Public Affairs Senior Associate

The Coalition for Community Solar Access (“CCSA”) is seeking qualified applicants for the role of Public Affairs Senior Associate to assist with CCSA’s campaigns, coalition-building, and communications efforts with an immediate start date.

You will assist on CCSA’s communications, public affairs, grassroots, and coalition development and management, with the aim to open, protect and serve community solar markets across the nation. You will work closely with the Senior Director for Public Affairs & Communications, National Programs Director, and Regional Directors to develop and execute public affairs strategies and narratives about community solar that support our state and national campaigns and growth of the industry. You may also support the Local Solar for All coalition, a coalition housed within CCSA, with the aim to scale local rooftop and community solar + storage in order to speed the transition to a cleaner, more equitable and cost-effective grid.

Qualifications:

• Communications or public affairs experience working for an organization, campaign, government entity, politician, regulator, or company that is trying to influence policy
• Ability to contribute to messaging strategy for passage of community solar enabling legislation in targeted states across the country
• Proven ability to build and coordinate with coalitions of wide-ranging interests
• Proven track record of executing external communications strategies and tactics, including message development, media relations, social media, and digital
• Understanding and experience utilizing digital grassroots advocacy tools and the ability to manage (or run) targeted digital advertising campaigns
• Excellent written (and spoken) communications skills with an ability to translate complex topics into smart content for specific audiences
• Demonstrative experience distilling complex policy or technology concepts into plain language
• Ability and interest in leveraging multiple mediums to deliver a message including media, blog posts, social media, and more
• Strong intellect, a broad perspective, and the confidence to interact with a wide range of topic experts within politics, energy, and business
• Demonstrated ability to work with stakeholders in a fast-changing, entrepreneurial, and sometime ambiguous environment
• (Preferred) Experience with electricity markets, renewable energy, solar energy, and distributed solar

Responsibilities:

• Work closely with the Senior Director for Public Affairs & Communications to support communications and public affairs strategies to support state level campaigns to open new, and defend existing, community solar markets
• Assist Senior Director for Public Affairs & Communications, National Programs Director, Regional Directors, and sometimes state and national communications agencies on national and state initiatives that advance CCSA’s mission
• Develop and manage a grassroots strategy that can be replicated across CCSA’s state campaigns including building and executing a streamlined digital advocacy and advertising capability in our state campaigns and managing state grassroots agencies in certain tier 1 campaigns
• Develop capabilities and materials to equip Regional Directors and federal team members with repeatable, effective communications tools, including fact sheets, email, social media, and in-person advocacy campaigns
• Create a consistent drumbeat of content in traditional, social, and digital media that influences policy and regulatory stakeholders and positions CCSA as a national thought leader in community solar and best in class trade association
• Assist on setting up new or refreshed digital assets (e.g. community solar news and/or advocacy sites)
• Enhance and manage Community Solar News (our content platform) to ensure strong engagement and reach. Responsibilities include developing and maintaining a robust content calendar, developing story briefs, potentially managing content writers, and working with consultants to optimize user experience
• Manage the CCSA brand and website to ensure it effectively communicates the community solar story and positions the organization as a leading trade association
• Work with Sr. Director for Public Affairs & Comms to ensure best-in-class executive communication, internal communication, and member communications
• Establish clear goals, objectives, and tactics to measure the effectiveness of communications strategies

The perks of working at CCSA:

• Base salary range is between $60,000 - $90,000 with the opportunity to participate in an additional performance incentive plan. Specific salary within this range will be determined by the education, experience, knowledge and skills of the applicant, and alignment with market data.
• Comprehensive benefits include health, vision and dental insurance
• Company sponsored HSA for qualified health plans
• Employer 401k match
• Company sponsored short-term and long-term disability insurance, and life insurance
• Paid parental leave (eligible after 6 months of employment)
• Paid vacation and paid holidays
• Professional coaching opportunities
• A fun and collegial environment
• Weekly all-hands company meeting keeps you engaged and connected to the organization and your team members

Location:

• Remote, flexible

Culture:

Our team members are passionate about expanding access to renewable energy solutions to every American energy consumer and are constantly striving to improve and better ourselves. We are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in the workplace and in the communities with which we partner. If you will enjoy working in a growing organization with a collegial work environment, and in a fast paced and self-starting culture, you are probably a great fit for our team!

The Coalition for Community Solar Access is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to ensuring that all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Team Values:

• Focus on Results. We have clear and ambitious goals that drive everything we do on a daily basis. Every day we ask ourselves the question: will the actions I take achieve results that get me closer to my goals? If the answer is yes, then we push forward. Setbacks happen and not everything is in our control, but we focus on what we can control and move toward our goals one victory at a time.
• Foster Dialogue. We debate ideas, not people. We take the energy of our differences and channel it toward something that has never been created before. The problems we tackle are colorful and complex. To drive to the right decision, we believe in respectfully and productively debating ideas and leaving our egos at the door.
• Put people first. We prioritize the well-being of our team and take the approach of the “whole person”. We believe that we bring our best selves to our professional lives when we are balanced and taking care of ourselves and each other.
• Inclusivity. We deeply value diversity of thought, background, and lived experience – and through this is where our most transformative, lasting innovation grows. As our industry expands, we are committed to actively bringing new people, businesses, and localities into the fold, especially those who are traditionally underrepresented.
• Member Service. We represent the collective voice of our members, who want to see community solar expand and grow. We provide a valuable service to our member community, keeping them up to date on our campaigns and policy initiatives, which helps them plan and grow their businesses. We also serve members by amplifying their collective voice to expand their impact in the market.

Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA) Mission and Core Principles

The Coalition for Community Solar Access is a national Coalition of businesses and non- profits working to expand customer choice and access to solar for all American households and businesses through community solar. Our mission is to empower every American energy consumer with the option to choose local, clean, and affordable community solar. We work with customers, utilities, local stakeholders, and policymakers to develop and implement policies and best practices that ensure community solar programs provide a win, win, win for all, starting with the customer.