Vice President, Equity & Climate

Job Description

Job Description

The American Institute of Architects (AIA)

AIA will provide you with the opportunity to advocate for the value of architecture and give architects and design professionals the resources they need to do their best work. The collective voice of architects is essential, and our work drives positive change through the power of design.

Each one of us at AIA is a leader committed to demonstrating our mission and values and designing a better future for our country and planet. Even in times of change, AIA's values remain constant:

• We stand for equity and human rights
• We stand for architecture that strengthens our communities
• We stand for a sustainable future
• We stand for protecting communities from the impacts of climate change
• We stand for economic opportunity
• We stand for investing in the future
• We speak up, and policymakers listen

The American Institute of Architects, as part of the global community, is building a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion within the profession of architecture to create a better built environment for all. Achieving this vision has a direct impact on the relevance of the profession of architecture and the world's prosperity, health, and future.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Vice President, Equity & Climate leads the work that shapes who enters the architecture profession, who stays, and how the built environment is designed and delivered for the long term. AIA has made a deliberate choice to hold equity and climate together in a single portfolio, and this role is responsible for making that choice make sense in practice: showing how progress on one strengthens progress on the other and ensuring the two are pursued as one connected agenda rather than run separately. The VP also leads the integration of AIA's strategic plan across the Institute, ensuring the organization's priorities move forward as one coordinated effort rather than a set of separate initiatives.

Equity and climate are intentionally paired as long-term priorities that require sustained investment in the conditions for change, including policy, tools, knowledge, and partnerships. The VP will lead with a shared theory of change across both areas, advancing accountability, tracking progress, and aligning efforts that move AIA toward a profession that better reflects the communities it serves and a built environment that supports a more resilient future.

The Vice President, Equity & Climate is a member of AIA's Senior Leadership Team and serves as the Institute's senior voice on two of its most defining commitments. This is a role for someone who can hold a long view, build conviction across the profession, and turn AIA's stated values into structures, tools, and measurable progress.

Job Duties

Climate Action

• Set strategy for AIA's climate action and sustainability priorities, defining the what and why of sustainable and disaster resilient design.
• Lead AIA's regenerative design strategy, embedding regenerative principles into member-facing tools, guidance, and practice resources.
• Lead development of climate tools and adoption strategies that firms can put into practice, in partnership with the practice resources team.
• Build and sustain industry partnerships that advance climate adoption beyond AIA's membership.

Equity Strategy

• Lead AIA's K through 12 portfolio and higher education engagement, setting strategy for early exposure, academic partnerships, licensure access, and career navigation.
• Lead equity integration across the organization, ensuring it shapes programs and practices well beyond this team.
• Provide strategic direction for AIA's Women's Leadership Summit, ensuring the signature event aligns with mission, content, and financial goals.
• Sustain partnerships with identity-based affinity organizations that extend AIA's reach into underrepresented communities.

Strategic Plan and Enterprise Coordination

• Build and maintain a shared theory of change for equity and climate and use it to guide investment and course correction.
• Coordinate progress on AIA's mission priorities across the organization and report to the Executive Team and Board.
• Establish measurement practices that make progress visible well before long term outcomes are achieved.
• Advise the CEO and COO on how equity and climate priorities should be sequenced and resourced.

Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop the team responsible for climate action and equity strategy.

Frequent Contacts

• EVP/CEO
• Chief Operating Officer
• AIA Senior Leadership Team
• AIA Board of Directors
• Equity and the Future of Architecture Committee (EQFA)
• Committee on Climate and Design Excellence
• Identity based affinity organizations
• AIA staff and volunteer leaders

Qualifications

Required

• Proven senior leadership experience advancing equity and inclusion or climate and sustainability strategy at an enterprise level.
• Demonstrated ability to think in systems and over long-time horizons, and to build buy-in for work whose payoff is not immediate.
• Experience building or applying a theory of change or comparable framework to guide strategy.
• Strong track record of cross-functional influence, with the ability to embed priorities into other teams' work.

Bachelor's degree and fifteen or more years of progressive experience in equity, sustainability, or workforce development strategy, including senior leadership experience.

Preferred

• Certified Association Executive (CAE).
• Experience in architecture, design, engineering, or construction industry.
• Advanced degree in a related field.

Supervisory Requirements

Direct supervision of the following positions:

• Managing Director, Climate Action
• Managing Director, Equity Strategy
• Director, K-12 Initiatives & Engagement

What We Offer

We offer a comprehensive benefits package that reflects our company values and workplace culture, including:

• Medical, vision, and dental
• 401(k)
• Flexibility
• Paid time off
• Parental Leave
• Flexible spending accounts
• Income protection, including Life Insurance Coverage up to 2x salary, and disability plans at no cost
• Tuition and membership reimbursements

AIA employees have access to a variety of other programs, including:

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for employees and their family members
• SmartBenefits transportation program, featuring up to $55 monthly in public transportation as well as pretax METRO parking
• Computer purchase program
• Fitness club discounts
• Prepaid legal services program
• Identity theft protection

Travel Requirements: Up to 20% travel.

Work Location: 100% remote from AIA approved states (AR, CT, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, KY, MA, ME, MI, MN, MT, NH, NM, NY, NC, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, UT, VT, WI, WY). This position will periodically be required on site at AIA Headquarters in Washington, DC.

Full-time remote employment is available only to candidates residing in the states listed.

Equal opportunity employer as to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.