Regulatory Director – West

We are a small-but-mighty team of advocacy aficionados, just policy practitioners, and regulatory junkies. Our collective goal is to achieve a just and equitable transition to 100% clean power across the U.S. by 2050, with a majority of our energy coming from solar.

OVERVIEW:

Vote Solar seeks a candidate committed to help advance sustainable, equitable solutions to the challenges facing solar and distributed energy resources expansion as the region moves toward a 100% carbon-free electricity system.

The Regulatory Director – West position will be primarily focused on California and require both strategic thought leadership in advocating for technical solutions before state regulatory bodies, and collaborative coalition building and management in getting those solutions implemented. Reporting to the Deputy Program Director for the West, this person will work closely with the Vote Solar’s West Regional Team, including communications and grassroots organizing experts to advance concrete goals in regulatory and legislative venues. The ideal candidate is a results-oriented person who excels at building relationships and managing complicated projects.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Regulatory Director, West’s primary responsibilities will include:

REGULATORY AND LEGISLATIVE STRATEGY (50%)

• Intervene in regulatory proceedings at the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Energy Commission and other public agencies to develop solar-friendly policies.
• Prepare expert testimony and comments, prepare discovery for utility witnesses and other witnesses, and advocate for Vote Solar’s positions in regulatory dockets—all in pursuit of regulatory outcomes that provide fair compensation for solar and technologies that help grow solar markets.
• Pursue innovative regulatory policies that address historical racial, economic and structural inequities and remove barriers to solar adoption by residential and business customers. 
• Advise on state-level legislation that can open up new opportunities for solar and storage markets as well as other distributed energy resources in California. 

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP (20%)

• Provide thought leadership in designing new regulatory paradigms that prioritize renewables, energy justice and maximizing participation in (and benefit from) distributed energy resources.

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT (20%)

• Build and collaborate with coalitions of stakeholders – including, for example, frontline communities, environmental justice advocates, consumer advocates, energy efficiency proponents, solar and energy storage developers, electric vehicle advocates, etc. – to develop and pursue win-win strategies.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND JUSTICE GROWTH AND LEARNING (10%)

• Continue personal learning and contributions to organizational work on diversity, equity and inclusion. 
• Be committed to embedding equity in all organizational internal practices and culture.
• Bring openness and engagement to personal, professional, and organization-wide learning on race, class, gender, justice, and equity.

REQUIREMENTS: 

WHAT YOU’VE ACCOMPLISHED

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field. A relevant graduate degree is an advantage, but is not required.
• Seven plus years of relevant work experience, including experience in regulatory oversight, research or advocacy.
• Demonstrated ability to execute on key strategies to achieve our mission, including coalition building and policy writing that summarizes complex issues for the interested public.

OTHER THINGS YOU MIGHT HAVE ACCOMPLISHED OR WOULD BE EXCITED TO LEARN HERE

• Expertise in technical and regulatory needs for scaling up clean, distributed resources, including a focus on improving resiliency and serving disadvantaged and other vulnerable communities.
• Experience in regulatory innovations to allow behind-the-meter solar + storage and other distributed energy resources to receive fair value.
• Experience coordinating or testifying in utility rate cases.
• Ability to work with other Vote Solar team members on data visualization and policy communications to the public.
• Effective collaboration with diverse populations and allies.
• Knowledge of utility ratemaking, procurement and/or grid operations.

MINDSETS

• A personal commitment to being a part of an inclusive and just workplace, including a commitment to being on a journey with Vote Solar to develop personal, and inter-personal core competencies related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.
• Passion for building strong new capacity at a growing organization.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Understanding how we work (in collaborative, authentic partnership), is as important as what we work on.

LOCATION:

The Regulatory Director, West role is based in California, Oregon or Washington State with a preference for the Bay Area or Sacramento in California. This position will require some regional and national travel (several trips per year). Workplace arrangements are flexible, including options to work from a co-working space or work from home.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range for this position is $133,500 - $140,000. At Vote Solar, we work hard to ensure that our compensation is equitable internally and aligned with our compensation philosophy and defined job levels. In order to ensure equitable compensation across roles in the organization, we do not negotiate new hire offers.

Vote Solar provides full-time staff with a competitive package, including 4 weeks of paid vacation, 12 days of sick leave, 4 days of personal leave and 16 paid holidays. We also offer 100% employer-provided health, dental and vision care for both the employee and dependents; a retirement savings plan with an employer contribution of 3.5%; and a paid parental and medical leave policy for all regular employees.