approach appropriately, alongside an ability to work collaboratively with partners located in multiple offices and time zones.
Terms and conditions
What we offer
We are a growing organisation that is clear about what we offer and what we expect from everyone in the team.
We provide a competitive reward package, flexible working and a commitment to supporting your learning and professional development. As a relatively new organisation, we are intentional about building trusting relationships and, to facilitate a strong culture across the team, everyone comes into the office for 50% of their time.
Everyone who works with us shares our values — collaborative, dynamic and evidence-informed — and a commitment to our mission. We are growing rapidly, so comfort with change and the ability to work at pace is vital, as is a desire to learn, improve and develop with the organisation. Find out here about our values, offices, benefits, salary and commitment to diversity, inclusion and equality.
To apply for the post
To apply for this role, please submit a copy of your CV/resume and a cover letter outlining your interest in the role and how you fulfil the requirements set out in the job announcement. Please ensure you send your CV and Cover letter in the following format: full_name_CV_org_name_role and full_name_role_CL.
If you have any questions about the role or organisation and would like an informal chat ahead of submitting a formal application, please reach out to Noëmi Bijlsma at noemi@upsallinternational.com. Please note: to ensure the security of your application and to ensure that your data complies with GDPR, applications via email will not be accepted.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with adherence to the deadline
- The deadline for applications is Monday 7th September, 9:00 am CET ·
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Upsall International actively promotes equality, diversity, and inclusion. In recruiting candidates, we seek candidates with the proven skills required, irrespective of race, gender, religion or belief, age, disability, or sexual orientation