Current Job Openings

This page includes current job openings, fellowship opportunities, and research assistant opportunities at the Georgetown Climate Center.

Click to jump to additional details about the following open positions:

Georgetown University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer fully dedicated to achieving a diverse faculty and staff. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation), disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Senior Institute Associate, Mitigation Program

The Mitigation Senior Associate will help advance GCC initiatives to support equitable low-carbon strategies at the federal, state and regional levels. This will involve timely analysis and facilitation of discussions among government officials to identify best practices for implementing federal legislation and initiatives, including the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Justice 40 Initiative and new regulations. Specific topics will include: low-carbon transportation, clean electric power, community-based air quality monitoring and a range of other novel and cutting-edge policy initiatives.

The Senior Associate will play a leadership role in designing and managing complex projects, presenting to external audiences, conducting outreach and coordinating with outside partners and contractors. This will include the following activities:

  • Leading projects involving policy and legal research, analysis and writing on a broad range of energy and emissions mitigation topics.
  • Building relationships of trust with policymakers, partners, and stakeholders
  • Working with GCC colleagues, students, partners, policymakers, and consultants to identify opportunities for meaningful policy actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while advancing environmental justice.
  • Representing GCC at conferences, dialogues, events and with the media.
  • Conducting briefings and facilitate discussion among senior local, state and federal officials; funders; NGO and academic partners; and private sector partners.
  • Coordinating the development and maintenance of content for the Center’s website.
  • Supervising and coordinating work of research assistants, outside contractors, staff and outside partners.
  • Serving as a high-functioning team member with leadership responsibilities.
  • Identifying and responding to opportunities for funding and outreach.

Qualifications and Experience

We are seeking candidates with at least five years’ experience in environmental law and policy, climate change policy or a related field. Excellent research and communications skills (writing and speaking) required. 

Relevant experience includes: 

  • working on climate and energy policy, including related to climate action planning, transportation planning, the electric power sector, energy infrastructure siting and building electrification;
  • supervising the work of others;
  • managing complex projects with multiple external and internal partners and collaborators;
  • working with or for local, state, tribal or federal governments.

To apply for this position, please send a resume and cover letter to climate@georgetown.edu.

 

Institute Associate, Mitigation Program

The Institute Associate will help advance GCC initiatives to support equitable low-carbon strategies at the federal, state and regional levels. This will involve collaboration with colleagues, partners and consultants to conduct timely analysis on critical technical and legal issues to help inform decision making. The Institute Associate will help to build decision-making tools, convene policymakers, and facilitate dialogues that help policymakers identify and adopt best practices for implementing federal legislation and initiatives, including the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Justice 40 Initiative, and relevant regulations. Examples of research topics include: low-carbon transportation, clean electric power, and community-based air quality monitoring.

Duties will include:

  • Conducting high-quality policy, legal, and technical research in collaboration with colleagues, partners and consultants;
  • Supporting the  Mitigation Director, Senior Institute Associates, and GCC leadership in engagement with policymakers, interested communities, and other stakeholders, to inform current and future climate policy decision making; 
  • Preparing research, presentation materials and speaking points for briefings and meetings with senior local, state, and federal officials, NGO and academic partners;
  • Helping to build relationships of trust with policymakers, partners, and stakeholders.
  • Representing GCC local, state, and national events;
  • Assisting with the supervision of student research on relevant climate topics;
  • Helping to staff and manage working groups and other convenings of state and local policymakers and stakeholders in support of state-level public engagement processes.

Qualifications and Experience

We are seeking candidates with the following qualifications:

  • One to two years of experience in climate, transportation or energy policy
  • Excellent legal and policy research and communications skills
  • Ability to produce high-quality policy, legal, and/or technical analysis 
  • Ability to communicate effectively with various audiences through writing and presentations

 Relevant experience includes:

  • Conducting research projects, including legal, technical or policy research on relevant regulations and legislation (e.g. clean energy and transportation policies, electric vehicles, etc.)
  • Experience planning and managing complex projects involving multiple partners and collaborators.
  • Working with or for local, state, tribal or federal governments.

Learn more and apply on the Georgetown University jobs webpage. 

Research Assistant Positions

The Georgetown Climate Center takes applications on a rolling basis for Research Assistants to support our work helping cities and states reduce carbon pollution (mitigation) and prepare for the impacts of climate change (adaptation). Students working in the fall and spring semesters work part time (between 5-20 hours per week) around their academic schedules and students can work part or full time (for a maximum of 40 hours per week) in the summer. Please consider meeting the following general application deadlines when applying: Fall: August/Mid-September; Spring: December/January; Summer: March/April. 

