Position Title: Portfolio and Strategy Lead, Strengthening Human Infrastructure Project
Full-Time
Location: The position can be remote anywhere within the continental United States.
Travel Requirements: up to 5-8 trips within the U.S.; and up to 1-2 trips overseas per year.
AGCI is seeking up to three innovative, collaborative professionals to provide strategic leadership over a diverse portfolio of work supported by the Strengthening Human Infrastructure Project (SHIP). Each Lead will take primary responsibility for one of three distinct areas of SHIP’s work, while collaborating closely with the SHIP Executive Director and the rest of the team to set direction, coordinate partners, and deliver impact:
- Network Manager and Learning: Designs SHIP’s community and learning ecosystem, convenes practitioners across institutions and sectors, and builds synthesis products that turn on-the-ground insights into actionable knowledge. Makes SHIP more than a fellowship network by building a lasting community of practice capable of accelerating impact far beyond any single placement.
- Advancement and External Relations: Leads donor stewardship, advancement, reporting, and aligned funding coordination with external partners. Supports partners in co-creating strategic communications. Positions SHIP as one of the most compelling climate infrastructure investments of this decade — shaping the narrative, securing funding, and cultivating the relationships that sustain SHIP’s talent and coordination engine.
- Portfolio and Strategy: Building on foundational responsibilities of grantmaking strategy and placement design, this role stewards the big-picture direction of SHIP’s portfolio: identifying high-leverage opportunities, supporting partners, and ensuring SHIP’s placements and grants serve as catalytic capacity for coordinated and scaled climate ambitions.
Together, the three Program Leads will complement one another to cover SHIP’s full portfolio. Leads report to the SHIP Executive Director. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in program development, grant-making portfolios, and a broad understanding of climate mitigation, adaptation, and environmental justice opportunities across the science-to-action spectrum.
Portfolio and Strategy:
This role shapes the specifics of SHIP’s climate talent and grantmaking portfolio — ensuring long-term systems impact, strategic coherence, and alignment with coalition priorities. Building on foundational responsibilities of grantmaking strategy and placement design, this role stewards the big-picture direction of SHIP’s portfolio: identifying high-leverage opportunities, supporting partners, and ensuring SHIP’s placements and grants serve as catalytic capacity for coordinated and scaled climate ambitions. Working closely with the Program Manager, this role helps translate coalition insights and field needs into a forward-looking, cohesive strategy for where SHIP invests its people and resources.
This is a role for a strategist and architect who sees the system, understands where targeted talent can unlock disproportionate impact, and can guide SHIP’s portfolio toward a durable, nationwide coordination model.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Core responsibilities (common across all levels)
- Coordinate or lead the planning, execution, and delivery of SHIP-related programs or projects.
- Support cross-functional collaboration by managing SHIP Coalition working groups and external relationships with partners and grantees.
- Track progress, manage timelines and budgets, and ensure alignment with SHIP’s strategic goals.
- Monitor developments in the field to identify emerging needs, gaps, and opportunities to better inform climate action.
- Contribute to SHIP’s collaborative and inclusive culture by leading through partnership, inside and outside the organization.
- Leverage former public service and/or federal government expertise to advance SHIP’s mission.
Portfolio and Strategy Lead
- Shape SHIP’s strategic direction by identifying emerging opportunities where targeted talent and grantmaking can accelerate climate action.
- Build strategy analyses and recommendations that help the coalition understand where SHIP’s interventions can have outsized impact.
- Present proposed grantees for funding consideration by coalition working groups and the SHIP management team.
- Develop strategic recommendations for holistic development of SHIP’s grantmaking portfolio, in collaboration with coalition working groups.
- Maintain a portfolio-level view of SHIP’s grantmaking, assessing progress and recommending adjustments as conditions evolve.
- Develop talent (fellowships, mentorships, apprenticeships) match-making strategies that align with grant-making portfolio needs.
- Represent SHIP at technical conferences and meetings with NGOs, funders, and experts, following up as needed.
- Provide recommendations to the SHIP Executive Director in advising SHIP’s strategic direction, including identification and consideration of new coalition advisors and partners.
- Lead the SHIP Prioritization & Placement working group and translate their insights into grantmaking and placement decisions.
Ideal for candidates with 7–10 years of experience in climate program leadership, strategic grantmaking, portfolio design, or cross-sector coalition work—especially those adept at spotting opportunity, making connections, and shaping high-impact strategy.
Requirements
SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
Experience and Background
- Bachelor’s degree required; graduate degree preferred for senior roles and may substitute for up to 3 years of professional experience.
- Experience informing and advancing climate action as a public good (e.g. through public service, granted or contracted work, etc.) is strongly valued.
- Familiarity with multiple climate action domains (e.g., mitigation, adaptation, environmental justice, science policy, climate science).
- 7–10 years in program or grantmaking leadership, with experience managing large-scale portfolios.
Technical Competencies
- Strong organizational and strategic planning skills, with the ability to manage multiple portfolio analyses, talent-placement considerations, and coalition touchpoints simultaneously.
- Excellent research, strategic synthesis, and communication capabilities—able to translate emerging opportunities and technical information into clear recommendations.
- Proficient with modern workflow tools (Microsoft Office, Google Suite, Slack, Salesforce or similar) and eager to adopt new platforms that support data-driven decision making.
- Skilled in strategy development, portfolio shaping, and aligning grantee or talent work with big picture priorities; familiarity with climate policy, data, science, or decision-support ecosystems.
Relational Competencies
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to work collaboratively with diverse partners.
- Demonstrated ability to contribute to inclusive teams and integrate equity perspectives into programs and partnerships.
- Effective coalition-builder, able to steward relationships with grantees, partners, and funders, and represent SHIP externally.
Mindset and Attributes
- Commitment to the public value of climate knowledge and accelerating climate action.
- Adaptability, curiosity, and a growth mindset.
- Strong sense of self- and situational awareness.
- Ability and willingness to travel, US and internationally.
- Ability to thrive in a small, supportive team that values situational awareness, humility, humor, and curiosity.
- Strategic thinker, adaptive leader, and mentor with a commitment to inclusive, evidence-based decision-making.
Benefits
WORK SCHEDULE & COMPENSATION
The start date could begin as early as February 28th and no later than April 30th. AGCI operates a physical, primary office in Basalt, Colorado, with staff working from other states as part of its “Institute Without Walls” approach. Remote work within the United States is permitted in this role.
Compensation: Anticipated salary range is $130,000-165,000. AGCI offers a generous benefits package, including organization-paid employee and dependent medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability, 401(k) with up to 10% employer contributions, PTO, paid parental leave, flexible scheduling, wellness benefits, and professional development opportunities.
TO APPLY
Be sure to include a cover letter (no more than 2 pages) describing the following:
- Your relevant background and perspective, including ways you’ve been impacted by shifts in federal funding and how your experience (e.g. in program leadership, strategic grantmaking, portfolio design, cross-sectoral coalitions) shapes what you bring to this role.
- How you would approach identifying the highest-leverage opportunities for SHIP placements.
Applications received before December 19th may receive priority consideration, and will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Additional applications may be reviewed thereafter until a candidate is appointed.
Aspen Global Change Institute is committed to providing an equal employment opportunity for all applicants and to ensuring a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. We welcome people of all identities, backgrounds, and experiences to apply.
If you feel you do not meet all the listed qualifications but are capable of accomplishing the aims of this position, we encourage your application. You will have the opportunity to share additional details about your work experience that are not reflected in a traditional resume. Our employment decisions are based on our organizational needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, family or parental status, disability, age, national origin, or any other protected status.
