Policy Director, Energy and Environment

R Street Institute

Washington, D.C.

The R Street Institutea free-market think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. with staff across the country and beyondseeks a Policy Director to lead and grow our Energy and Environment program. This is a senior leadership role with three equally important dimensions: driving substantive policy research and thought leadership, managing and developing a talented team, and building the philanthropic relationships and resources that sustain the programs long-term ambitions. Candidates who excel in only one or two of these dimensions are unlikely to be the right fit.

The selected candidate will be the leader and chief visionary of R Streets energy program. The program, currently our second oldest, maintains a full-time staff and draws support from a broad range of well-known corporate and foundation donors. The ideal candidate should take seriously both the importance of free markets in maintaining a prosperous society and the risks created by climate change. You will report to the Vice President of Organizational Performance and Advancement and work in close collaboration with our Executive Leadership, Business Development, Government Affairs, Communications, and Editorial teams.

No two weeks at R Street are the same, but a typical day may include:

• Meeting with a foundation program officer to present the programs research roadmap and explore multi-year funding opportunities.
• Reviewing and strengthening an analysts explainer on transmission planning or interconnection reform.
• Drafting public comments in response to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission notice of public rulemaking.
• Coordinating with Business Development to create a grant proposal.
• Speaking with coalition partners or policymakers about permitting modernization or market design.
• Working with Communications to sharpen talking points for an upcoming media appearance.
• Coaching a fellow to focus their analysis and elevate their writing on climate change adaptation.

You will find yourself working collaboratively across the organization almost every day.

Key aspects of your role

Program Leadership and Fundraising

• Drive the programs financial sustainability by personally cultivating and closing philanthropic support, stewarding existing donor relationships, leading technical proposal development, and partnering closely with the Business Development team on strategy and pipeline management.
• Set and execute the programs research agenda, managing priorities, timelines, and quality across the portfolio.
• Represent R Street externally in ways that advance both policy impact and the programs funding position.

People Management and Team Development

• Manage, coach, and develop program stafffellows, analysts, and associateshelping them scope work, deepen their analysis, and produce polished, credible products.
• Foster a collaborative, intellectually rigorous culture consistent with R Streets mission and values.

Research and Thought Leadership

• Contribute original policy analysis, op-eds, regulatory comments, and public testimony aligned with the programs mission.
• Edit and elevate written products to ensure they are rigorous, timely, and meet R Streets research standards.
• Maintain current expertise across key legislation, regulatory proceedings, and research in energy and environmental policy.
• Engage in conferences, media appearances, and other forums to translate complex analysis for varied audiences.

Research Agenda: Three Pillars

• Electricity
  • Transmission planning, interconnection, and grid resilience; wholesale market design (RTO governance); retail choice, rate design, and distribution system performance.
• Environment and Innovation
  • Market-enabling climate mitigation/adaptation, climate risk management, permitting and siting, energy innovation policy, and efficient environmental regulation.
• Transportation
  • Competition and innovation in heavy-duty modes (e.g., rail, shipping, trucking) and market-enabling approaches for light-duty vehicles, including barriers to EV/AV adoption and infrastructure funding mechanisms.

Skills and qualifications:The following reflect our priorities for this role, in roughly descending order of importance.

• Education
  • No particular educational background is required. We value demonstrated results over credentials.
• Mission alignment
  • Genuine enthusiasm for R Streets commitment to free markets and limited, effective government.
• Fundraising and donor development experience
  • A track record of cultivating relationships with philanthropic and corporate funders and closing support for policy or research programs. Comfort with the full donor lifecycle, from prospecting through stewardship, is essential.
• People and project leadership
  • Experience managing staff and guiding their professional development. Proven ability to oversee multi-stakeholder projects from scoping through delivery.
• Fluency in energy and environmental public policy
  • Deep substantive knowledge across at least one of the programs three pillars, with the ability to engage credibly across all three.
• Writing and editing excellence
  • Top-tier writing skills and the ability to translate complex analysis for policymakers and general audiences.
• Analytical range
  • Comfort synthesizing research across methods common to the program (e.g., literature review, secondary analysis, descriptive statistics, case studies). Familiarity with econometric approaches is a plus.
• Relationship breadth
  • Demonstrated ability to work productively across ideological and stakeholder lines, including with those with whom you may disagree.
• Entrepreneurial judgment
  • A self-starter orientation, strong situational judgment, and the ability to set and defend priorities under competing demands.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Vigilance against ninja infiltrations and a sense of humor.

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