Candidate Qualifications and How to Apply: Applicants should be current Georgetown University students and should have strong research, writing, and editing skills and a demonstrated interest in climate adaptation or a related field. We prefer, but do not require, applicants who have prior experience working with state or local governments or nonprofits, particularly working on climate change, environmental, and/or land-use law or policy, or equity and community/urban development. We also prefer applicants that are work-study eligible. NOTE: These positions are only available to Georgetown University students, with a preference for law school students (JD, LLM, SJD) eligible for work study. We will also consider applicants from other undergraduate or graduate programs (e.g., MPP, MPS) within Georgetown University.

Climate and Healthcare Research Assistant

The Georgetown Climate Center (GCC) is seeking a Georgetown University student (from any undergraduate or graduate program/campus in a relevant area of study) interested in working with the Center as a summer Research Assistant (RA) to support our work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the healthcare sector. GCC is assessing federal and state energy and climate policies that could help hospitals and other healthcare delivery organizations meet ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets. This includes policies to reduce fossil-fuel use at health care facilities and shift to clean electricity, reduce transportation emissions from health care–related vehicles and fleets, increase resilience from extreme weather events and provide cleaner air for communities near health care delivery facilities, and drive reductions in supply chain emissions. Applicants should be current Georgetown University students and should have strong research, writing, and editing skills and a demonstrated interest in climate, clean energy, or healthcare sustainability. To apply, please send a cover letter and resumé to Joe Kruger (Joseph.Kruger@georgetown.edu).

Communications Research Assistant

The Georgetown Climate Center is seeking a part-time communications research assistant for Summer 2023. The Communications RA will join GCC’s communications team, which supports GCC’s Adaptation and Mitigation programs and their efforts to advance effective climate policy at the local, state, and federal levels. The Communications RA will have the opportunity to work alongside communications, law, and policy experts, learning practical skills in communications strategy and planning, stakeholder engagement, community outreach, social media management, and media relations, including experience working with nonprofit and government agencies at the local, state, and federal level. Typical responsibilities include media, website, and policy research, and development of social media campaigns, press releases, web copy, and other public-facing communications materials for GCC. This is a paid position; start date and schedule are flexible to accommodate academic schedules. Law students in need of clinical experience may request academic credit in lieu of payment. To apply, please send a resume and a cover letter detailing your interest in the work of the Climate Center and how this position relates to your current areas of study, to climate@georgetown.edu.

Mitigation Program Research Assistant

The Georgetown Climate Center is seeking Georgetown University students interested in working with the Center as Research Assistants (RAs) to support our work to reduce carbon pollution from mobile and stationary sources in the Summer of 2023. The Climate Center works directly with states and the federal government on the development of energy, transportation, and climate change policies. Recent GCC mitigation work has focused on the importance of the decisions state, local, and federal policymakers will make regarding how to invest billions in federal transportation funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. Those decisions will largely determine whether those investments accelerate or slow progress in reducing carbon pollution from vehicles on highways. RA work involves research and analysis of legislation, regulations, policy options, and government programs. Other tasks include developing reports and presentations, helping with event preparations, and performing administrative tasks as needed. The ideal candidate will have familiarity with energy systems, U.S. energy markets, and major sources of greenhouse gas emissions. To apply please send a cover letter, detailing your interest in the work of the Climate Center and how this position relates to your current areas of study, with your resume to James Bradbury (james.bradbury@georgetown.edu).

Adaptation Program Research Assistant

The Georgetown Climate Center is seeking Georgetown University students (from any undergraduate or graduate program/campus in a relevant area of study) interested in working with the Center as Research Assistant(s) to support our work on a variety of cutting-edge projects analyzing and identifying best practices for how state and local governments are preparing for the impacts of climate change (including sea-level rise, managed retreat, and equitable approaches to adaptation, among other topics). GCC provides adaptation resources for a range of state and local government practitioners through our Adaptation Clearinghouse, an online database of adaptation resources, and other online tools, like our Managed Retreat Toolkit and Equitable Adaptation Legal and Policy Toolkit.Given the timeliness and relevance of the material covered by these new toolkits, GCC is working directly with state and local government practitioners in two different states (New Jersey and Louisiana) to provide place-based legal and policy support as they explore managed retreat approaches that integrate equity considerations. RAs will work with Center staff to help in the research related to this place-based work. RAs will also research and write resource summaries and case studies of innovative best practices that are being developed and implemented at the state and local levels to be included in our toolkits, Adaptation Clearinghouse, and State Adaptation Progress Tracker. To apply for an Adaptation Research Assistant position, please submit a cover letter and resume to Annie Bennett (bennett@georgetown.edu).