Rainier Climate is a new philanthropic organization focused on addressing climate change. Co-founded by Sam Ballmer, Connie Ballmer, and Steve Ballmer in 2024, Rainier Climate will focus on providing philanthropic funding to non-government organizations pursuing strategies that operate at the speed and scale needed to dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions.
As it scales to become one of the largest climate philanthropies globally, Rainier anticipates supporting work in many parts of the world and on a range of strategies such as forests and land use, clean energy, clean transportation, industrial decarbonization, energy efficiency, and super pollutants. The organization also anticipates supporting work in climate cross-cutting areas such as strategic communications, climate finance, legal, movement building, advocacy, and public policy.
The Opportunity:
Rainier Climate is seeking a Program Director, Buildings to join its world class team in Bellevue, Washington.
The Program Director roles represent a rare and unique opportunity to join a philanthropic organization in the early stages of shaping its strategic trajectory, culture, and programmatic aims in climate. Working in close partnership with the President, and alongside the cofounders, who collectively have decades of philanthropic experience and insights, the Program Directors are instrumental in operationalizing Rainier’s ambitious grantmaking objectives in the coming years and will help to further define its vision and strategy for innovative and urgent action in the climate sector.
Initially reporting to the President, the Program Directors are expected to be senior leaders in their respective fields, with deep and extensive knowledge of the many opportunities, challenges, and strategic approaches that Rainier might consider when addressing its broader priorities for work in climate. Externally, the Program Directors serve as leaders, thought partners, and collaborators within the ecosystem of funder, nonprofit, government, and business communities in climate. They monitor progress of existing strategies and approaches and develop new strategies as appropriate for consideration and approval.
In order for Rainier to remain agile and entrepreneurial, the Program Directors will at times act as complementary generalists for the entire portfolio of work at the organization. This means being able to contribute to or even pivot to new focus areas in the future. Working as a team, the Program Directors will be active, supporting members across all program areas, and will work collaboratively with the President and cofounders in the planning and implementation of Rainier’s strategy.
Program Director — Buildings
Buildings account for a substantial share of global greenhouse gas emissions and represent one of the most critical—and complex—frontiers for decarbonization. Rapid progress will require both the widespread retrofit of existing residential and commercial structures and the construction of new buildings that are efficient, resilient, and low- or zero-emissions from the outset. These efforts intersect with a range of systems challenges, including electricity grid capacity, urbanization patterns, housing affordability, workforce development, and supply chains.
The Program Director, Buildings will lead the development of a globally informed strategy to accelerate emissions reductions across the built environment. This includes shaping integrated philanthropic approaches that span national, regional, and local policy; market transformation; and on-the-ground implementation. The Program Director will work across geographies to identify high-impact opportunities, support campaigns and initiatives that advance building electrification and efficiency, and ensure alignment with broader clean energy and climate goals.
This role will collaborate with the internal team at Rainier to co-develop, resource, and execute a cohesive strategy. The Program Director will also serve as a convener, engaging grantees and stakeholders across government, business, finance, and civil society to strengthen coordination, accelerate learning, and scale solutions globally.
Key responsibilities for the Program Director role include:
Lead the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of an impact-oriented philanthropic strategy and grants portfolio in building decarbonization.
Effectively communicate program vision, strategies, and impact. Represent Rainier’s interests to a broad array of external audiences and constituencies, including engaging in due diligence, funder collaboration, and networking to capitalize on emerging opportunities relevant to the organization’s mission and priorities.
Identify partners, experts, consultants, and co-funders to advance programmatic goals and maintain accurate and current knowledge about trends, movements, policy developments, and philanthropic approaches.
Make grant recommendations that support efforts to enact policies, create public demand, and build political will to achieve Rainier’s objectives in the climate sector. Conduct extensive outreach and rigorous due diligence to identify and support impactful grantees, from institutional to grassroots-level organizations, and across a variety of political, economic, and policy spectrums.
External Engagement
Identify and establish the necessary partnerships within NGO, policy, corporate, and philanthropic sectors that together will inform philanthropic strategy and grantmaking for high-impact grants.
Stay current on emerging issues, trends, and interventions related to climate change and decarbonization.
Convene external stakeholders when needed, including grant recipients, subject matter experts, policy stakeholders, co-funders, and others, in order to explore, compare, and coordinate strategies.
