Executive Director

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Vision and Leadership

• Foster a shared understanding of the organization’s strategy and ensure all staff are clear on how their specific roles contribute to the wider strategic context. 
• Identify, evaluate, and act on critical strategic opportunities—partnerships, collaborations, grants/investments—that increase GEM’s reach and impact. 
• Continue to develop GEM’s strategic vision to address emerging trends in the energy and climate landscape.

Team Leadership and Culture

• Encourage and support members of the organization in their day-to-day jobs and career development and seek ways to improve GEM as an attractive work environment. 
• Set an inclusive and positive tone, promoting a respectful and professional work culture while paying particular attention to issues of race, culture, and gender.
• Set an example of decorum and integrity, displaying the qualities of openness, diligence, dedication, efficiency, kindness, fairness, and community mindedness.
• Inspire and challenge the team while providing effective internal leadership, coaching, performance management, and professional development.

Business Management and Operations

• Together with the Director of Finance and Operations, maintain a continually updated “headlights” view of the organization’s financial position over all relevant time scales, including prospective cash flow, costs, and revenues, with an eye toward identifying financial gaps and other problems well in advance.
• Strengthen GEM’s internal systems to build cross-cutting work streams, share knowledge and know-how, and increase collaboration to produce efficiency, mutual accountability, and cohesion.
• Maintain and improve systems that support and enhance internal communications and decision making. 

External Relations and Advocacy

• Serve as GEM’s lead voice, representing the organization to funders, policymakers, the media, and partners, positioning GEM as a global leader in energy system data and analysis, and ensuring its relevance and impact.
• Strengthen existing relationships, working collaboratively with partners to enable open-source data and promote the widespread adoption of GEM’s tools. 
• Create, build, and sustain relationships with key stakeholders and strategic partners in the energy, climate, and environmental sectors. 
• Seek to enhance GEM’s role and reputation as a sector leader and trusted partner.

Fundraising and Resource Development

• Lead efforts to secure GEM’s financial sustainability by diversifying revenue streams and growing funding sources.
• Cultivate relationships with major donors, foundations, and institutional funders to expand support for GEM’s mission.
• Collaborate with staff to identify and pursue funding opportunities that align with both program-specific goals and broader organizational needs.

Data Innovation and Impact

• Oversee the development of cutting-edge tools and datasets that address emerging energy and climate trends.
• Ensure GEM’s resources remain rigorous, accessible, relevant, and impactful for diverse audiences.
• Encourage cross-program collaboration to amplify GEM’s impact.
• Continue to improve the user experience with creation of new informational tools, resources, and interfaces. 

Governance and Financial Oversight

• Build strong relationships with the Board of Directors, strategically adding members and deploying their strengths and interests in the highest support of the organization. 
• Actively engage the Board of Directors in effective governance aligned with GEM’s strategic goals.
• Oversee the organization’s financial health, ensuring responsible stewardship of resources and compliance with all legal and ethical standards.

Ideal Candidate

The next Executive Director of GEM understands and believes in the value of making high-quality energy data accessible to inform and empower the energy transition movement.  The ideal candidate has the leadership skills to move a successful and trusted organization to a higher level of impact by building on what’s working and scanning the horizon for what lies ahead. As an entrepreneurial and adaptable leader, the new ED will bring their energy and fresh thinking to support GEM’s next phase of growth and development. 

The successful candidate is a sharp strategist who possesses the operational experience to run a complex organization and is a people-first leader who makes it possible for a high performing team to do its best work. Candidates must be able to drive fundraising, help the team assess strategic opportunities, make hard decisions, and ensure services maintain the highest standards of quality, all while remaining a globally trusted source of energy data. 

Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills are required to be an effective public-facing advocate for the organization. A high level of emotional intelligence, diplomacy, and relationship-building skills will allow the new ED to engage effectively with a wide variety of audiences around the world, be they funders, NGOs, or other partners.  The successful candidate is an authentic and passionate communicator, both written and verbal, who is open, approachable, and reliable. 

We seek candidates whose appreciation and enthusiasm for what GEM has already accomplished and excitement for what it has yet to do energizes the team, current/potential funders, and other partners. Confident and well versed in climate change and the energy transition yet humble in recognizing the support role GEM plays to the movement’s networks, the new ED should be a thoughtful and considerate ally to all stakeholders.

Qualifications

Key qualifications we seek include:

• Proven Executive Experience: A minimum of 10 years of progressive responsibility in nonprofit or mission-driven leadership, including managing complex teams and programs.
• Expertise in Energy and Climate: Strong knowledge of energy systems, climate science, climate politics, and environmental justice, with the ability to translate technical insights into actionable strategies.
• Fundraising Track Record: A record of success in securing and diversifying funding sources and maintaining relationships with long-time supporters. 
• Strategic Thinking: Demonstrated leadership in identifying new opportunities across global geographies.
• Collaborative Style: A proven ability to inspire, engage, and empower staff, fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and mutual accountability.
• People-first Approach: Skill at building relationships and inspiring, engaging, and empowering staff. 
• Operational Strength: Proven ability to strengthen internal structures and systems to keep up with rapid growth and support operational excellence..
• Commitment to Equity and Inclusion: Demonstrated experience integrating equity, diversity, and inclusion principles into organizational strategies, culture, and practices.
• Exceptional Communication Skills: Ability to write and represent the organization to diverse stakeholders, including funders, media, and partners.
• Financial Literacy: Competence in overseeing multimillion-dollar budgets, ensuring fiscal responsibility, and alignment with strategic priorities.
• Resilience and Adaptability: Demonstrated capability to lead in a fast-changing environment with grace, flexibility, and confidence.
• Global Perspective: An understanding of international energy trends and climate issues, with the ability to work across cultures and geographies and in different political environments.
• Results-Oriented: Proven ability to drive measurable impact through programs, partnerships, and organizational initiatives.