Description

The Director of Programs & Learning is responsible for strengthening CLIMA's programmatic collaboration through leading strategic initiatives and our learning structures. This role serves as a connector across member organizations, helping coordinate and facilitate the Learning and Evaluation Team and Programs Team. They will develop and lead organizational learning, and advance key initiatives and research that support our work influencing large climate philanthropies and visibilizing movement-led climate solutions. 

The ideal candidate brings strong facilitation, learning, and strategic coordination skills, with an ability to translate insights into action and support collaboration across diverse people and organizational cultures. The successful candidate will be equally comfortable stewarding learning processes, coordinating initiatives, and supporting strategic planning.

Key Responsibilities

1. Programmatic Leadership & Initiative Coordination (Approximately 60% of the role)

- Lead implementation and evolution of the Let It Flow Initiative, which is raising funds for grassroots-led watershed protection and restoration work in three pilot regions globally, including strategy development, partnership coordination, fundraising support, and learning and evaluation components.
- Support implementation of the Democracy’s Immune System Initiative, including contributing to narrative materials, partnership engagement, and fundraising. 
- Support and lead development and implementation of emerging programmatic initiatives as relevant. 
- Ensure alignment between programmatic priorities and external communications and fundraising narratives by translating movement analysis and programmatic learning into compelling stories, evidence, and framing.
- Facilitate and coordinate the cross-fund Programs Team, including supporting collective learning, identifying collaborative activities that can strengthen members’ respective work, and ensuring transparent communication. 
- Represent CLIMA in philanthropic and partner spaces as appropriate.

2. Learning, Evaluation & Research (Approximately 25% of the role)

- Work closely with member organizations and Learning & Evaluation colleagues to synthesize lessons, emerging trends, and strategic implications for CLIMA's work.
- Steward CLIMA's learning and evaluation processes, including evaluating CLIMA’s strategies and advancing our collective learning agenda. 
- Facilitate and coordinate the Learning and Evaluation Team.
- Support development of impact frameworks and learning tools for initiatives, CLIMA’s influencing strategy, and CLIMA’s collective learning processes. 
- Manage ongoing research initiatives, including research on the mitigation impact of grassroots movements (e.g., Soil to Sky report series).

3. Collaborative Leadership & Facilitation (Approximately 15% of the role)

- Support strategic planning and organizational reflection processes.
- Identify areas to strengthen collaboration and communication across CLIMA's member organizations as needed. 
- Help steward organizational culture rooted in collaboration, equity, and care.
- Bring programmatic insights and political analysis into organizational decision-making.

Requirements

- At least 10 years of experience in climate justice, philanthropy, movement-building, organizational learning, or related fields, with direct experience partnering with grassroots climate justice movements. 
- Experience managing complex initiatives across organizations, networks, or collaborations.
- Strong facilitation and relationship-building skills.
- Experience designing learning and evaluation processes.
- Outstanding communication, interpersonal, and relationship-building skills with an ability to prioritize, negotiate, and work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders and produce compelling written and digital materials
- Strong understanding of climate justice, systems change, and movement-led approaches.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, coordinating across teams and geographies. Has the ability to stay on top of multiple projects: plans backwards, anticipates obstacles, identifies and involves stakeholders appropriately, and uses resources wisely.
- Demonstrated success translating learnings into strategy and actionable initiatives from ideation to implementation.
- Deep commitment to justice, equity, and solidarity practice.
- Collaborative leadership style and comfort working across organizational boundaries.
- Curiosity, humility, and a learning orientation.

Application Instructions

To apply, please submit a resume and respond to our screening questions. The deadline to apply is Monday, August 31st at 5pm PT. We anticipate holding interviews in September through early November and our desired start date for the candidate is January 4, 2027.

Do you think this might be you?

If you see yourself in this job description but don’t feel like you meet every single criteria, we encourage you to apply anyway! Research shows that individuals from historically marginalized groups, particularly women, trans, non-binary folks, and BIPOC, tend to self-select out of opportunities at higher rates. We take a holistic approach to all of our hiring practices and want to hire those who best align with our mission and goals.