Climate Financial Analyst

Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.•Washington, DC

13d•$115,000 - $130,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Green Finance & Economic Development department is seeking a quantitatively strong and analytically driven Climate Financial Analyst to independently execute and own core analytical workstreams that advance its work to mobilize public and private capital for climate mitigation and adaptation. This role will lead and contribute to projects across green banks, renewable energy, housing, and community development climate finance, while also supporting cross‑departmental initiatives. This role will contribute to high-visibility domestic and international initiatives. The Analyst will lead quantitative components of projects—including serving as the technical lead for financial modeling, market sizing, instrument design, and data analysis—and will exercise independent judgement to scope analyses, identify risks, and surface insights to translate findings into memos, presentations, and policy recommendations for senior decision-makers. This is a 2‑year term‑limited position that is an excellent opportunity for a professional with a strong foundation in financial analysis and a passion for advancing climate‑aligned investment. The position you are applying for is part of the bargaining unit represented by The Washington Baltimore News Guild (WBNG / The Newsguild-CWA Local 32035).

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering, Environmental Science, Public Policy, or related quantitative fields.
4-7 years of professional experience in one or more of the following: Investment banking, Private equity, Actuarial science or insurance, Climate finance, Project finance, Impact investing, or other roles requiring independent ownership of complex financial or quantitative analyses.
Advanced quantitative and financial modeling capabilities in Excel, with comfort scripting in Python or R to automate analysis and manage large datasets, including the ability to independently design, audit, and iterate complex models for real-world decision-making.
Demonstrated ability to analyze and synthesize complex financial structures and independently diagnose structural, risk, and/or incentive misalignments.
Ability to work across the full data lifecycle - data collection, cleaning, analysis, and visualization - to produce polished tables, charts, and modeling outputs, with a demonstrated capacity to identify data gaps and develop pragmatic solutions or assumptions (for example working with data from investments, transactions, and impact attributes)
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate technical analysis into clear, actionable insights, and to communicate uncertainty and trade-offs transparently.
Experience working on climate‑related financial instruments or blended finance structures, with increasing responsibility for end-to-end analytical execution.
Commitment to NRDC’s mission, values, and DEI principles.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Bloomberg Terminal, S&P Capital IQ a plus.
Exposure to international development, finance or emerging markets a plus.

Responsibilities

Evaluate, model, and structure innovative financial instruments to channel capital to climate mitigation and adaptation, serving as the primary analyst responsible for model design, assumptions, and outputs for specific instruments or transactions.
Conduct quantitative analysis to assess risk, return, and impact across blended finance, green bank, innovative insurance and risk transfer solutions, as well as other catalytic finance structures, including proactively identifying opportunities for further exploration, data limitations, and modeling risks.
Lead or independently execute analytical workstreams that inform the development of financial solutions for renewable energy, climate‑resilient buildings, adaptation and resilience enhancements and/or other NRDC-priority sectors.
Develop and deliver analytical products that directly inform policy, as well as community, corporate and investor engagement, tailoring analysis and clearly communicating results to the needs of diverse stakeholders.
Independently, and in collaboration with colleagues, scope and assess new frontiers in climate and development finance.
Collect and clean investment and transaction-level data, establishing clear data definitions, quality checks, and documentation to ensure analytical integrity
Produce tables, charts and modelling outputs that synthesize complex financial and impact findings into clear, decision-ready insights
Draft reports, executive summaries, blogs, and presentations that clearly articulate analytical findings, assumptions, and trade-offs to both technical and non-technical audiences
Present analysis to internal and external stakeholders, confidently explaining methodologies, limitations, and conclusions and responding to technical questions