Jobs

Available Positions:

General Manager, Realtime Climate

Lead a major new media and technology effort to scale climate communications that work.

Climate Central, an influential climate communications and research group, seeks an entrepreneurial leader to become General Manager for its Realtime Climate initiative, aimed at making science-based, effective, climate change content ubiquitous in local media, social media, and extensive non-media channels in the US and internationally. We see this effort as essential to growing and sustaining the public will needed for driving a major decades-long effort commensurate with the unmatched threat from climate change – and with the great opportunities posed by its solutions.

Ideal candidates will bring the ability to lead and manage a complex, scalable media and technology enterprise; product and marketing experience; and editorial savvy encompassing traditional and social media and visual design. Robust achievement in several of these areas is a must. Past professional experience focused on climate change is not required. 

The GM will report to the CEO and oversee efforts from a team of scientists, journalists, designers, and technologists who have been pioneering climate communications for over a decade. This is a chance to build something new and make an outsize difference on the issue of the century. 

About Climate Central

Climate Central is an independent group of scientists and communicators who research and report the facts about our changing climate and how it affects people’s lives. We use science, big data, and tech to generate thousands of local storylines and compelling visuals that make climate change relevant and show what can be done about it. We address climate science,  energy, sea level rise, extreme weather, and related topics. We collaborate nationwide with TV meteorologists, journalists, and other respected messengers, reaching broad audiences through local voices. Our programs spurred more than 3,700 TV spots in the U.S. during 2020, growing during the pandemic year while national climate coverage dropped sharply. Climate Central’s global sea level research, maps, and imagery have made news in at least 120 nations. 

About Realtime Climate

Realtime Climate is a new initiative designed to systematically inject climate effects and solutions into conversations everywhere, across subjects, at the right times and places, delivered by trusted voices. The Realtime Climate platform monitors daily local weather, renewable energy generation, and many other data streams. It is built to identify events relevant to climate, small or large, and quickly deliver tailored, bite-sized, science-based graphics and language to, and through, local and national journalists, social media influencers, and others, including NGOs, educators, and public figures who want to communicate more effectively about climate in local settings. The US is the initial focus, with future plans for international and global expansion. 

Key Responsibilities

  • Lead all aspects of Realtime Climate, including strategy, planning, execution, and evaluation, relative to content, technology, media outreach, and technology and media partnerships;
  • Set strategic priorities and high-level calendar for content by topic, geography, and frequency, driving areas of research to mine and related events to track; 
  • Provide editorial strategy and oversight for visual and verbal content for TV, digital journalism, and social media, including a templating system to automate tailored content generation; 
  • Set priorities and calendar for continuing development of the Realtime Climate technology platform;
  • Set priorities and calendar for outreach to journalists and social media influencers;
  • Oversee development of media and technology alliances and partnerships to scale content production and outreach, including potential licensing arrangements to support expansion through regional or international sister efforts;
  • Oversee evaluation of Realtime Climate performance and assessment of user needs and feedback, to inform product strategy, development, and refinement;
  • Support efforts to accrue financial resources for Realtime Climate operation and growth, including philanthropic fundraising and earned revenue initiatives;
  • Serve as liaison for Realtime Climate to the Climate Central Board of Directors, and oversee development of any external advisory groups for Realtime Climate;
  • Represent Climate Central in external meetings and conferences as appropriate;
  • Manage, advise, and hire key staff; and
  • Perform other duties as needed.

What Success Looks Like: Impact

Within 2-3 years, Realtime Climate becomes a core piece of infrastructure for communications on climate change and its solutions in the US. Hardly a journalist covering climate is unaware of the tool, which has made integration of a climate angle routine into stories across beats from health to business to equity to sports. Apps reaching hundreds of millions use our API to deliver climate change information daily. Social media pulses with science-backed climate context for current events and discussions down to the local level, while small and large NGOs alike employ Realtime as a key tool powering their own timely, tailored communications. New partnerships and outreach campaigns regularly add new user communities in education, government, and business. Public viewpoints align more strongly with the scientific consensus on climate than for any previous period, and this alignment is sustained. Climate Central has begun conversations with major international research institutes and NGOs about collaboration or franchising to expand focused efforts in key countries like India, while a lightweight version of Realtime Climate already functions globally. The Realtime Climate team has grown and diversified, while remaining a relatively small group of collegial and high-performing individuals.

