Director of the Climate Action Accelerator

Director of the Climate Action Accelerator

Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts

The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University seeks a collaborative and dynamic leader to become the first Director of the Climate Action Accelerator. This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing institute charged with developing and promoting equitable solutions to some of the biggest climate challenges confronting humanity.

Launched in 2022, the Salata Institute was made possible by a $200 million naming gift to Harvard University by Melanie and Jean Salata. The Institute aims to develop pathbreaking approaches to the climate crisis by harnessing the intellectual power of Harvard, leveraging expertise across the University, catalyzing new areas of research, and generating real world-solutions in conjunction with policy makers and decisionmakers around the world. Working across Harvard’s 12 schools, the Institute is designed to build upon the University’s impressive body of research in climate and climate-adjacent fields through the establishment of research clusters; creation of platforms for engaged dialogue on climate solutions; and development of new pathways for student education and participation in the creation and advancement of climate and sustainability solutions.

The Climate Action Accelerator will serve as a platform for driving these solutions forward through engagement with stakeholders in the private, nonprofit, and government sectors to establish relationships that foster deep connection with the work of the Institute. The Director will have primary responsibility for creating a platform to facilitate the translation of the intellectual resources of the University into tangible solutions to address the climate crisis. The Director will identify critical climate problems, build consensus for solving them, home in on promising solutions, and convene decision-makers who have the authority and the resources to act.  The Accelerator will be nonpartisan, agile in dealing with emerging issues, and trusted by stakeholders to facilitate dialogue on high-stakes and sensitive climate topics.

The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of climate change issues and a professional commitment to progress on climate change. The Director will have the ability to innovate, think strategically and conceptually, and collaborate across wide disciplines to influence and persuade others.

Harvard University has retained Isaacson, Miller to assist in the search for Director of the Climate Action Accelerator at the Harvard Salata Institute. John Muckle is leading this search with Damla Williams. Confidential inquiries, nominations, and applications (including resumes and letters of interest) should be sent electronically to the following via: https://www.imsearch.com/open-searches/harvard-university-salata-institute-climate-and-sustainability/director-climate

Isaacson, Miller

263 Summer Street, 7th Floor

Boston, MA 02210

Harvard University provides equal opportunity in employment for all qualified persons and prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, veteran status, disability unrelated to job requirements or other protected status.