Policy Analyst, Water and Climate

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is the nation’s most effective environmental action organization. We use law, science, and the support of more than three million members and activists to protect the planet’s wildlife and wild places and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things.  Founded in 1970, NRDC staff helped write some of America’s bedrock environmental laws. Today, our staff of more than 600 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy and communications experts, and others, works to protect and create environmental progress from offices in New York; Washington, DC; Chicago; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Bozeman, Montana; and Beijing.

Position Summary:

NRDC’s Healthy People and Thriving Communities Program seeks to hire a Policy Analyst for its Water & Climate Team.  Our Water & Climate Team is an important voice for much-needed policy changes in the way our nation prepares for and responds to natural disasters and the impacts of climate change. The Water & Climate Team’s efforts focus on addressing the impacts of climate change, particularly sea level rise, inland and urban flooding, and ensuring the nation’s water infrastructure is more resilient to future conditions. The Team is currently comprised of one Senior Policy Analyst, one Attorney, and one Program Assistant.  The Policy Analyst will play a key role in acquiring and analyzing data on natural disaster risks, damages, and costs; developing policy proposals; working with partner organizations around the country; and conducting advocacy. The Water & Climate Team’s work places a priority on solutions that benefit low-income individuals and communities, who often lack the financial resources to invest in the long-term solutions they will eventually need in order to adapt to climate change.

The Water & Climate Team’s specific current projects include:

• Reforming the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a key policy that must be changed to address escalating risks associated with flooding and sea level rise. This work includes changes in federal policy, improved implementation, and better enforcement.
• Creating a Federal Flood Protection Standard that would require federal financed projects to be designed with an additional margin of safety for future flood risk and sea level rise.
• Creating new funding to support the development of climate-resilient water infrastructure that can continue delivering critical community services decades from now, under a wider range of operating conditions.
• Advocating at all levels of government for decisions that account for the possibility of natural disasters that are more frequent or of greater magnitude in a changing climate.

The Policy Analyst must have exceptional research skills, including an ability to locate relevant scientific information and data, independently conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis, and synthesize this information for an array of audiences.  The Water & Climate Team will rely on the person in this position to stay well-informed on current scientific research and policy developments regarding the impacts of climate change and the rapidly evolving understanding of sea level rise, flooding, and the consequences of these events. This Policy Analyst will substantively contribute to the Water & Climate Team’s efforts to analyze legislation, regulations, and agency guidance; prepare public comments and testimony; issue memoranda explaining NRDC’s positions and goals; and communicate findings to the public and decision makers. Recognizing the importance of government investment in climate preparedness, the Policy Analyst will also be responsible for assessing federal budget proposals from the Executive and Congress, tracking trends in funding from year to year, and advocating for agency funding in the arenas of risk management and disaster response.