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CLIMATEWORKS FOUNDATION
Chief Development Officer

ClimateWorks, based in San Francisco, California, seeks to recruit a Chief Development Officer.

About the Organization

In 2007, six foundations -- Hewlett, Packard, Oak, Doris Duke, Joyce, and Energy Foundation commissioned research, called the Design to Win (DTW) study, to find the most effective ways, by sector and country, of how to slash carbon emissions. The DTW study has five principal conclusions:

• Work in a half dozen countries/regions—the U.S., E.U., China, India, and Latin America—along with efforts to stem deforestation in Brazil, Indonesia, and the Congo, can secure most of the required carbon abatement.

• The carbon battle cannot be won in the next decade, but it can be lost. Locking in bad decisions could make the future job insuperably hard. In particular, building more conventional coal power plants, developing inefficient cities in China, and continuing high rates of deforestation during the next 10 years would cause irrecoverable damage.

• Policy is the key to transformation. The global energy economy is a $4 trillion business, and energy infrastructure investments (capital investments in power plants, oil wells, etc.) are of similar magnitude. Only sound policy can shift capital flows from dirty to clean alternatives.

• Policy advocacy in the energy arena has been very successful when intelligently pursued (more about this later), but current efforts are about five times too small.

The study proposed a global strategy to engage the brightest minds and work with a cross section of groups in order to secure the policies needed to significantly reduce the threat of climate change. The plan builds upon analysis by some of the world’s best climate and energy scientists and policy leaders and extrapolates from recent successes in energy policy reform efforts in Europe, China, Mexico, and the United States.

The logic of the strategy has three parts:

• The necessary carbon reductions can be found in six sectors: electric utilities, industry, buildings, transportation, forestry, plus other select greenhouse gases. Ten nations or regions really matter in winning the carbon battle; four of these -- the U.S., China, Europe, and India -- matter the most due to their emissions, growth rates, and political status.

• Only policy change can sufficiently reduce carbon emissions. Clean energy differs from conventional sources in its public value -- in the form of clean air and reduced carbon emissions. Absent public polices, the free market will not reward those attributes.

• Bringing about necessary policies demands sourcing the ideas from across the world, selecting the best of those with disciplined analysis (tons of carbon avoided multiplied by probability of achieving policy change), and then pursuing them with extensive local venue expertise complemented by high-intensity, campaign-style grantmaking. The scale of philanthropy dollars required for success is about five times larger than what is in hand, and those funds must be deployed with the tight focus, discipline, and intensity this paper describes.

Based on the plan and its recommendations the Hewlett Foundation together with Packard Foundation and McKnight Foundation provided the initial commitments to launch ClimateWorks, a newly established nonprofit organization implementing the Design to Win strategy. The new organization creates an opportunity for engagement and partnership with foundation, corporation, individuals and NGO leaders. ClimateWorks will build a new philanthropic network in order to attract the resources necessary to invest in high impact global climate abatement activities.

ClimateWorks has formally opened its international base of operations in San Francisco, California. ClimateWorks will: 1) aggregate data to identify where carbon must be reduced; 2) aggregate philanthropic capital; 3) set performance criteria (tons of carbon avoided per philanthropic dollar spent); and 4) iteratively allocate new capital based on which local “nodes” of the network can devise winning strategies. As the network of winning strategies gets larger, ClimateWorks will act as a conduit, helping to rapidly spread the best policies and strategies so other countries can adapt and refine them to fit their local circumstances. It will build upon existing elements in the network, including the successful work of the Energy Foundation in the U.S. and China, and the European Climate Foundation.

The energy solutions are not beyond reach, nor are they beyond our means. Political will—to overcome decades of business-as-usual thinking—is what we need to secure the dozen or so pivotal policies. This is the ClimateWorks strategy. We have little time to lose putting it in place.

Chief Development Officer

The Chief Development Officer (CDO) will report to Hal Harvey, president and chief executive officer, and will serve as a member of the senior management team. The CDO will be responsible for developing and executing a plan to raise approximately $3 billion for ClimateWorks Foundation.

