Director, Global Affairs

About Sequoia Climate Foundation

Sequoia Climate Foundation seeks to decarbonize the world economy at a speed and scale equal to the problem. We support bold strategies and efforts that will have both near-term impact and the greatest probability of long-term success. We believe that solving climate change requires the adoption of ambitious, evidence-based policy solutions that transform markets, advance clean technology, and lead to large‐scale change.

For more information, please visit: https://sequoiaclimate.org/

The Opportunity

This is an exceptional opportunity to join Sequoia as its inaugural Director of Global Affairs. As the organization continues to grow and expand its international work and presence, this role was created to build, strengthen, and scale Sequoia’s global affairs and organizational cultural functions.The Director will serve as the architect and steward of Sequoia’s global voice, presence, and strategic influence—shaping how the organization shows up on the world stage.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this high-impact leadership role will develop and advance a unifying vision that integrates external relations, communications, and internal culture into a cohesive, well-aligned operating environment for the organization. The Director will shape the messaging and engagement strategies that reinforce Sequoia’s standing as a sectoral leader while safeguarding its reputation across a complex global landscape. From advising the Board, President, and senior leadership on thought leadership, including media opportunities, to coordinating external engagement and materials, to collaborating with peer funder networks, the Director will ensure Sequoia’s external presence and leadership are strategically aligned to maximize their impact in driving climate solutions.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy, Brand, & Risk Management

• In close partnership with the Executive Team and program leadership, develop a brand and messaging framework that safeguards Sequoia’s reputation across global jurisdictions. This includes reputation management strategies and crisis communication protocols across the organization’s global footprint.
• Lead and forecast reputational risks to Sequoia, and lead the coordination of relevant decision-making frameworks.
• Serve as a strategic advisor on developing Sequoia’s voice, including brand management and media relations, primarily directing “behind the scenes” engagement while managing organizational exposure.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Identify high-leverage opportunities for Sequoia to exercise its voice and provide thought leadership and external profile advice to the Board, the Office of the President, and the leadership team.
• Support our leadership and program teams to cultivate and manage long-term relationships with peer foundations, funder collaboratives, and global decision-makers to align strategies and amplify collective impact.
• Partner with Sequoia’s leadership and program teams to drive enhanced awareness and adoption of Sequoia’s key messages across the ecosystem through the hosting and co-hosting of targeted, high-impact, best-in-class external events globally.
• Own and evolve Sequoia’s core communications infrastructure and processes, including the website and our central ecosystem database to support effective engagement and the leveraging networks across teams.

Thought Leadership

• Establish a thought leadership strategy that solidifies the leadership team and program team’s voice and their grantees as subject matter experts, developing and delivering compelling messages to target audiences.
• Cultivate and foster collaborative relationships across teams in order to stay informed of climate wins, celebrating the work of grantees and projects to enable optimal content creation and delivery of key messages.
• Create tools and templates that enable staff to share their work with external stakeholders effectively.

Internal Communications and Strategy

• Serve as the final authority on brand guidance and coordinate closely with the President, General Counsel, and other key stakeholders, including the Executive Team, within the organization.
• Direct the production of high-quality strategic briefs, talking points, and event materials for the Board and President, ensuring they are prepared for high-level events and convenings.
• Partner with the Office of the President, COO, and People & Culture team to ensure internal employee experiences reflect Sequoia’s values across all global offices.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a seasoned communications leader who pairs strategic vision with a hands-on approach to execution. The Director will bring a deep commitment to advancing transformative climate solutions and have a demonstrated ability to translate complex ideas into clear, compelling messages tailored to diverse audiences and channels.

Candidates must thrive in fast-paced, intellectual, and multi-stakeholder global environments, and approach every effort with strong project management discipline. Excellent relationship-building skills are a must along with an ability to cultivate trust across the organization and with external partners. Humble and collaborative, the Director will be equally effective shaping narratives behind the scenes and stepping forward when needed to represent the organization with clarity and confidence.

Additional success factors for the Director include:

• Agility and sound judgment: Adapts quickly to evolving organizational needs, shifts priorities effectively, and maintains clarity in dynamic situations.
• Collaborative leadership: Brings a strong work ethic, high EQ, and a proven ability to build trust, work across teams, and foster a collegial, high-performance culture.
• Translation skills: Able to analyze and synthesize complex, data-driven climate strategies into precise, accessible messages.
• Global orientation: Experience managing global communications / external affairs and navigating multi-cultural offices.
• Efficiency and initiative: Learns rapidly, manages multiple workstreams with discipline, and consistently meets deadlines while anticipating needs and taking proactive steps.
• Innovative problem-solving: Demonstrates strong analytical skills, a creative approach to challenges, and a habit of scanning the landscape for new ideas, tools, and sector innovations to bring back to the team.
• Values-based leadership: Models integrity, humility, and a commitment to Sequoia’s mission, serving as a steady and principled voice internally and externally.
• Operational excellence: Maintains exceptional attention to detail and quality in a fast-paced environment, with the ability to organize, prioritize, and execute effectively .
• Systems fluency: Comfortable with digital tools and platforms—including Google Workspace and virtual collaboration software—and able to quickly learn new systems as the organization evolves.

Candidates must have a minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in communications, external affairs, or media relations, preferably within a philanthropic, nonprofit, or advocacy organization.

To Be Considered

Climate change is a global crisis that requires leadership and contribution from communities around the world. Sequoia is committed to reflecting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in the workplace, as this will strengthen our ability to achieve our global mission. This commitment stems from the belief that a diversity of perspectives and approaches is key to driving strong climate action and ultimately preventing human suffering and injustice wrought by unmitigated climate change. For these reasons, we are committed to recruiting staff of diverse backgrounds and perspectives to leverage our collective knowledge of the circumstances, people, and environments in the countries that we work in.

Please submit your resume and cover letter expressing your interest in the position and fit for the role via the “Become a Candidate” button.

For additional questions, please contact sequoia-climate@goodcitizen.com.