The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) uses the power of law to protect the environment, promote human rights, and ensure a just and sustainable society. We work at the intersection of environmental protection and human rights, across sectors and borders, and in close collaboration with global partners and local communities.
Position Summary
In the newly created role of Chief Program Officer (CPO), you are not just a leader; you’re a facilitator, bridge, a coach, and a force for coherence and impact. Grounded in deep experience using the law to protect people and the planet, you have successfully led senior teams to maximize integration, effectiveness and alignment. Your superpower is translating ambition into concrete plans, strategy into shared action, and values into practice. You bring humility, facilitation skills, deep listening capacities and global-mindedness. You’ve worked across cultures, geographies, and power dynamics, likely within human rights or environmental organizations or social justice networks. You’ve held space for tension and conflict without absorbing it, built cohesion and helped teams move through change with adaptive leadership, clarity and confidence.
Your role will support the organization to learn and respond to evolving needs by fostering reflection and supporting teams to be agile and pivot in response to changing and complex circumstances and new information, keeping CIEL on the front edge of innovative and effective strategies for change. You will drive cross-programmatic strategies and alignment, and support organizational sustainability and effective planning in collaboration with the development and operations teams.
This role directly supervises three Program Directors (Climate & Energy, Environmental Health, and Fossil Economy) and the Communications Director; works in close collaboration with the Director of Development and Director of HR; reports directly to the CEO; and serves as a member of the Executive Team alongside the CEO, COO, CFO and General Counsel.