Deputy Director, Center for Climate and Security

Sep 14, 2020 | Council on Strategic Risks
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The Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) is a nonprofit, non-partisan security policy institute devoted to anticipating, analyzing and addressing core systemic risks to security in the 21st century, with special examination of the ways in which these risks intersect and exacerbate one another. To further this goal, CSR currently hosts non-partisan institutes on climate and security (The Center for Climate and Security) and strategic weapons risks (The Janne E. Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons), as well as a program designed to study converging, cross-sectoral risks (The Converging Risks Lab).

CSR seeks to hire a Deputy Director for CCS. This is an exciting growth opportunity for the right candidate. CSR seeks candidates with the vision and potential needed to become a true leader in national and international security. The Deputy Director will have the opportunity to become a leading voice on the intersection of climate and security, a field of rapidly-growing importance and rising relevance in security affairs. See the full job description below, and apply at this link.

The Deputy Director will:

Help ensure CSR has the right strategy, programs, and people to drive progress in countering some of the most pressing, strategic threats to security.

  • Ensuring CCS work advances the organization’s mission.
  • Identifying gaps in the climate security field and devising plans for CCS to fill them.
  • Raising awareness and pushing for the U.S. and international communities to prepare for and mitigate climate security threats.

Implement the actions needed for progress against climate security threats, including by:

  • Developing, fundraising for, managing, and ensuring high quality of work for both individual projects and broad programs that address grave climate security challenges.
  • Engaging, leading, and at times mobilizing extensive stakeholder networks and strategic partners. This will include advisors and affiliates of the organization, senior civilian and military security and foreign policy leaders, donors, and beyond. 
  • Managing CCS workstreams, budgets, and personnel. In many cases, this will require leading consortiums of coauthors, contributors, and project partners.
  • Managing change and troubleshooting.

Lead and continue building specific climate security organizations and initiatives, such as:

  • Acting as Director of the International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS), including management of the IMCCS Consortium and Expert Group, and overseeing the development of the annual World Climate and Security Report as well as all outreach and communication activities.
  • Co-leading, with the CCS Director, the Climate and Security Working Group (CSWG) and the Climate and Security Advisory Group (CSAG), groups of 400+ experts representing the climate security community of practice in the United States. This will include organizing and leading annual meetings, managing subgroups and listservs, helping to oversee the CSAG Climate Security Fellows Program, and more.

Become a leading voice in climate security issues, and in national and international security writ large, including through:

  • Communicating, through multiple methods, the important role of climate change in security and stability broadly.
  • Regular writing, including quick-turn blog posts, press releases, op-eds, and more in-depth reports.
  • Leading events, discussions, and briefings; and participating in public speaking and media relations. 
  • Engaging government officials on climate security issues and promoting climate security policy development, with a central focus on promoting the CSAG Climate Security Plan for America and related policy recommendations. 
  • Leading CCS social media efforts, including through generating and promoting content on platforms such as, but not limited to, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

Work across CSR, including in:

  • Participating in occasional strategic evaluation, development, and personnel processes.
  • Helping to advance CSR’s diversity and inclusivity goals.
  • Helping to oversee the CSR’s internship program, which includes vetting candidates, supervising onboarding processes, assigning projects, editing, and facilitating introductions.
  • Taking on other responsibilities that may be requested from time to time.

The ideal candidate will have:

  • Strong working knowledge of international security issues and trends
  • Expertise in and passion for addressing climate security threats
  • Strong writing, communication, and interpersonal skills
  • A desire to work in multidisciplinary, silo-busting environments
  • Experience overseeing others, potentially to include reviewing and editing 
  • A combination of significant experience relevant to the roles identified above and/or an advanced degree
  • Experience with budgeting, fundraising and other financial management matters is desired
  • Located (at least part time) in Washington, DC is strongly desired

The Deputy Director will collaborate across the CSR team, working closely with the Director of the Center for Climate and Security, CEO, Directors of Research, and others. CSR will help the right candidate develop or expand many skills required for success in this position (including budgeting/financial, fundraising, personnel management, etc.).

CSR has a highly flexible work environment with members of our team spanning the United States and the world. Outside of specific meetings and events (when they may be conducted safely) teleworking is our norm. Compensation will be approximately $75,000-$90,000 per year, depending on qualifications, plus benefits.

Apply for the Deputy Director position at this link by close of business, Eastern Time (ET) on September 30.

CSR is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate and will take affirmative action measures to ensure against discrimination in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee, job applicant, subcontractor, prospective subcontractor, volunteer or prospective volunteer on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.