About Elemental Excelerator

Elemental Excelerator is a nonprofit investor dedicated to scaling climate solutions for deep community impact. With a 14-year track record, we invest in companies pioneering essential solutions to pressing climate challenges, making neighborhoods and homes cleaner, healthier, and safer. We've invested in over 160 climate companies to date and successfully stewarded $180 million in government and philanthropic resources, leveraging our expertise to de-risk technologies and attract additional investment. Core to our work supporting innovation and entrepreneurs, and essential to our five-year strategy, is the central role of social equity and community impact in the implementation of climate technologies.

We are a dedicated, passionate and diverse team that thrives in a fast-paced environment driven by a shared desire to maximize impact. At Elemental, where we are constantly pushing the edge of innovation, we find ourselves at an exciting inflection point - with more federal funding into climate solutions and philanthropic engagement than ever before, we will be steadily growing our team to meet the moment. Join us at Elemental Excelerator and be part of the next phase of our journey.

About the role

We are looking for someone who is deeply knowledgeable about the experience of building a responsible government relations practice in or for a startup, and a diligent partner for our entrepreneurs. This is a consulting position that could range from 5-10 hours per week with some variability on a seasonal basis. Additional hours may be required for resource development and refinement. Work will be performed within a dynamic and entrepreneurial team with support from our organization and the broader ecosystem.

Key responsibilities include:

1. Providing customized insights and advice for startups on developing and implementing a government relations strategy
2. Developing and implementing tools, resource guides and processes to support equitable GR strategies
3. Designing and hosting interactive calls and workshops for portfolio companies to grow their knowledge of government relations and supporting their development of GR capacity
4. Facilitating peer-to-peer learning sessions for Elemental portfolio companies
5. Tracking and sharing portfolio progress and insights with our internal team
6. Assessing a startup's most pressing policy needs and then delivering a tailored coaching curriculum to meet those needs.

• Common topics include: policy priority setting, state and local advocacy and engagement, staffing, hiring and OKR setting for policy, policy partnerships and coalitions, accessing government grants and funding, working with lobbyists and trade associations, and navigating government sales and procurement. (Note that we have developed customized curriculum and content for a number of these common areas that we envision the Policy EiR utilizing as a part of their coaching practice.)

About you

• You are passionate about helping climate tech hardware and software companies scale
• You have been able to effectively guide the creation and growth of a government relations (GR) practice/team within or with startups.
• You have experience working with startups to chart focused public policy and equitable government relations strategies.
• You have a network of people with deep expertise to help companies launch and effectively run a new government relations team/practice.
• You are passionate about the intersection of policy and social equity in underserved and underrepresented communities.

Qualifications

Desired Skill Set:

• Proven track record developing GR strategies, processes, and procedures within a U.S. startup environment
• Ability to engage network to support Elemental portfolio companies and broader ecosystem
• Policy expertise in one or more of the following areas:
• Carbon Dioxide Removal
• Energy Generation & Storage
• Net Zero Buildings
• Grant funding
• Tax credits and incentives
• Excellent project management and communication competencies
• Flexible, creative, and comfortable in a fast-paced environment
• High emotional intelligence and ability to build interpersonal relationships
• Experience or passion for consulting, coaching and/or teaching
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills

Standout Skill Set:

• Experience coaching or providing consulting services
• Experience building and managing a GR team within a startup
• Experience doing government relations work at more than one level of government
• Experience building partnerships with nonprofits and/or community-based organizations
• Relationships with lobbyists and public affairs consultants

Compensation and Location:

• Elemental offers an hourly rate of $150 per hour, which is based on market data and the organization’s compensation philosophy.
• This position will be remote and candidates can be based anywhere in the United States.
• Continuation of employment is dependent upon program/operational needs, satisfactory work performance, availability of funds, and compliance with applicable Federal/State laws.

Other Details:

We will accept and review applications on a rolling basis. Although all applications will be considered, we may be unable to respond to all inquiries. Please note that we do read cover letters, so we advise spending adequate time on them to share your relevant stories and experiences with us. We also ask that you refrain from using tools like Chat GPT and keep the cover letter to 1-2 pages long.

Elemental is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and has a strong commitment to diversity. Candidates of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Candidates from the following groups are especially encouraged to apply: Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC); members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual (LGBTQIA+) communities; people who have disabilities; veterans, and people from low-income backgrounds.

Elemental is also committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, activities, programs, and employment opportunities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other applicable laws.