Chief Research Officer

Remote-based in the US

Overview

GoodPower is a global organization working to unlock the economic potential of decarbonization through research, innovation, strategic communications, and disruptive technology. We focus on advancing more affordable and reliable energy, expanding economic opportunity, strengthening energy security, supporting healthier and more resilient communities, and accelerating the transition to a predictable, secure, modern low-carbon economy.

Operating at the intersection of data, digital media, emerging technology, behavioral research, and public engagement, GoodPower develops and deploys scalable strategies designed to accelerate the adoption of decarbonized technologies and infrastructure—including renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, energy storage, and electric transportation. Our work combines rigorous research and experimentation with advanced communications and innovation capabilities to better understand public attitudes, test effective interventions, and help build the social, economic, and market conditions necessary for large-scale transformation.

GoodPower is at a pivotal stage of organizational growth as we approach completion of the first year of our 2030 Strategic Plan. Over the next five years, we intend to significantly expand our reach, capabilities, and impact—investing deeply in innovation, AI-enabled systems, data and analytics, research and development, and next-generation communications infrastructure to help accelerate the global energy transition and the economic opportunities it creates.

Job Summary

GoodPower is an evidence-based, nimble, and adaptive organization that routinely evaluates our programs to measure impact. Over the last decade, we have continually tested and refined our approach, and have successfully built a set of program offerings that blend cost-efficiency, rigor, scale, and measurable impact. Our programs have demonstrated success through external evaluation, including with partners at Stanford, Yale, and George Mason Universities. We also collaborate regularly with research partners such as Analyst Institute, GrowProgress, One Minus Beta, and Tufts University’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).

The Chief Research Officer (CRO) will direct GoodPower’s Good Data Lab, our in-house empirical research lab. The CRO will work internally with staff, in collaboration with partners, and alongside vendors to design, launch and implement research studies with the goal of understanding how to effectively communicate and increasing GoodPower’s efficacy across a wide variety of key impact areas, including: issue awareness and persuasion, issue and advocacy engagement, attitude and behavior change, civic participation. The CRO will serve as key public representative of the organization providing internal and external thought leadership.

The CRO oversees in-house research, experimentation, and evaluation, including but not limited to: message-testing experiments with diverse audiences in rural, urban, and international geographies on a variety of energy, economic, and political issues, randomized control trials to increase the impact of our voter registration and GOTV programs, evaluations of programs to determine if they are ready for scale, and surveys and focus groups to understand the perspectives and motivations of key audience segment..  

This position reports to the Chief Executive Officer. Travel will be required to departmental meetings, staff retreats, and other events to represent the department and organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Program mission and strategy: Develop and lead research and experimentation strategy and framework to generate evidence for the most effective ways to leverage GoodPower strengths to advance our mission, vision and programmatic goals.

• Program management: Manage the execution of multiple simultaneous projects to support GoodPower’s key program areas of public education, storytelling, organizing, advocacy, civic engagement, and digital marketing. This may occur with in-house staff or with partners, vendors, and contractors. Manage departmental operation and budget.

• Staff management: Manage Senior Researcher, Senior Research Analyst, and Senior Research Manager and support management of research staff and vendors. 

• Grant development: Support the development of research proposals and/or research designs within funding proposals. 

• Cross-department collaboration: Facilitate inter-team communication and collaboration to ensure different program areas are aligned and working together.

• Organizational leadership: Create a culture of shared vision, mutual accountability and individual ownership over work within the GoodPower team. 

• Research and experimental design: Design research projects, experiments, and evaluative tools to measure the impact and efficacy of GoodPower’s programs.

• Sharing results and learnings: Analyze and synthesize results of evaluations and experiments and disseminate results through written communications and presentations for all audiences, including funders and donors, board members, staff, policymakers and partners. Represent GoodPower’s Good Data Lab in coalition and partner spaces.

• Stay updated: Stay abreast of research findings from partners, peer organizations, and the community, including by attending online and live events and conferences.

• Increase brand recognition: Help to establish GoodPower as a visible leader in data-driven impact in the fields of climate and renewable energy education, advocacy, civic engagement, and democracy. Manage public-facing research reputation and the reputation of the Good Data Lab.

Qualifications

• A PhD in research, social sciences, communication, psychology, measurement and evaluation, statistics or similar field field is required 
• 15+  years of experience in research, experimentation and evaluation
• Previous organizational  leadership and management experience,including staff management.
• Knowledge of both qualitative and quantitative research and evaluation methods
• Extensive experience with statistical software such as SQL, STATA, R, SAS, SPSS, or others
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English for technical and nontechnical audiences, and experience with public speaking.
• Proven experience presenting information to Boards of Directors, funders, partners and cross-functional staff teams.
• Experience with grant application and management, and budgeting.
• Highly proficient in modern collaboration and project management tools (Google Workspace, Slack, Jira, Salesforce).

Position Details

• Annual salary range: $175,000 - $205,000, commensurate with experience
• Generous benefits include: Medical, Dental, Vision, 403b retirement savings plan, Vacation, Sabbatical, Paid Parental Leave, 2 Floating Holidays, 2 Community Service Floating Holidays, sick time, two weeks of full-staff time off (July 4 week and Christmas-New Years week) and 13 observed holidays
• GoodPower is an equal-opportunity employer that highly values staff diversity
• Location: Remote