Associate

Job Description:

Program Overview:

RMI is seeking an exceptional associate to join its China Power System and Renewables Initiative. Our power sector work is focused on supporting China’s transformation to a cleaner and market-based system. This work contains three primary work streams:

• Providing original research to national-level policymakers to support the design of appropriate power sector transition policies.

• Working with sub-national entities to design transition roadmaps and power markets to support the transition from coal to renewables.

• Enabling the renewable energy and clean flexible resources to directly access markets and identify key policy and other market levers to support continual renewables expansion.

RMI supports these efforts by:

• Advising national policymakers on high-level power sector roadmap and market design and reform rollout.

• Providing analysis on forthcoming policies and their impacts, and providing recommendations as useful

• Modeling power system transition and power market impacts on the generator, grid, and customer.

• Recommending specific market rules to implement provincial policymakers

• Building local capacity to design, operate, and supervise low-carbon power systems

• Developing new transaction mechanisms to transition uneconomic coal power plants and enable renewable energy’s direct participation in the market

• Convening policymakers, corporations, and research experts to develop the future vision for China’s low-carbon power sector

• Supporting the connection with Chinese and international stakeholders and helping contextualize other market experiences in China.

Primary Responsibilities:

As an Associate, you are a creative problem solver who uses your quantitative, technical, and analytical abilities to conduct compelling analyses around vital energy issues. You collaborate with team members to craft visionary yet practical solutions for our research questions and clients.

As an RMI Associate, you will have an aptitude for solving challenging problems, thinking in numbers, and working in groups. You will be self-motivated, curious, creative, and can drive yourself and others toward meaningful results. You have a willingness to work through challenging conversations, and a passion for making the world better.

Besides that, you will be an independent contributor and work closely with colleagues on projects under the direction of more senior staff. You will have expertise in the content area of your interested program within RMI and can provide support to RMI on that topic.

Your key responsibilities as an Associate will primarily be:

• Conduct analytical research

• Research international experience, identifying relevant materials, synthesizing key takeaways, and identifying relevant content to our research efforts

• Follow the Chinese power market, clean energy transition, and relevant policy evolution, particularly regarding spot market implementation and the renewable energy industry

• Synthesize quantitative information and recommendations into clear and compelling presentations and written reports

• Coordinate multi-party collaborations providing input to the creation of policy, implementation plans, and power market rules

• Integrate the advice and experience of international power experts, adjusting recommended approaches to the Chinese context

• Conduct expert interviews, with an ability to guide conversations professionally, extracting key content efficiently while building rapport with industry experts

• Identify industry needs/gaps, and scope clear, achievable deliverables that will meet those needs

• Support business development, identifying new collaborations and projects, and representing these ideas/engagements to funders as needed

• Collaborate with other teams in RMI’s China program on cross-sector collaboration opportunities

• Help translate documents and facilitate meetings in both English and Chinese.

Minimum requirements:

• Master degree or higher and 0-5 years of additional relevant experience

• Excellent spoken and written English and Mandarin

• Excellent writing skills, visual presentation capability, and verbal communication skills

Preferred qualifications:

• Familiarity with power markets fundamentals, China’s power sector structure, and reform trajectory

• Strong quantitative comfort, representing complex concepts and modeling results in clear terms to policymakers and industry leaders

• Experience in consulting, project management, or other related fields

• Experience working at a utility or related government agency preferred

• Demonstrated initiative and accomplishment in previous work

• Proven cross-cultural sensitivity, with overseas education or work experience, preferred

• Ability to design, create, and run complex models (e.g. Plexos, MatLab, Python, R).

• RMI staff bring a variety of skillsets. We welcome candidates with diverse educational and work backgrounds. RMI will carefully review each application to determine the appropriate starting position level (Associate) and this will be communicated during the interview process.

Location:

Beijing, China

Diversity

Increasing the diversity of thought, perspectives, ideas, and opinions within RMI is a critical element supporting our long-term sustainability and mission to build a clean, prosperous, and secure energy future.

As such, it is one of our core values, and we strive for a level of diversity within our organization that reflects the communities we serve. Achieving this—regardless of ability, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or other social identities—is critical to the long-term success of each RMIer and collectively as an organization, ensuring that we:

• Have the different array of thinking that comes from diverse backgrounds and cultures, enabling us to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges

• Strive for a culture of inclusion and belonging by treating others with dignity, respect, and appreciation enabling them to feel welcomed, supported, and valued

• Effectively connect, communicate, and build long-lasting relationships with decision-makers, stakeholders, and constituents within diverse communities.

About RMI

RMI is an independent nonprofit founded in 1982 that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to align with a 1.5°C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. We work in the world’s most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 50 percent by 2030. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing.

In 2013, RMI began working in China as a part of a joint research project including the Energy Research Institute of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs’ China Energy Group, and Energy Foundation China. The group designed a road map, called Reinventing Fire: China, to promote renewables and reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions in the Chinese economy without compromising economic growth. This roadmap has become the basis for ongoing programmatic activity.

RMI continues to expand its Chinese presence, with our Beijing office serving as the hub for our nationwide engagements. In 2017, RMI was awarded an overseas NGO certificate by China, and the National Energy Administration is our supervising government agency in China. The Beijing office works on multiple parts of China’s energy transformation including heavy industry decarbonization, power sector reform, low-carbon mobility and freight solutions, low-carbon cities, transforming the building stock, advancing clean production of hydrogen, and establishing the foundation for a circular economy. For more information, please visit www.rmi.org.

How to apply

Be prepared to submit a resume and a cover letter, both documents are required. Candidates who do not provide a compelling answer to the question "Why do you want to work at RMI" in their cover letter may not be considered.  Additionally, incomplete application materials (for example, a missing cover letter) may not be considered.  Due to a large number of applications received, RMI is not able to respond to every applicant. We will be in contact with applicants moving to the interview stage. 

RMI is an equal opportunity employer.

RMI is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

RMI is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.