Experience and Qualifications

  • Experience and qualifications should be commensurate with a position of this great importance and seniority within the organization. Representative (but not strict) requirements follow:
  • 10+ years of experience in an organizational or senior leadership role with a record of success guiding effective, efficient and spirited teams with high levels of trust and communication;
  • 5+ years of high-level experience in at least two of the following areas: product, marketing, or sales (especially in media); design (esp. television, web, data visualization); technology (various, media technologies, algorithmic marketing); social media (robust direct use);
  • 5+ years of high-level editorial experience strongly preferred;
  • 10+ years of this collected experience working within or providing products or services to media organizations focused on traditional or social media;
  • Demonstrated success in creating, growing, and sustaining key external relationships
  • with individual and institutional clients, customers, partners, and advisors;
  • Excellent analytical, organizational, time management, project management and communications skills;
  • Creativity and initiative;
  • Unquestionable integrity and commitment to ethics;
  • A clear and deeply held commitment to addressing climate change;
  • Strong familiarity with climate change or other area of science a plus;
  • Advanced degree preferred.

Diversity

Climate Central embraces diversity and equal opportunity. We are committed to building a workplace that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We recognize that diverse teams make the strongest teams, and we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. Climate Central strongly encourages diverse candidates to apply. We are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and as such do not discriminate against any applicant for employment or employee on the basis of race, color, religious creed, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other classification protected by applicable discrimination laws.

Location

Climate Central’s headquarters are in Princeton, N.J. Work will be remote until the threat from COVID-19 is largely eliminated. After that time, a meaningful amount of onsite presence is likely to be valuable, but majority-time remote work is an option for this position. 

Compensation

Compensation is competitive, with generous benefits.

How to Apply

Please send your resume and cover letter including salary expectations to jobs@climatecentral.org using the exact subject line, “General Manager”. Due to the volume of employment applications and queries received, Climate Central is unable to respond to each application individually. Applicants will be contacted directly if selected as a candidate. The search will close when a successful candidate is recruited.

Software Engineering Manager

The time is now to join a high-impact effort addressing the unprecedented challenges of climate change. Climate Central is a non-profit organization that sits at the intersection of cutting-edge scientific research and public communication. We are looking for a motivated, standout engineering leader for our experienced, distributed team. The scale of our challenges requires leveraging the best available computational methods, infrastructure, and talent. We have a larger portfolio of ambitious technology projects than ever before, and are looking for deep expertise in software development and engineering management to realize our vision.

Your responsibilities will include:

  • Managing a small team of experienced software developers
  • Crafting specifications, designs, and system architectures
  • Coordinating contributions to large systems
  • Thoughtful design and code reviews for SQL and Python code
  • Collaborating with the CTO, product and project managers to ensure development activities are aligned with business goals
  • Streamlining our research-to-product pipeline in collaboration with climate scientists and data scientists
  • Insisting on engineering excellence, while maintaining a very tight development schedule
  • Hands-on contributions to systems where it makes sense, in balance with other duties

Essential qualifications for this role:

  • 10+ years of professional Python and/or SQL development for production software systems
  • Significant direct experience (3+ years) developing for PostgreSQL
  • Superb polyglot programming skills
  • Expertise in software architecture of batch processing systems
  • Expertise in managing code complexity
  • Accomplishment as a technical designer, expositor and communicator
  • Demonstrated leadership by example

Preference will be given to candidates who:

  • Have at least some Machine Learning or data science education or experience. The more the better.
  • Have experience with geospatial data and GIS systems, including PostGIS SQL extensions
  • Have experience working with social network data, especially Twitter
  • Have experience with Python web frameworks - Django and Django REST Framework in particular

Location

This position could be substantially or even fully remote. We are a 21st Century organization and understand the value of distributed teams. However, we also value on-site presence. Climate Central’s headquarters are in Princeton, N.J., operating under standard US Eastern time business hours. Preference will be given to candidates who are able to be present in our Princeton, NJ office at least once per month, and ideally once per week or more. Candidates must be eligible for employment in the United States.

Compensation

Compensation is competitive for a mission-driven non-profit. Salary will depend on qualifications.

Diversity

Climate Central strongly encourages diverse candidates to apply. We are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and as such do not discriminate against any applicant for employment or employee on the basis of race, color, religious creed, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other classification protected by applicable discrimination laws.

How to Apply

Please send your cover letter including salary expectations and your resume to jobs@climatecentral.org with the exact subject line, “Software Engineering Manager” (no quotes). Due to the volume of employment applications and queries received, Climate Central is unable to respond to each application individually. Applicants will be contacted directly if selected as a candidate. The search will close when a successful candidate is recruited.