Climate Program Advisor
Renaissance Philanthropy is seeking one or more Climate Program Advisor(s) to support a growing portfolio of mission-driven initiatives across catastrophic climate risk, mitigation, and frontier innovation. This role will work closely with program leads, fellows, and internal climate leadership to help steward and accelerate emerging programs in the climate space, such as those supported under RenPhil’s ARC Initiative.
This position will be part-time (approximately 15–25 hours/week) with the possibility to expand to full-time depending on mutual fit and evolving portfolio needs.
This role will be a contracting position with variable pay depending on candidate experience and expertise, $90 – $135/hr for 8 to 24 hours per week (open to adjusting per candidate interest and requirements). Scope and role may expand or change over time as we grow.
Role Overview
Climate Program Advisors (CPAs) serve as strategic and operational partners who support and help build a set of programs across Renaissance Philanthropy’s climate portfolio. These programs vary in maturity: some are early-stage translational research efforts navigating scientific and strategic uncertainty as they scope new concepts and approaches, while others are more established initiatives focused on research roadmap execution, partnerships, organizational milestones, and scaling readiness.
Advisors ensure programs are supported, coordinated, and equipped to overcome blockers and challenges that can and often do otherwise impede ambitious, early-stage translational R&D. Advisors work closely with leadership to make sure programs are progressing and aligned with strategic goals and theses, while also operating with a fair degree of autonomy in their day-to-day work with programs. This role sits at the intersection of strategy, portfolio operations, program advisory, and ecosystem engagement. Please note that these Climate Program Advisor roles will have variability in scope and seniority as we scale our work, and candidates of different levels of experience will be considered to support various needs in our current climate programs portfolio.
Role and Responsibilities
Responsibilities vary based on program stage, with more direct shaping and design in early programs and more structured stewardship as initiatives grow. Candidates who feel well equipped to support across many but not all of these areas are encouraged to apply, as we are building a team with varying strengths and program focuses. People well suited to this role may have prior experience as technical product or program managers, climate org founders, or research team managers & coordinators, or startup incubator/accelerator portfolio managers.
Program Coordination and Support
Maintain accurate and current program information including milestones, risks, dependencies, decision points, and budget status.
Prepare materials and structure agendas for program check-ins and portfolio syncs, ensuring leadership discussions are clearly framed and actionable.
Support execution by coordinating across internal workstreams, resolving blockers, sequencing next steps, and ensuring clear follow-through.
Partnership and Fundraising Support
Identify partnership or co-funding opportunities and support preparation of memos, decks, briefing materials, and follow-up communications.
Track engagement and support sequencing of relationships across funders, advisors, and institutional partners.
Technical and Strategic Advisory
Provide input on strategy, scope, risks, sequencing, and decision frameworks.
Connect programs to subject matter experts when specialized technical input is required.
Help maintain scientific rigor, credibility, and alignment to Renaissance’s broader climate strategy.
Narrative Alignment and Information Flow
Improve portfolio cohesion by ensuring consistent information flow, shared context, and alignment to strategic and narrative priorities.
Surface insights, patterns, and gaps that inform cross-portfolio decision-making and long-term planning.
Profile and Qualifications
Ideal candidates bring systems thinking, interdisciplinary fluency, structured program execution, and comfort operating in evolving and uncertain contexts.
Qualifications
While the work is variable and we will match CPAs to their areas of strength; we assume those who join will have expertise in at least one of the following areas:
Experience within climate science & research, translational R&D and innovation, and/or adjacent technical or policy domains that are focused on advancing and unlocking scientific progress.
Demonstrated ability to support or manage programs or multi-stakeholder initiatives with evolving needs and uncertainty.
Strong communication skills, including the ability to structure information, prepare briefs, and support leadership decision-making.
Ability to translate between technical content and applied strategy across diverse audiences.
Comfort working in a dynamic, entrepreneurial environment where we adjust strategy and plans as we learn new insights and see strategic opportunities.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with climate risk or technical climate topics (such as climate modeling, climate systems, decarbonization, CDR, technology for adaptation & resilience, etc).
Familiarity with translational research or ARPA-style innovation models.
Experience supporting early-stage initiatives, incubator programs, new research efforts, or ecosystem and field-building projects.
Location
The team is primarily based in New York, with preference for candidates who can occasionally collaborate in person, though location is flexible.
Compensation
Competitive compensation commensurate with experience and time commitment (part-time with potential to expand).
Values
You will thrive within our team if you:
Have strong mission and vision alignment: You believe in the power of science, innovation, and technology to create a brighter future for all.
Exhibit high agency: You can move mountains and break perceived constraints.
Inspire others and are highly collaborative: You can motivate others to join your mission and goals. You understand the value of going further by working with others.
Value exceptional talent and the power of networks: You can spot or nurture exceptional talent and believe in the value of building networks and the power law of talent.
Are comfortable working in fast-moving and ambitious teams: You are not afraid of ambiguity and enjoy working at pace.
Diversity
We encourage anyone who is interested in this role to apply, regardless of whether you feel you meet 100% of the qualifications. The top candidates will bring their own unique perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds from a variety of industries along with many but not necessarily all the skills listed above.
Recruiting, hiring, mentoring, and retaining a diverse workforce is critical to our success. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.
Renaissance Philanthropy is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.