NRDC’s Green Finance and Economic Development (GFED) team is seeking an Advisor for Housing and Energy Finance, with a preference for working in our Washington, DC or New York City office, but working from other NRDC offices will be considered This role will report to the GFED’s Managing Director and will be responsible for leading NRDC’s engagement on housing and energy finance initiatives growing out of NRDC’s work in 25 cities across the country. The Advisor will be responsible for developing and implementing scalable place-based initiatives at the intersection of housing and energy affordability, supply, sustainability, and resilience. The Advisor will collaborate closely with colleagues in GFED’s Economic Development division, as well as city leaders, a bench of technical assistance providers, financial institutions, and other stakeholders to launch innovative citywide housing models that integrate energy efficiency, electrification, health/safety repairs, and resilience investments while connecting programs to sustainable funding and finance streams.
The successful candidate is flexible, thrives in collaborative and diverse environments, embraces solving complex and nuanced problems, holds a record of results implementing city projects, possesses technical finance expertise (housing or energy finance), and has excellent communication and collaboration skills. Most importantly, the successful candidate will demonstrate a genuine alignment with the values of NRDC and seek to apply their passion and skills entrepreneurially to achieve meaningful, positive impacts on people and planet.
The position you are applying for is part of the bargaining unit represented by The Washington Baltimore News Guild (WBNG / The Newsguild-CWA Local 32035). This is a limited term 18-month position.
Responsibilities
Program Design, Management, and Implementation
In partnership with city leaders, Technical Assistance providers, and other NRDC colleagues lead the design, management, and implementation of funding and financing models for a citywide whole-home retrofit program model that integrates energy efficiency, electrification, health/safety repairs, and resilience upgrades.
Develop and pilot models in specific partner cities, including frameworks that capture eligibility criteria, financing mechanisms, and delivery models (e.g., “one-stop-shop” or bundled service delivery).
Coordinate with local partners (e.g., green banks, Community Development Financial Institutions, housing departments, utilities, community organizations) to refine project delivery pathways, with a particular focus on sustainable funding and financing approaches.
Assist with developing metrics and impact tracking systems to measure program success (e.g., energy savings, affordability improvements, greenhouse gas reductions, job creation).
Strategy Development
Support the development of a programmatic model linking home retrofits and other city-based housing and energy initiatives to community finance and scalable investment vehicles.
Create clear and compelling materials for city audiences that use existing nationwide landscape scans to synthesize stepwise examples of effective city-level retrofit or home-repair programs.
Identify and support the development of potential funding sources (public, philanthropic, and private capital) and financing models/structures that maximize programmatic impact.
Provide input into strategic plans that position NRDC to expand its role in the pro-housing and equitable decarbonization movement.
Help identify key leverage points for aligning housing affordability, climate, and community development objectives.
Advocacy
Support coalition-building and partner engagement efforts within the pro-housing and green finance ecosystems.
Help develop talking points, policy summaries, and briefing materials for external advocacy and city engagement.
Track and analyze relevant local, state, and federal policy developments impacting housing affordability and finance.
Represent the organization in select stakeholder meetings, coalitions, or working groups to advance equitable, scalable housing retrofit solutions.
Thought Leadership
Contribute to case studies or replication frameworks documenting financing models, lessons learned and best practices across cities.
Draft memos, blogs, and/or presentations highlighting the organization’s role and insights in advancing equitable housing retrofit and finance solutions.
Contribute to internal and external communications articulating a vision for scalable, inclusive, and investable city retrofit programs.
Support synthesis of learnings from partner cities and national networks to generate replicable frameworks or policy briefs.
Participate in cross-team discussions to ensure the NRDC’s housing finance strategy reflects cutting-edge practice and field trends.