Program Associate, Climate Reserve

ABOUT AGCI Aspen Global Change Institute (AGCI) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to advance global change science and solutions. AGCI seeks to improve understanding of human and Earth systems, catalyze solutions at speed and scale, and nurture integrated communities across research and practice. We convene events, conduct research, provide advice to decision-makers, and develop innovative initiatives, including re-granting and fiscal sponsorships, for implementation through a wide network of partners.

Running through AGCI’s DNA is a strong institutional commitment to excellence in science that is actionable and accessible. For more information visit agci.org. AGCI was founded in 1989 and is a Colorado-based 501(c)(3) organization that supports staff and partners working to implement a mission that is international in scope yet grounded in local contexts and problem domains. As an "Institute Without Walls," AGCI staff and consultants are based in a variety of locations across the United States.

ABOUT CLIMATE RESERVE Effective climate action depends on a human grid: the people, networks, and institutions who collect technical climate knowledge and translate it into solutions. For decades, the public sector has provided invaluable resources to the work of measuring, forecasting, and responding to climate change’s impacts. But this work is increasingly becoming a target of hostility, leaving the future of that support in serious doubt.  The global endeavor to understand climate change’s effects and explore solutions is at risk.

Our human grid is more fragile than we realized. We cannot afford to sit back and watch as it erodes. Climate Reserve is building a strategic backstop for our human grid. We have built a powerhouse coalition of partner organizations and experts to advance two reinforcing aims: rescue and reinvention.  Since launching in 2025, Climate Reserve has mobilized over $3 million for 27 placements, embedding high-value federal climate expertise within 21 academic, NGO, and community partners.

These placements have catalyzed more than $2 million in additional committed and in-kind support from subnational and other actors, while creating coordination infrastructure that didn’t exist before. Alongside our rescue efforts, Climate Reserve has assembled a coalition of 40+ science, policy, and frontline coordination leaders. This coalition boasts extraordinary expertise, cultivated through decades of collective experience with a wide range of government agencies, universities, NGOs, advocacy groups, and more.

An initiative of the Aspen Global Change Institute, Climate Reserve is building its lean, six-person management team to steward this work over the coming years, supported by a network of consultants and coalition partners. Together, this team shapes strategy, recruits and places talent across career stages and disciplines, builds partnerships with advisors and host institutions, manages grantmaking, and strengthens coalition learning to deliver on Climate Reserve’s vision.

THE POSITION Location: The position can be remote anywhere within the continental United States. Travel Requirements: up to 3-5 trips within the U.S.; and up to 1-2 trips overseas per year. Position Title: Program Associate*, Climate Reserve                        Climate Reserve is seeking up to two dynamic, versatile, and analytical professionals to join our management team as Program Associates.

Sitting at the intersection of strategy, operations, and coalition building, these roles offer a unique opportunity to help shape and scale a strategic backstop and connector for the climate decision support ecosystem. Working directly with the Executive Director and collaborating across Climate Reserve’s three existing workstreams—Portfolio Strategy, Advancement & External Relations, and Network Management & Lea