The Clean Fight: Program Director

Who We Are

The Clean Fight (www.thecleanfight.com) is a not-for-profit dedicated to rapidly scaling climate solutions in New York State and beyond. Many of the technologies needed to address the climate crisis already exist–our mission is to ensure they are adopted quickly, equitably, and at scale. We design and implement models of adoption that identify actionable strategies for accelerating decarbonization, while supporting startups with tailored resources, customer and capital partner connections, and non-dilutive funding to drive deployments.

The Clean Fight runs concurrent programs within buildings decarbonization and energy storage, including the Deployment Grant Fund, Empire Technology Prize, Affordable Housing Deployment Accelerator, and Energy Storage Deployment Accelerator. 

The Clean Fight is broadly supported by the NYSERDA, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the Wells Fargo Foundation, Breakthrough Energy, and Builders Vision. We are a chapter of New Energy Nexus, a global nonprofit operating in the U.S., China, India, Southeast Asia, and East Africa. New Energy Nexus works toward a 100% clean energy economy for 100% of the population by supporting diverse entrepreneurs with funds, accelerators, and networks.

About the Role: Program Director

Working closely with the Head of Programs, Head of Strategy and Marketing, and other members of The Clean Fight team, you will oversee a team and collection of programs, helping to create and realize the vision for our work while developing and executing our world-class programming focused on decarbonization in the buildings and adjacent sectors (e.g. energy storage). Overall, you will help to drive end-to-end program design, manage stakeholders, and deliver programs to identify, validate, and deploy high-impact decarbonization technologies for the built environment.

The team operates under a flexible hybrid model, with two days in-person per week in an office near Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan. Unfortunately, relocation assistance is not available.

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a strategic and resourceful leader with experience and passion in accelerating decarbonization and the clean energy transition. You bring structure to ambiguity, and have a proven track record of running complex, multi-stakeholder programs with many moving parts. You possess the judgment and communication skills to command both a boardroom and a technical evaluation, and you are ready to roll up your sleeves to execute. You have a collaborative style that enables the growth of both team members and cohort companies.

Key Responsibilities

1. Program Strategy & Design

• Support strategic design of programs focused on testing novel approaches to accelerating the adoption of decarbonization solutions and strategies.
• Lead world-class programs.
• Assess and monitor best practices in the prize and accelerator design to understand what is and isn’t working and ensure we’re pioneering a best-in-class program approaches.
• Provide market insights on the buildings and adjacent sectors, drawing from experience in relevant stakeholder organizations.
• Evaluate the specific needs of cohort participants and partners, to design and deliver targeted programmatic support for developing and scaling their solutions to meet market demand.
• Help evaluate most impactful learnings and strategies that can be scaled for broader impact.

2. Program Execution & Operations

• Establish, track, and report on key program metrics to meet funder and internal requirements (e.g., demonstrations/deployments, emissions impact, jobs created, capital raised, revenue growth).
• Oversee and improve processes and deliverables to support mission-aligned program objectives, including grant-making, cohort-selection, and thought leadership.
• Work with the Head of Finance and Operations to manage the program's operating budget, ensuring efficient use of resources. This includes overseeing deliverable completion (including impact reports) to ensure contract compliance and payment from funders.
• Produce clear investment-style memos to inform grant-making discussions and decisions.
• Plan and execute multiple major events per year, in collaboration with the marketing team.
• Identify and proactively mitigate program risks, timeline challenges, and partner bottlenecks.

3. Partner & Ecosystem Engagement

• Help to cultivate and maintain strong relationships with funders, technical experts, capital providers, customer partners, government agencies, utilities, and other ecosystem stakeholders.
• Represent The Clean Fight at industry events, panels, webinars, and media opportunities.
• Build and maintain a strong external network to support startups with mentorship, commercial opportunities, pilots, and funding pathways.
• Collaborate with the marketing team to shape external storytelling and amplify program impact.

4. Team Development & Management

• Oversee and support the professional development of the team, fostering a collaborative working style.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; graduate degree preferred.
• 7–10+ years of relevant experience in consulting, venture capital, corporate sustainability, accelerator programs, startup scaling roles (operations, BD, sales, product, etc.), venture capital, and/or other environments that support the growth of early- and growth-stage companies.
• Demonstrated relationship management skills, including managing senior stakeholders and supporting partners through complex decision-making.
• Strong project management skills and proven ability to execute in lean, fast-paced, and complex environments with many moving parts.
• Comfort identifying, tracking, and reporting KPIs, with attention to accuracy and clarity.
• Passion for climate change mitigation, with a strong interest in advancing climate solutions in the built environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Nice-to-have

• Experience working in nonprofit, government/policymaking, real estate, project finance, facilities management, engineering or mission-driven organizations focused on the built environment, clean energy, or climate solutions is valued.
• Experience planning and executing large-scale events, in collaboration with event production or marketing teams.
• Experience and confidence with project planning and relationship management tools (e.g., Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, Airtable, and/or Hubspot)
• Familiarity with grantmaking, impact reporting, or funder compliance processes.

Competitive compensation ($135,000-145,000 to start) and generous benefits, including health, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) with company contribution, and paid parental leave.

How to Apply

We value and celebrate diversity among our employees and in our movement. We are an equal opportunity employer - all qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, family/marital status, or veteran status. To be considered, please submit your resume and a cover letter expressing why you’re right for the role in Workable by following this link: https://apply.workable.com/newenergynexus/j/F64B536F50/