Chief External Affairs Officer

Job Description

Job Description

Chaloner has partnered with the Corporate Energy Buyers Association on their search for a Chief External Affairs Officer.

About CEBA

The Corporate Energy Buyers Association (c6) is a business association with a mission to activate energy buyers and their partners to drive low-cost, reliable, carbon-free global energy systems.

The Clean Energy Buyers Institute (c3) is the affiliated public benefit charity that advances low-cost, reliable, carbon-emissions free global energy systems. The c6 and c3, collectively “CEBA,” is an inclusive community of energy buyers, clean energy providers, service providers, NGOs, philanthropies, and clean energy thought leaders.

Position Overview

The Chief External Affairs Officer (CEAO) is a C-suite executive and member of CEBA's Executive Leadership Team (ELT), reporting directly to the CEO and working alongside the Chief Business Officer, SVP for Policy, SVP for Energy Transactions, and SVP for Global Programs. The CEAO leads three interconnected functions, Communications, Government Affairs, and Development, across CEBA.

The CEAO is the architect and steward of CEBA's external voice and market position, its political strategy, and its philanthropic and corporate partnership growth. At a moment of historic opportunity, with explosive growth in energy demand placing the customer voice, represented by CEBA's 330+ member companies representing more than $40 trillion in market value, at the center of the global energy conversation, the CEAO will position CEBA to lead that conversation: shaping policy outcomes through credible bipartisan engagement, building the brand as the preeminent voice of energy buyers, and significantly growing the philanthropic and corporate partnership base that fuels CEBA's mission driven work.

The CEAO will collaborate closely with the CEO and the rest of the ELT to drive strategy, execute against short and long term objectives, and define and meet metrics of impact. The role includes substantive engagement with the c3 and c6 Boards of Directors, the key CEBA members, and the senior leadership of CEBA member companies. The CEAO will also serve as a strong people manager, building and leading a high-performing team while fostering a culture of collaboration and accountability.

The Role

The CEAO owns three interconnected functions, Communications, Government Affairs, and Development, and is personally accountable for CEBA's brand, its political capital, and its philanthropic growth trajectory. The CEAO leads a team that includes the VP for Government Affairs, the Director for Development, and senior leadership across Events, Marketing, and Communications with that structure to be finalized in consultation with the CEO and CBO. The CEAO's leadership spans the ELT and Boards, as well as each of CEBA's three functional pillars.

Executive Leadership and Organizational Stewardship

• Contribute as a full ELT member to organization-wide decisions on strategy, budget, personnel and culture, not only within External Affairs.
• Set the strategic agenda, budget, and resourcing for External Affairs, and hold the function accountable to clear metrics of political, reputational, and financial impact.
• Build, develop, and retain a high-performing leadership team across Communications, Government Affairs, and Development.
• Serve as a primary point of engagement for the c3 and c6 Boards and leader-members, ensuring they have real insight into CEBA's external posture and the political and philanthropic landscape.

The pillars below define what the CEAO will lead across the ELT, the Boards, and each of these functions.

Voice and Market Position (Communications)

• Own CEBA's brand and market position as the preeminent voice of the energy buyer, setting the strategy and overseeing the execution and delivery of the strategic priorities as it relates to the Government Affairs and Development narratives.. Continue to build the CEO's external platform while establishing the CEAO as a credible, visible spokesperson for CEBA in their own right. Represent CEBA to national and trade press, at flagship convenings such as Summit and Leadership Event, and at venues like CERAWeek, NYCW, and potentially the World Economic Forum.
• Oversee the strategy for owned, earned, and paid media, digital and social presence, and member-facing communications, delegating execution to a strong communications team while retaining editorial judgment on anything with reputational or political significance.

Political Strategy and Government Affairs

• Own CEBA's political capital: relationships with federal and state legislators, Administration officials, and governors, and CEBA's overall policymaker engagement strategy, set jointly with the SVP for Policy, SVP for Energy Transactions, and SVP for Global Programs.
• Build and personally lead a credible, durable, bipartisan government affairs operation, engaging directly at the moments that matter most, including with the Administration, newly elected members of Congress, and state and local officials, while delegating day-to-day leadership and execution to the VP for Government Affairs.
• Guide and support CEBA's political engagement strategy, including collaboration with the CEBA PAC and relationships with party committees, and build coalitions with member companies and allied trade associations to advance shared policy objectives.

Philanthropic and Corporate Growth

• Hold primary accountability for the c3's philanthropic revenue trajectory, sustaining roughly 20% year-over-year growth from a current base of approximately $12M, with a goal of roughly doubling that base by year-end 2029.
• Personally cultivate and close principal-level gifts ($1M+) and partnerships across the c3 landscape including but not limited to institutional philanthropy, ultra-high-net-worth donors, and corporate philanthropy, while building the team and pipeline needed to sustain growth at scale.
• Partner with the CEO and Boards to convert their networks into warm introductions and high-leverage asks, and lead the corporate partnership growth beyond core membership dues.
• Build development team capacity beyond its current single director role, and put in place the stewardship infrastructure, donor narratives, and reporting needed to support a growing and increasingly sophisticated funder base.

What We're Looking For

• At least 20+ years of progressively senior experience across some combination of strategic communications, brand and marketing, institutional fundraising and government affairs including significant C-suite or comparable executive leadership.
• A demonstrated track record of building and leading high-performing teams across multiple disciplines, and of stepping in personally when the situation demands it.
• Substantial direct federal legislative experience, or comparable policy-driving experience off the Hill, or senior corporate government affairs or trade association leadership in the energy sector, with the credibility to lead a bipartisan government affairs operation.
• Deep expertise in at least two pillars: Communications, Government Affairs, and Development, credible judgment in the third, and a track record of hiring strong functional leaders to close any remaining gap.
• A track record of building or significantly growing a philanthropic or corporate development function, ideally including direct ownership of multi-million-dollar fundraising goals and principal-gift solicitation.
• Genuine subject matter engagement in energy, climate, sustainability, cleantech, utility engagement, corporate procurement, or related policy and markets.
• An influential, credible professional network, ideally within clean energy, climate, energy policy, or related philanthropic and corporate communities.
• Superior executive-level written and verbal communication, with the presence and credibility to represent CEBA to Members of Congress, governors, CEOs, foundation principals, and the press.

Practical Considerations

• Eligible to work in the United States.
• Ability and willingness to work nontraditional hours and travel up to 30% of the time.
• Based in the DC office at least three days per week.

Compensation and Benefits

CEBA offers competitive executive-level compensation and a comprehensive bonus and benefits package, including eligibility for CEBA's annual bonus and incentive plan based on both organizational and individual performance. The base salary range for this role is $450,000-$600,000. CEBA is committed to supporting employees in having a full life inside and outside of work.

Equal Opportunity Employer

CEBA is an equal opportunity employer and provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, disability, gender identity, gender expression, results of genetic testing, caregiver status, military service status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

To Apply

Interested candidates should apply by using the application form. Chaloner will review all applicants and, upon qualification, contact you to determine next steps.