Regulatory Director

Why Work With Us

Join a collaborative team committed to climate, clean energy, and environmental justice work. The Regulatory Director is a new position at the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at New York University School of Law (State Impact Center) that will work closely with the Executive Director, Deputy Director and Energy Director, and Climate & Environmental Justice Director to manage the State Impact Center’s legal portfolio and priorities as we support and study state attorneys general in the areas of climate, environmental justice, environmental protection, and clean energy.

This is an opportunity to leverage administrative law and environmental law expertise in strategic ways and in actions that will have an impact in matters across the country. You will help lead a multidisciplinary team of attorneys, communicators, and operations professionals and shape the State Impact Center’s strategy.

You will be an employee of NYU, with access to a comprehensive benefits package that includes generous paid time off, tuition remission, and retirement benefits. We are passionate about building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable working environment for our staff. We offer a generous benefits package through NYU, which includes tuition remission and retirement benefits. We offer a competitive salary that is commensurate with experience: $150,000-$190,000.

About the Center

The State Impact Center is a nonpartisan academic think tank based at NYU School of Law. The Center is dedicated to working towards a healthy and safe environment, guided by inclusive and equitable principles. To accomplish this, the Center studies and supports the work of state attorneys general and other state-level agencies in defending, enforcing, and promoting strong laws and policies in the areas of climate, environmental justice, environmental protection, and clean energy. We undertake academic research, hold workshops, and issue special reports that advance legal and policy analysis. We are a small, collaborative team, and value each person’s insights and contributions.

Diversity is a core value of the Center. We are passionate about building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable working environment for our staff. We believe every member on our team enriches our diversity by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design and deliver solutions.

Who We Are Looking For

We are looking for an environmental attorney with managerial experience and experience/expertise in administrative law who is dedicated to public interest work. The Regulatory Director will directly supervise attorneys working on research and writing projects and will report to the Executive Director. The Regulatory Director will closely collaborate with other Directors on intersectional projects and in developing and tracking the State Impact Center’s programmatic work and organizational needs. This role also requires developing and leading review processes for the State Impact Center’s different written products and databases. The Regulatory Director will be involved in a broad scope of activities, including supporting state attorney general offices, conceiving programs and events, and developing and writing academic and other written products.

We are looking for someone who is committed to working toward the success of the entire team and will work with the Executive Director and Deputy Director on processes and policies to promote inclusion at the State Impact Center. We are always committed to building an even more diverse and inclusive team and strongly encourage women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community to apply.

Core Responsibilities:

• Moving the work forward. Lead staff in developing new and improving existing trackers of key federal regulatory activity and associated written products and databases. Develop and guide legal and policy analysis projects, communicating findings through memos, articles, and presentations. For all projects, design and implement feedback processes to support a shared goal of crafting timely, high-quality final products, with appropriate review from the Executive Director.
• Collaborating on the State Impact Center’s work prioritization. The Regulatory Director will identify and learn about new areas of potential interest for engagement, conduct independent research, and present topics and/or proposals to the leadership team, as well as review and give feedback on other potential new workstreams.
• Representing the State Impact Center with outside partners and stakeholders. The Regulatory Director will attend meetings with attorney general offices, as well as participate in meetings with outside groups and other partners. The Regulatory Director will also supervise and coach members of the legal team on developing and maintaining these relationships.
• Managing legal staff. The Regulatory Director will be responsible for supervising direct reports and will also work with State Impact Center leadership to support professional development, and identify and meet overall staffing needs.

Requirements and Qualifications:

• Education: J.D. from an accredited law school and admitted to practice in or willing to seek admission in New York.
• Experience: At least seven years of legal experience in administrative law, preferably in the areas of environmental, climate, or energy law with a strong public interest commitment.
• Judgment: Exercises excellent judgment while weighing competing priorities; understands the sensitivity and complexity of different issues; recognizes and pursues areas for professional growth and engages in self-reflection.
• Collaborative: Has a track record of building relationships with external partners and supporting the success of colleagues and direct reports; provides timely, constructive feedback.
• Communication: Has a demonstrated ability to communicate effectively and inclusively on a range of matters, including technical topics; excellent verbal and written communication skills.