Center for International Environmental Law is looking for a Chief Program Officer

Remote; Geneva, Switzerland; Northeast USA; or Washington DC

POSITION TITLE: Chief Program Officer

SUPERVISOR: CEO

LOCATION: Remote; Geneva, Switzerland; Northeast USA (specific states listed below); or Washington DC. Must possess valid work authorization.

SALARY RANGE: The salary range for this position is $144,000 - $180,000, depending on experience. If located in our Geneva office, a locality increase of 12.5% will apply.

DEADLINE: 9am ET, Monday, July 27, 2026

Position Summary

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) uses the power of law to protect the environment, promote human rights, and ensure a just and sustainable society. We work at the intersection of environmental protection and human rights, across sectors and borders, and in close collaboration with global partners and local communities. In the newly created role of Chief Program Officer (CPO), you are not just a leader; you're a facilitator, bridge, a coach, and a conduit for coherence and impact, a force multiplier.

With a career grounded in deep experience using the law to protect people and the planet, you have successfully led senior teams to maximize integration, effectiveness and alignment. You have a track record of translating ambition into concrete plans, strategy into shared action, and values into practice. You bring humility, facilitation skills and deep listening capacities. You've worked across cultures, geographies, and power dynamics, likely within human rights or environmental organizations or social justice networks. You've held space for tension and conflict without absorbing it, built cohesion and helped teams move through change with adaptive leadership, clarity and confidence.

Your role will support the organization to learn and respond to evolving needs by fostering reflection and supporting teams to be agile and pivot in response to changing and complex circumstances and new information, keeping CIEL on the front edge of innovative and effective strategies for change. You will drive cross-programmatic strategies and alignment, and support organizational sustainability and effective planning in collaboration with the development and operations teams.

This role directly supervises three Program Directors (Climate & Energy, Environmental Health, and Fossil Economy) and the Communications Director; works in close collaboration with the Director of Development and Director of HR; reports directly to the CEO; and serves as a member of the Executive Team alongside the CEO, COO, CFO and General Counsel.

Responsibilities

As Chief Program Officer, you will:

Program Strategy and Planning (30%)

• Provide guidance and collaborate with Program and Communications Directors to develop and evaluate cross-programmatic legal, advocacy and campaign strategies to protect the environment and human rights globally.
• Collaborate closely with key leaders across the organization in defining and executing the strategic and annual planning process.
• In collaboration with Program and Communications Directors and the CEO, provide strategic direction for the organization's programs, ensuring alignment with its overall mission and goals and clearly communicate decisions on priorities.

Program Leadership (30%)

• Support the consolidation of our Programs Department, which will include Communications, leveraging the expertise and experience of Programs & Communications Directors, Managers and staff across the department.
• Work in collaboration with the CEO, General Counsel, Program and Communications Directors to ensure programmatic decisions account for relevant risk analysis and role of organization.
• Build capacity for program monitoring and evaluation processes - ensuring continuous learning, adaptation and impact.
• Support implementation of evolving structures, processes and procedures with confidence and compassion, building trust across teams.

Supervision (20%)

• Facilitate a high-performing team of Directors to lead their teams, ensuring integration and program impact.
• Work with CIEL's Program and Communications Directors and COO to develop work plans and budgets in line with both short-term and long-term goals.
• Support professional development of staff together with the HR Director.

Organizational Leadership (15%)

• Contribute to organizational fundraising, and support Program and Communications Directors to manage resources effectively and strategically to ensure clear prioritization and impact.
• Work closely with other departments, including Development, Finance, HR, and Operations, to ensure productive coordination and communication across departments.
• Building on a diverse work culture, ensuring CIEL's work remains values-led and with a global outlook, while becoming more programmatically, strategically and operationally aligned.
• As needed, act as an external representative of CIEL with partners, media and funders.

Administration (5%)

• Support fundraising efforts, such as proposals and reports, as relevant.
• Maintain timesheets and submit them on time.
• Meet regularly with supervisor, direct reports, and other relevant teams.
• Participate in leadership, management and all staff meetings and other organizational activities, including a regular performance evaluation process.
• Meet target dates, prioritize tasks, and ensure high-quality work products.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• JD or LLM required.
• Minimum 15 years of progressively more responsible roles in programs, with at least 5 years in a senior management role.
• Expertise in building, leading and implementing legal and advocacy strategies to protect human rights and the environment.
• Proven track record of facilitating complex processes in multi-cultural contexts.
• Strong management and mentorship experience.
• Proven capacity in raising funds and managing large program budgets.
• Strong understanding of program design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
• Proven track record of building and stewarding strong relationships with funders and partners.
• Proven track record of developing, implementing and overseeing program plans and developing innovative strategies that align with organizational goals.
• Ability to effectively communicate with diverse audiences, including media, funders, partners and staff.
• Ability to adapt to change and work effectively in a dynamic environment, and to guide teams effectively through change.
• Fluency in written and spoken English required.
• Ability and willingness to travel frequently to work from CIEL's offices in Geneva and Washington DC, as well as to other meetings, conferences and events in all regions of the world, as requested.
• Commitment to incorporating principles of justice, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of the work.
• Commitment to CIEL's mission.

