California Wildfire Program Officer

RLF’s Wildfire program supports policy change and increased public funding for wildfire resilience in communities and ecosystems across the Western United States. Our program engages in grantmaking, coalition-building, policy development, advocacy, and capacity-building. We work at the federal level and in California, Washington, Colorado, and Montana.

We seek a seasoned advocate with existing wildfire expertise or transferable expertise. Under the guidance of a Senior Program Officer and in partnership with colleagues and strategic consultants, the Program Officer will oversee a portfolio of grants in support of California wildfire resilience policy and lead on California policy development, advocacy, campaigns, and coalition-building and management opportunities. The Program Officer will also work with the team in evolving the program’s strategic direction. The Program Officer is a full-time, exempt position.

This is a remote position with preference for a home base in or near Sacramento. The Program Officer will be required to travel regularly to Sacramento with occasional additional domestic travel as needed to fulfill duties.

Duties include:

Policy advocacy and development:

• Deliver significant outcomes on wildfire policy in California by designing and executing advocacy campaigns centered on community risk reduction (particularly in the built environment and as related to home insurance availability and cost), landscape resilience, and public funding.
• Build relationships with policy advocacy organizations, wildfire experts, and researchers to identify shared priorities and determine where additional resources and expertise are needed, enabling more effective collaboration on wildfire resilience initiatives.
• Develop, participate in, or provide direct staffing (leadership, facilitation, convening, etc.) for wildfire resilience policy coalitions and other collaborative efforts.
• Work with partners to develop new public policy solutions, provide policy analysis, and draft related collateral (public comments, bill language, etc.).
• Ensure coordination and alignment of California policy strategy and implementation with the program’s other geographies of focus.
• Other duties as directed

Grantmaking:

• Oversee and manage the California grants and contracts portfolio, which includes management of existing grants and contracts and actively developing new grants and contracts in support of RLF’s wildfire strategy.

Cross-cutting:

• Represent RLF and its wildfire work to external audiences.
• Work with program staff to track, measure, and evaluate the program’s progress and results, making improvements to how we implement and assess our impact over time.
• Assist with program fundraising. Build relationships with potential donors and represent the accomplishments and future direction of RLF’s wildfire portfolio.
• Perform research and analysis and prepare documents as requested. Create dockets and appropriate materials for presentations to the board, funders, and partners.
• Undertake special projects as assigned.

Qualifications

Note: These qualifications are guidelines, not hard and fast rules, so if you have 75% of the qualifications listed, we encourage you to apply. Experience can include paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work and lived experiences that helped you to build the competencies, knowledge, and skills needed for this position. Applying gives you the opportunity to be considered.

• At least 7 years of experience in policy and advocacy. Wildfire expertise preferred. Previous philanthropic grantmaking experience a plus.
• Extensive working knowledge of California policy, processes, and politics or a commitment to learning them.
• Experience building relationships with governmental decisionmakers.
• Experience building, supporting, and managing diverse coalitions and effective campaigns for administrative and legislative policy and funding outcomes.
• Commitment to working creatively and in collaboration with diverse partners across sectors to advance impactful wildfire resilience policies and funding. Excellent interpersonal skills and a proven ability to build trust-based relationships.
• Exceptional composition, editing, and spoken communication skills. Ability to synthesize complex information from multiple sources into lucid, cohesive, and compelling written products. Ensure full-circle communication with program staff and external partners.
• Experience supervising direct reports.
• Experience developing program strategies.
• Experience developing and tracking outcomes and metrics to understand program effectiveness a plus.

Desired Applicant Attributes

• Ability to perform responsibilities with a high degree of judgment, discretion, accuracy, and attention to detail.
• Self-directed in leading new bodies of work and highly collaborative in achieving outcomes.
• Flexibility in working style, marked by an ability to work closely with a wide range of personality and organization types and teams.
• Capacity to respond rapidly and appropriately to changing priorities, objectives, and situations.
• Sufficient technological ability and commitment to learn and consistently use RLF’s preferred information management and communication tools and adhere to confidentiality policies and procedures.

Commitment to Nondiscrimination

We are committed to providing a work environment free from discrimination, where all team members feel valued, respected, and included. We know that our work is enriched by the varied voices and perspectives of every staff and board member, so we are committed to making an earnest effort to recruit, welcome, train, develop, and retain talented individuals from all backgrounds. We believe that a welcoming culture expands our creative capacity to do our work and achieve greater outcomes for people and the natural world.

Every team member who joins RLF is expected to embody RLF values:

Collaboration – We believe the key to achieving meaningful environmental results and a productive workplace is rooted in humanity—our ability to build effective relationships, listen deeply, respect different perspectives, and elevate new leaders.

Equity – We value the insight, energy, and innovation of inclusive decision making. Our work seeks to elevate voices and build power within impacted communities to help advance a just and equitable future for all.

Integrity – We are dedicated to our cause, genuine in our approach, and strive to cultivate a foundation of trust within our organization and with our partners. We believe humility and commitment to ongoing learning keeps us effective in our work.

Creativity – We embrace a thoughtful, entrepreneurial spirit, seeking innovative ways to solve problems new and old. We are willing to take risks that the times and issues require to achieve lasting results.

Excellence – We aspire to high standards of quality in everything we do—from internal operations to strategic program implementation. We are attentive to detail and persevere to deliver results on goals we share with funders, partners, and colleagues.

To Apply

Please provide a resume and cover letter explaining how your skills fit this position.

Recruitment Schedule:

May 28 – Recruitment Launches

June 12 – Application deadline (applications received after this date may still be considered)

June 26 – Screening interviews

RLF participates in E-Verify. Potential candidates can review the information and here and here.