We’re Hiring!

Position: Managing Senior Consultant

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About the Position

Reports to: Michelle Vigen Ralston, Principal

Type: Full-time employment (30–35 hours/week)

Pay: $125–140k annually, depending on experience and schedule

Location:  Remote, with regular (e.g., quarterly) in-person availability in Berkeley, CA

We seek a Managing Senior Consultant to join our leadership team. This role will work closely with the Principal and other team members to guide our project portfolio, lead projects independently, support team growth and development, and shape the organization's strategic evolution. 

This leadership position will share leadership responsibility for project development and delivery, staff management, and organizational strategy. We welcome candidates who bring a collaborative spirit, depth of experience in clean energy policy, and a demonstrated commitment to advancing equity in the energy transition.

About Common Spark

Common Spark Consulting works to advance boldly inclusive policymaking as the foundation for a clean energy future for all. We are a team of facilitators, energy policy experts, and advocates for a just future. We offer facilitation grounded in deep experience in the clean energy policy space and serve as strategic partners to organizations reimagining how to advance equity and justice in energy work.

We recognize that the energy system itself is unjust, and that traditional policymaking processes have often excluded community priorities while disproportionately harming low-income and BIPOC communities. In our work, we challenge these norms by holding our partners—and ourselves—to a standard of critical reflection, equity-rooted learning, and action toward reversing structural inequities.

Our clients include community-based and advocacy organizations, local and state agencies, utility commissions, and philanthropic institutions. Whether through facilitation, technical advising, research, or strategic planning, we strive to make policymaking more inclusive, community-driven, and just.

Key Responsibilities

Project Oversight & Leadership (60%)

  • Lead a portion of Common Spark’s project portfolio with full responsibility for project direction, client relationships, timelines, team coordination, and deliverable quality.

  • Projects may include facilitation, strategy development, research, or technical assistance.

  • Contribute to and/or lead Energy (in)Equity trainings and equity-centered policy discussions.

    Staff and Organizational Development (20%)

  • Provide mentorship, feedback, and coaching to team members, and support professional development planning.

  • Recommend and coordinate development opportunities, lead performance evaluation processes, and help shape internal structures that foster growth and accountability.

  • Provide technical mentorship on energy policy topics, writing, and stakeholder strategy.

  • Help co-lead team training, staff meetings, and retreats.

Strategic and Executive Leadership (15%) 

  • Collaborate with the Principal to assess and guide organizational strategy, including operational planning, structural evolution, and strategic priorities.

  • Recommend and implement systems that enhance inclusive decision-making and proactively support team and organizational needs.

  • Provide thoughtful and constructive partnership to the Principal, including managing up.

Teamwide Support and Flexibility (5%)

  • Common Spark fosters a collaborative work culture. All team members are expected to step in when capacity allows them to support one another—regardless of title. We value humility and mutual support alongside role clarity.

Qualifications

An ideal candidate for Managing Senior Consultant will have most or all of the following:

  • Energy Policy Expertise: At least 8 years of experience in clean energy policy. Areas of expertise may include building decarbonization, building performance and appliance standards, energy efficiency and demand-side resources, rate design, integrated resource planning, energy markets, ratepayer-funded programs, affordability, and utility regulatory processes—particularly in California. Ability to translate policy and technical requirements into strategy and advocacy guidance for client partners.

  • Facilitation Experience: Strong facilitation skills and demonstrated experience, especially in energy justice contexts. Experience navigating different formats (in-person, virtual, hybrid) and making policy conversations more inclusive. Experience with multi-month to years-long engagements with both community-based and mainstream policy organizations is a plus.

  • Equity & Justice Orientation: A demonstrated commitment to racial and economic justice. Familiarity with how systemic inequities shape energy access and affordability. Active learning orientation toward challenging bias, power dynamics, and inequitable processes in your own work and in energy systems more broadly.

  • Leadership & Management Skills: Experience managing people and projects. Able to mentor and support a team, communicate clearly and accessibly, and contribute to a healthy organizational culture. Strong organizational skills, emotional intelligence, and attention to detail.

  • Project Management Strength: Ability to track multiple timelines, develop and monitor workplans, coordinate cross-functional work, and deliver high-quality outcomes on time.

  • Location & Eligibility: Must be eligible to work in the U.S. Candidates from California will receive the greatest consideration. Regular (at least quarterly) travel to the Bay Area is expected.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $125,000–$140,000 annually (based on experience and schedule: 30–35 hours/week)

  • Benefits:

    • Group health, dental, and vision insurance

    • Retirement matching

    • Flexible PTO and sick leave

    • Federal holidays + personal wellness days

    • Phone and technology stipend

    • Professional development support

Please note: Given the leadership importance of this role, we may consider a temporary-to-permanent transition period in consultation with the selected candidate.

How to Apply

Please submit a tailored cover letter (2 page maximum) and a resume to connect@common-spark.com.

Your cover letter should:

  1. Explain why you’re excited to join Common Spark, and

  2. Share a story or experience that demonstrates your energy policy or facilitation qualifications.

  3. Share a story or experience that demonstrates how equity shows up in your work. 

Application review begins August 1. We will continue reviewing applications on a rolling basis. Interviews are expected to begin in August.

If you need alternative application arrangements, please email connect@common-spark.com.