External Affairs Lead

Sunlight reflection may be the only available option, alongside dramatic emissions reductions, adaptation, and rapid scaling of carbon removal, to rapidly limit many climate impacts over the coming decades. But we don’t know nearly enough about it to make a scientifically-informed decision about potential deployment – and we’re not on a trajectory for rapid, legitimate decision making.

Reflective is a philanthropically-funded initiative to develop the necessary knowledge base and do the requisite technology research and development, urgently and responsibly.

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What you'll do

As Reflective’s External Affairs Lead, you’ll own the organization’s relationships and strategy at the intersection of science, policy, and public legitimacy. Your job is to build the trust, partnerships, and political and institutional foundations required for empirical research into SAI/SRM to proceed responsibly, and in a timely manner.

You’ll translate between our scientific and engineering teams, government partners, and external communities and institutions to ensure research proceeds transparently, and in the public interest. You’ll also shape the environment in which Reflective operates: building coalitions, managing external affairs partners, and coordinating communications and engagement priorities.

This is a senior, high-judgment role. You should be equally comfortable briefing a government minister, coordinating a community stakeholder workshop, or editing a sensitive press release. You’ll report to the CEO and work closely with the Heads of Research, Engineering, and Data, as well as external consultants and field partners. You will be expected to work independently at times, making important decisions and representing the organization and research community without much direct guidance.

Responsibilities

• Identify and create opportunities to cultivate a core network of institutional allies—scientific, policy, and philanthropic—who can publicly and privately support responsible research.
• Develop processes to track and report on external engagement to Reflective leadership and the wider community.
• Coordinate with legal, governance, and field partners to map out permitting and policy pathways for a potential controlled, small-scale, outdoor experiment. Build relationships with relevant agencies, civil society organizations, and research bodies in candidate countries.
• Plan small, high-impact gatherings and closed-door briefings to align key voices.
• Manage our existing consultants and hire new consultants across external comms, government, and/or public affairs to support the mission of the organization..
• Translate internal milestones into external opportunities, and ensure stakeholders hear about Reflective’s work at the right time and through the right channels.
• Anticipate reputational and political risks. Prepare guidance, messaging, and contingency plans for sensitive topics or potential controversies.
• Represent Reflective at meetings, conferences, and in closed-door briefings with policymakers, funders, and peer organizations.

Who you are

Minimum qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in policy, external relations, philanthropy, or research-based advocacy.
• Demonstrated experience managing cross-sector coalitions, stakeholder engagement, or government relations in a complex scientific or technology context.
• Exceptional judgment and discretion. You can navigate politically sensitive issues without losing sight of long-term strategy.
• Excellent writing and synthesis skills—you can distill complex scientific and policy material into crisp, credible prose.
• Deep curiosity about climate science, technology governance, and global research ecosystems.
• You’re proactive, self-directed, and outcome-oriented. You see around corners and work toward solutions before problems become visible.
• Low-ego collaborator who builds trust easily across disciplines and geographies.
• Ability and comfort travelling as needed, potentially to remote locations (We estimate approximately 25% of your time traveling, depending on working location).

Preferred qualifications

• A strong professional network in climate, science policy, or global research philanthropy.
• Experience working with or within government, large research institutions, or major climate NGOs.
• Demonstrated ability to craft and execute multi-year engagement strategies.
• Direct experience supporting high-profile or politically sensitive scientific initiatives.
• Experience leading external affairs or communications functions in a fast-paced, high-visibility organization.
• Based in or able to work from the SF Bay Area 2–3 days per week.

Not needed

• Prior nonprofit experience. Reflective is technically a nonprofit, but it doesn’t feel like one.

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We encourage anyone who is interested in this role to apply, regardless of whether you feel you meet 100% of the qualifications. The top candidates will bring their own unique perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds from a variety of industries along with many but not necessarily all the skills listed above. We offer professional learning and training opportunities to help you develop skills you may not have had the opportunity to cultivate yet.

Location

Our goal is to hire the right person for the role regardless of location, but we have a slight preference for candidates who can work from our Bay Area office 2-3 days/week. However, the role can be fully remote and we are open to candidates based anywhere in the world who can overlap with our core working hours. We may be able to sponsor visas for US-based foreign nationals and have a moving stipend to support candidates who would like to relocate to the Bay Area.

But regardless of location, we love seeing each other in person and believe regular co-location helps improve collaboration and team culture. As such, we plan regular team co-working weeks, typically in the Bay Area. This role may entail additional travel (up to 1x per month) for conferences, external meetings, and team gatherings. Of course, we cover those travel costs.

Compensation and Benefits

We are committed to providing competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits to our employees. We offer fixed salary levels based on experience and role to minimize biases in compensation and to ensure team members are paid the same for doing the same work.

We expect this position to be a regular, full-time position, with an annual salary between $145,000 and $190,000 USD, depending on level of experience. In addition to salary, we offer a comprehensive set of benefits to all full-time employees:

• Medical, dental, vision insurance
• 401(k)
• Professional and personal development
• Generous paid time off and sick leave, including 12 weeks paid parental leave
• Flexible working hours

Diversity

At Reflective, recruiting, hiring, mentoring, and retaining a diverse workforce is critical to our success. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. 

Reflective is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.