Strategic Learning & Assessment
Contribute to building Rainier’s learning and impact assessment framework, ensuring that grantmaking strategies and approaches for the portfolio are creating meaningful impact and the organization is learning from its successes and failures in order to continuously improve.
Use data and knowledge gathered in the field to advise on trends, movements, and policy developments related to climate and clean energy.
Manage external relationships with other funders, advisors, and grant recipients to facilitate the exchange of information, maximize lessons learned, and foster cross-organization collaboration.
Help plan and facilitate learning opportunities for grant recipients, as well as develop progress indicators with grant recipients to monitor and track the impact of projects funded.
Management & Organizational Leadership
Contribute to efforts to develop, implement, and assess organizational structures, systems, and processes in order to ensure effective and efficient use of both internal and external resources.
Develop and manage program budgets, including assessing and analyzing resource allocation matters.
Be attentive to legal compliance and the alignment of Rainier’s activities to its mission and impact goals.
In addition to managing consulting resources, some Program Directors may manage a program associate role, which will be a shared resource across the program team.
Qualifications and Experience
Alignment on Mission and Strategic Communications Expertise
Deep commitment to the mission and values of Rainier Climate, with an unwavering passion and drive and to make a lasting impact on climate change.
Minimum of 15 years of senior experience designing and executing high-impact climate decarbonization strategies, with deep experience in the buildings sector a plus.
While bringing a perspective on strategies and the role of philanthropy in driving positive change, the ideal candidate will not be wedded to one approach or theory of change; rather an ability to leverage their expertise to identify multiple pathways and strategic interventions for mission impact.
Strategic Leadership
Experience working with multiple types of capitals (financial, social, relational, human, intellectual, and others) in the advancement of an organization’s mission.
A collaborative, entrepreneurial operator with the ability to readily identify opportunities for innovation and change. Must have the intellectual agility and dynamism needed to contribute to strategy discussions across a variety of disciplines within the climate sector.
Experience working in and helping to facilitate an enabling team environment, encouraging colleagues to learn, engage with each other, act with integrity, co-create, and remain curious and compassionate in the face of challenges and setbacks.
Project Management and Implementation
Since Rainier will maintain a small, nimble team of senior leaders and program staff, Program. Directors must bring the appropriate balance of strategic thinking, hands-on, individual contributor skills, and team collaboration.
Excellent project leadership and management skills.
Financial acumen, with the ability to contribute to program budget development and prioritization of resource allocation.
Representation and Networks
Demonstrated background building and operating in partnership networks and collaborating with diverse stakeholders, including in the government, NGO, and philanthropic sectors.
Strong analytical, communication, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to synthesize complex information and convey it clearly to a range of audiences.
As a mission-driven organization, we are committed to offering competitive compensation and benefits aligned with the talent market in climate philanthropy. New hires are typically brought in within the hiring range for the role (from the salary range minimum to the midpoint), providing room for compensation growth over time.
Annual pay increases are evaluated based on multiple factors, including demonstrated skills in the role, progress and performance against goals, and accrued experience. Actual placement within the range will be determined by a candidate’s job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as assessed during the interview process.
Featured Benefits & Perks
Medical, dental, and vision insurance with employee and dependent premiums entirely paid for by Rainier Climate.
3 weeks of paid vacation annually.
11 paid holidays, plus paid days off for the weekdays between Christmas and New Year.
80 hours of paid sick leave annually.
401(k) with 12% employer contribution.
2:1 Ballmer Family Giving Match for charitable contributions, and $50 donation per volunteer hour.
Professional development reimbursement up to $2,000 per year.
Employer-paid life insurance of 3x salary up to $1,000,000.
Reimbursement up to $40,000 (lifetime limit) for Fertility & Family Building (including Back-up Childcare reimbursement up to $5,000 annually).
Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options.
Parking or transportation (Orca card) up to $250 monthly.
Cash stipend of $300/month (for cell phone, wellness expenses, etc.).
Identity theft protection.
Location & Hybrid Work
The position is based full-time in Bellevue, WA. Rainier Climate practices intentional hybrid work. All Rainer Climate employees are expected to work on-site in Bellevue on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and as needed on other weekdays based on the needs of the team. The number of in-office days may shift or increase as the organization evolves.
Rainer Climate is an equal opportunity employer and is dedicated to building an inclusive workforce where diversity is valued. Individuals seeking employment at Rainer Climate are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