Desired Qualifications

• Academic focus on international environmental and/or human rights law.
• Working knowledge of Spanish and/or French.
• Experience living and/or working in the Global South.

Competencies

A successful candidate will demonstrate the following competencies:

• Action-Oriented: Makes things happen. Takes on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of curiosity, proactivity, and constructiveness.
• Openminded and Flexible: Approaches unfamiliar tasks proactively and with an open mind. Can quickly adapt to new situations and to draw on past successes and failures to solve current problems.
• Effective Communication: Understands the value of effective and proactive communication. Can deliver messages in a clear, compelling, and concise manner. Actively listens, checks for understanding, and adjusts content and style to meet the needs of different stakeholders.
• Collaborates: Brings people together to leverage their skills, talents, and knowledge to achieve a common purpose. Creates synergy resulting in a combined effort with greater results than what can be achieved by individuals.
• Resourcefulness: Is able to make the best of limited resources and find a way to get things done even when the odds are against them. Can look beyond the obvious for viable approaches to accomplish the goal.

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: In accordance with CIEL's duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known hazards and our commitment to safeguard the health of our employees, clients, and communities, CIEL requires US candidates to be fully vaccinated/boosted against COVID-19 within the past 36 months in order to be hired for this position. If you are not eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or vaccination is contraindicated by a licensed medical professional, you must provide documentation verifying this ineligibility or contraindication.

Location, Hours, and Benefits

Location Note: This position may be eligible to work from the following locations; you must be legally authorized to work without visa sponsorship:

• USA: in our Washington DC office (hybrid) or remotely from one of the below states; candidates located in the Northeast are preferred. Our approved states are: Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Colombia, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington.
• EU/EFTA: in our Geneva, Switzerland office (hybrid) or remotely from Switzerland.
• Remotely: from a non-US country, depending on the country and provided you can work within South/North American and African/European time zones AND have obtained your own legal work authorization. Due to restrictions, not all countries will be eligible for remote hiring.

Working Hours: CIEL works with employees and partners all over the world; however, our main offices are located in US Eastern Time (Washington DC) and Central European Time (Geneva). Thus, all employees must have some core overlap hours for live meetings, which are generally 9am - 12pm ET / 3pm - 6pm CET. In terms of working hours, CIEL tries to support staff with life/work balance and working a 40-hour work week. However, there will be occasions when working more is required; in such cases, CIEL may provide compensatory time to use at a later date.

This is a full-time, exempt position. If you are selected for this position and elect to work remotely, you are expected to provide your own space from which to work. CIEL will contribute a one-time stipend of USD $750 for fully remote workers, with an additional USD $250 per year for the purposes of maintaining your remote work space.

CIEL offers a strong benefits package for our US staff including employer-subsidized health, dental, and vision; paid vacation, sick, and parental leave; a 5% contribution of gross annual salary into a 403(b) retirement account; a relocation stipend; dedicated professional development funding; and paid sabbatical leave after 7 years. CIEL is a 501(c)3 nonprofit in the US, and full-time employees qualify for the US Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Application Instructions

CIEL is being supported in this search and appointment process by SCHC Advisors. To learn more about the role and to submit an application, please contact Sophia Copeman at [email protected].

Applications should consist of:

1. An up-to-date CV
2. A concise covering letter (no more than two pages) explaining your motivation and suitability for the role, and addressing the following:
   • What motivates you about managing others? Describe two recent examples in which you were challenged to evolve your leadership style, and what you learned from the experience. (max 250 words)
   • How have you gone about creating joint strategies across geographically and technically diverse teams? How did you build alignment, clarity and buy-in? (max 250 words)

Applications can be uploaded at: https://schcadvisors.com/apply

About CIEL

For 30 years, CIEL has used the power of law to protect the environment, promote human rights, and ensure a just and sustainable society. CIEL's dynamic team of international attorneys and experts work together in a collaborative and supportive work environment to tackle some of the most interesting and challenging issues facing people and the planet.

CIEL is actively committed to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and building an organization that is as diverse as the communities we serve around the world. We know that diversity and inclusion make us stronger, and we actively encourage qualified applicants with various backgrounds, identities, perspectives, and (dis)abilities to apply. If you need an accommodation or assistance with this application, please contact Sophia Copeman at [email protected].

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