About CarbonPlan
CarbonPlan is a nonprofit research organization using science and data to accelerate climate action.
CarbonPlan’s highly interdisciplinary team analyzes the design and implementation of climate programs across the public and private sectors, and builds open datasets, models, and interactive tools. Their work currently focuses on carbon accounting and climate risks. In both areas, they aim to ensure the scientific integrity and transparency of climate services and solutions.
Major priorities include:
Research: They study fundamental climate science topics relevant to both mitigation and adaptation, and analyze the implementation of climate solutions to ensure that they align with scientific reality.
Policy and Translation: They work with policymakers, nonprofits, governments, and corporations to ensure the development of robust climate solutions, and they collaborate with journalists to raise public awareness and promote accountability.
Software: They build open resources and tools that highlight critical dimensions of climate solutions with interactive data and visuals, and contribute to high-leverage open science and open source ecosystems.
The Opportunity
CarbonPlan has built a reputation for producing rigorous, independent, openly accessible, and impactful work. It is now seeking an inspiring and proactive leader to shepherd the organization’s distinctive approach, ways of working, and commitment to quality. The new Executive Director will guide the organization in defining its continued and evolving mission in a rapidly shifting strategic and funding landscape, while building on the culture and demonstrated impact that makes CarbonPlan exceptional.
The Executive Director will inherit a respected organization and team with a rare combination of qualities: mission-driven, intellectually rigorous, deeply collaborative, and grounded in values of open science, integrity, and humility. The organization is in a strong financial position and has become a trusted voice in the field, with flagship programs on climate risk, carbon offsets, and carbon removal. The interdisciplinary team works across climate science, data, technology, and policy. Whoever takes this position will lead the team through a period of strategic evolution, balancing continued excellence in existing work with the development of new ideas, partnerships, and programs.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Vision
- In collaboration with the team and with support from the Board, articulate and advance a clear, compelling vision for CarbonPlan’s evolving mission and strategy, identifying and prioritizing high-impact opportunities grounded in both emerging climate needs and the organization’s unique capabilities.
- Translate broad ideas into actionable strategies that align team efforts and organizational resources.
- Navigate uncertainty in the climate and policy landscape with thoughtful, adaptive planning.
- Regularly evaluate the impact of CarbonPlan’s work to ensure alignment with the evolving climate landscape.
Organizational Leadership
- Lead with humility, fostering a collaborative, low-ego, and intellectually rigorous culture.
- Create alignment and momentum while honoring CarbonPlan’s non-hierarchical, debate-driven decision-making approach.
- Support and build a high-performing interdisciplinary team by cultivating trust and professional growth.
- Navigate change thoughtfully during a leadership transition, maintaining stability while guiding evolution.
- Partner effectively with the Board, strengthening organizational governance and communication.
- Uphold and defend CarbonPlan’s values, even when it requires taking unpopular positions.
Fundraising
- Lead fundraising strategy with a focus on sustaining and growing a diversified funding base, including individual donors and foundations.
- Build and steward relationships with funders, effectively communicating CarbonPlan’s work with clarity, credibility, and enthusiasm.
- Actively seek funding through existing and new donor networks, and identify new funding opportunities aligned with emerging programmatic directions.
- Partner with the team to connect technical work with potential funders.
- Maintain integrity in funding decisions, ensuring independence and alignment with organizational values.
Rigorous Research
- Serve as a credible thought partner to a highly technical team, engaging meaningfully across science, policy, and technology.
- Demonstrate strong critical thinking and the ability to assess what questions matter and why, and the quality of different solutions.
- Support the research process, balancing intellectual exploration with timelines and deliverables.
- Help translate complex scientific work into compelling narratives for funders, partners, and broader audiences.
- Champion and be committed to open science principles and the role of transparency in advancing climate solutions.
Ideal Candidate
CarbonPlan seeks a values-driven leader who thrives at the intersection of ideas, people, and impact. They will bring both vision and stewardship, someone who can honor what makes CarbonPlan special while guiding it toward its next horizon of impact. Key skills and experience include:
- Strategic leadership experience, ideally guiding organizations, programs, or research initiatives through periods of growth or transition.
- Experience leading and partnering with research or technical teams, with an appreciation for the nature and pace of scientific work.
- Strong intellectual curiosity and critical thinking, with the ability to quickly grasp complex scientific, technical, and policy concepts, and to translate that knowledge into action.
- Demonstrated fundraising success, particularly in cultivating relationships with individual donors and foundations.
- A deep commitment to open science and transparency.
- Exceptional interpersonal skills, with the ability to inspire, align, and engage a variety of stakeholders.
- Proactive, responsive, and clear written and oral communication skills to support an engaging and collaborative remote work environment.
- High emotional intelligence and humility, with a collaborative leadership style that empowers teams rather than directs them top-down.
- Deep experience in one or more of the following: climate, environmental work, public interest technology, and policy.
- Ability to bring new funder networks, new domain expertise, and new ideas to our existing team and work.
- Demonstrated capacity to lead people and teams across multiple workstreams, with ability to mediate disagreements and build consensus.
CarbonPlan is an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to building an inclusive and diverse workplace. If you are interested in this role, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every qualification exactly as listed. All applications will be considered. And if you need accommodations during the application process, please let us know.
Compensation and Benefits
CarbonPlan is committed to providing competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits to employees. They offer fixed salary levels based on experience and role to minimize biases in compensation and to ensure team members are paid the same for doing the same work.
This is a regular, full-time position, with an annual salary of $215,000. In addition to salary, they offer a comprehensive set of benefits to all full-time employees:
- Health insurance (99% of costs covered for employees, 75% for dependents)
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Flexible health spending accounts
- Dependent care spending accounts
- Life insurance
- 401(k) retirement fund with employer contribution
- Generous paid time off policy
- 16 weeks paid parental leave
- Remote work expense reimbursements
CarbonPlan is a remote work environment. Candidates can be based anywhere in the United States.
To Be Considered
Please submit your resume and cover letter expressing your interest in the position and fit for the role via the “Become a Candidate” button on
GoodCitizen’s website.
Applicants applying by May 29, 2026 will be given priority consideration, with the position open until filled. First round interviews with the GoodCitizen team will take place through early June. Three rounds of interviews with the CarbonPlan team will take place from mid-June through late July. We hope to make an offer in early August.
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