The CDO will build a small development team at ClimateWorks Foundaton to identify and engage a small group of individuals, foundations and corporations capable of making very large commitments to ClimateWorks. The CDO will also work closely with a network of organizations affiliated with ClimateWorks and their development professionals to strengthen their fundraising capacities and increase gift revenues. These organizations are spread across the world and, in many cases, have no or little experience raising philanthropic resources. The CDO will be responsible for working with the president to build a strong set of boards that provide opportunities to engage significant donors in the activities of ClimateWorks. The CDO will work with the senior management team to define the programmatic objectives of ClimateWorks so that the organization can make a compelling case to prospective donors to invest in the goals and strategies of the organization.

Working closely with the president and the ClimateWorks board, the CDO will develop and shape individual gift strategies for prospects capable of making gifts of $50 million or more to the organization and its network. The CDO must be creative and entrepreneurial, showing considerable initiative, as she/he reaches out to individuals, foundations and corporations globally that have evidenced interest in climate change.The CDO must be able to engage major philanthropists and business leaders directly, conveying the excitement and possibilities of the ClimateWorks’ strategies. The CDO must be comfortable asking people for large philanthropic investments. The CDO will also oversee other philanthropic services for ClimateWorks Foundation such as communications and stewardship, event planning and research. The CDO will play a primary role in stewarding those donors who make significant investments in ClimateWorks.

The CDO must be able to build a strong, motivated team of development professionals who are committed to the goals of ClimateWorks. The CDO must work with the leadership throughout the ClimateWorks network to set and achieve ambitious fundraising goals. The CDO must effectively manage the time of the president and the board, focusing them on those gift situations which hold the most promise for achieving the financial goals of ClimateWorks.

In the coming year, the CDO, working closely with the president, other senior managers and the board, will be challenged to meet the following goals and strategic objectives:

• Develop a fundraising plan that captures the strategic and bold nature of ClimateWorks. - Build a strong, cohesive team of development professionals focused on the ambitious goals of ClimateWorks.

• Establish effective, collegial working relationships with the senior management team and the Board of ClimateWorks Foundation and the leadership team throughout the ClimateWorks network.

• Establish strong relationships with existing donors to ClimateWorks and its affiliated organizations.

• Engage quickly with prospective donors who have had contact with ClimateWorks and keep building those relationships toward early solicitations where possible.

Professional Experience and Personal Attributes

The CDO should ideally possess the following professional experience and personal attributes:

Professional Qualifications

• A proven and demonstrated level of success in leading fundraising efforts including experience cultivating and soliciting major donors, foundation and private corporations in support of program and operational activities.

• Intellectual agility and demonstrated ability to think strategically.

• Demonstrated success as a motivating manager who has considerable experience attracting, developing and retaining a decentralized professional staff.

• Proven managerial talent in budgeting, staffing, and all aspects of performance management.

• Possess a pleasure and a genuine interest in a collegial and team based work environment.

• Develop staff to function effectively with a high degree of versatility and independence.

• Strong communication skills, which are capable of reaching across organizational hierarchies, structures and geographical distances.

• A solid business sense coupled with budgeting expertise.

• Proven ability to write effectively and speak persuasively.

Personal Attributes

• A deep commitment to the mission and values of ClimateWorks.

• An ability to listen to others and learn from their best ideas - a sense of inquisitiveness and intellectual curiosity.

• Personable, trustworthy, diplomatic, and in possession of impeccable integrity.

• Ability to organize and present thoughts coherently and confidently in front of groups of all sizes.

• Unquestioned personal integrity.

• Possessing a keen sense of humor.

Compensation

Compensation for the Chief Development Officer includes a competitive base salary, and an excellent employee benefits package.

To Apply:

Please send a cover letter and resume in confidence to:

Daniel A. Sherman
President
Explore Company Executive Search
E-mail: resumes@explorecompany.com

Additional information on ClimateWorks can be found at www.hewlett.org/Programs/Environment/Energy/Publications/Design+to+Win.htm.

ClimateWorks is an equal opportunity employer and
welcomes a diverse pool of candidates in this search.

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