Current Job Openings at GCC

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.

Climate Fellow Program

The Georgetown Climate Center annually seeks graduating JD students for one-year Climate Fellowships. One fellow will join GCC’s Mitigation Program to support policies that cut greenhouse gas emissions and speed the transition to a clean energy economy. Another fellow will join GCC’s Adaptation Team, which works to reduce the impacts of climate change by advancing climate adaptation and resilience. GCC’s Climate Fellowships are open to graduates receiving their JD from an accredited law school.

Applications for the 2026-2027 fellowship positions are now closed. This page will be updated as future opportunities become available.

GCC Climate Fellowship - Mitigation Program

The Georgetown Climate Center (GCC) annually seeks a JD graduate for a one-year fellowship. The Mitigation Fellow contributes to GCC's work supporting federal, state, and local governments to develop and implement laws and policies that reduce the adverse impacts of climate change on communities and the environment.

The Mitigation Fellow contributes to the Climate Center’s work on topics like data centers, energy system regulation, power plants and emissions limits, clean energy infrastructure, and clean transportation including electric vehicles. Responsibilities will include analyzing relevant regulatory text and judicial rulings and tracking national and regional trends and developments of key importance for states. Work may include tracking and analyzing issuances from federal agencies, the White House, state governors’ offices, and state agencies. The Fellow will have the opportunity to engage with policymakers to support high-impact climate and energy initiatives, and will contribute to written products like blogs, policy briefs, and legal memos. 

GCC's Mitigation Program works with energy and environment officials across the country, as well as leading policy experts, to reduce climate-warming emissions from the electric power and transportation sectors, as well as other sources of emissions. We convene policymakers in-person and virtually for peer-to-peer exchanges; provide legal and policy support; and publish informational materials for policymakers focused on identifying leading-edge solutions and best practices to address the climate and energy challenges.

This position is based in Washington, DC at Georgetown University's Capitol Campus. Applications for the 2026-2027 fellowship positions are now closed. This page will be updated as future opportunities become available.

GCC Climate Fellowship - Adaptation Program

The Georgetown Climate Center (GCC) annually seeks a JD graduate for a one-year fellowship. The Adaptation Fellow supports our work on a variety of cutting-edge projects analyzing and identifying best practices for state and local governments preparing for the impacts of climate change (including sea-level rise, storms, flooding, drought, wildfire, and heat). GCC serves as a resource to states and communities on climate change adaptation law and policy, working directly with state and local government practitioners to help them identify and implement policy solutions to make communities safer in the face of climate-driven impacts. In addition to place-based legal and policy support, GCC provides adaptation resources for a range of state and local government practitioners like our Adaptation Policy in Practice series or detailed reports like our recent review of state Chief Resilience Officers. GCC also helps to inform the adaptation dialogue around through the analysis of laws, programs, regulations, and spending. Through topic-based workshops and ongoing peer-learning forums like our State Policy Forum and Regional Collaboratives Forum, GCC provides frequent opportunities for engagement among local, state, and federal practitioners to discuss new challenges and best practices for more effectively integrating resilience into legal, policy, and planning solutions.

The Adaptation Fellow works with GCC staff to conduct research, legal and policy analysis, and writing related to GCC's federal, state, and local resilience work. The Adaptation Fellow also researches and writes resource summaries and case studies of states and communities implementing innovative best practices to be included in GCC's online toolkits, Adaptation Clearinghouse, and State and Local Adaptation Progress Tracker.

This position is based in Washington, DC at Georgetown University's Capitol Campus. Applications for the 2026-2027 fellowship positions are now closed. This page will be updated as future opportunities become available.

Research Assistant Positions

The Georgetown Climate Center offers paid opportunities for Georgetown students to work as Research Assistants to support our efforts helping federal, state, local, and Tribal governments reduce carbon pollution and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change. Students working in the fall and spring semesters work part-time (up to 10 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. 

Applicants should be current Georgetown University students and should have strong research, writing, and editing skills and a demonstrated interest in climate law or related policies. 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.

Communications Research Assistant

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. Applications for the Fall 2026 semester are currently closed. Please stay tuned for the Spring 2027 application cycle. 

Mitigation Program Research Assistant

The Mitigation Program of the Georgetown Climate Center is accepting applications from Georgetown University students interested in working as Research Assistants (RAs), with a preference for law students. The Mitigation Program supports federal, state, and local policymakers working to reduce climate-warming pollution. Recent work has focused on finding solutions to meet rising electricity demand with clean energy, reducing the carbon footprint of transportation, and tracking and analyzing rapidly evolving climate policy trends. Research Assistants may be asked to research and analyze executive orders, legislation, regulations, and litigation in the areas of energy, transportation, and climate policy, or may be asked to assist with the preparation of memos or presentations. The ideal candidate will have familiarity with legal research and/or domestic energy and climate policy. Applications for the Fall 2026 semester are currently closed. Please stay tuned for the Spring 2027 application cycle.

Adaptation Program Research Assistant

The Georgetown Climate Center accepts applications from 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. Applications for the Fall 2026 semester are currently closed. Please stay tuned for the Spring 2027 application cycle.