Strategic Advisor, State Energy Program and Home Energy Rebates Pillar (SHERP)

Cogent Security LLC•Washington, DC

4d•$130,000 - $160,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Strategic Advisor supports the Department of Energy’s Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP), providing direct support to the Pillar Manager responsible for the State Energy Program (SEP) and the Home Energy Rebates (HER) program. SEP provides funding and technical assistance to 56 grantees—states, territories, and the District of Columbia—to enhance energy security, advance state-led energy initiatives, and increase energy affordability. HER lowers household energy costs through whole-home efficiency retrofits and upgrades to high-efficiency appliances and equipment, with formula and competitive awards to states, territories, and Indian Tribes. The role creates capacity for the Pillar Manager by taking on coordination, follow-through, and day-to-day operating responsibilities, allowing the manager to focus on strategy, external engagement, and program direction. It works laterally across SCEP program and functional areas, with the SEP and HER teams to advance initiatives, and with the SCEP Director and Front Office on taskings, reporting, and information flow. The position combines strategic analysis and recommendations with operational support such as calendar management, correspondence, and meeting coordination. It requires sound judgment, discretion with sensitive matters, the ability to work with limited direction, and command of both programs sufficient to represent the Pillar Manager’s priorities accurately. All work is advisory and supportive; it does not involve inherently governmental functions or supervision or direction of Federal staff. The position is hybrid, located at 1000 Independence Ave SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, and requires 10% travel. The listed salary range is $130,000–$160,000.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts in engineering, business administration, public administration, or a related discipline; alternatively, four years of relevant experience may substitute for the degree, with 16 years of relevant experience required for candidates using this substitution.
At least 12 years of relevant experience; a Master’s degree may substitute for two years of experience.
Considerable working knowledge of public-sector project and program management principles, practices, and standards.
Considerable working knowledge of research techniques and report writing, and command of business English.
Considerable working knowledge of State and Federal labor laws and regulations.
Considerable working knowledge of analytical techniques used in project and program management and of obtaining, verifying, and evaluating general and statistical information.
Considerable working knowledge of computer software used for project and program data collection and analysis.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a related discipline.
Experience supporting SCEP or the Department of Energy.
Experience supporting the State Energy Program or the Home Energy Rebates program.
Experience managing Federal financial assistance programs, grants, and cooperative agreements.
Experience with both formula-allocated and competitively awarded Federal financial assistance.
Experience working with State Energy Offices, Tribal recipients, or State and local government partners.
Experience supporting a Federal program office during rapid growth or high external visibility.
Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
Familiarity with DOE systems.

Responsibilities

Serve as senior support to the Pillar Manager across SEP and HER, maintaining awareness of program status, risks, and open issues and providing analysis, options, and recommendations.
Identify issues requiring the Pillar Manager’s attention and route, staff, or resolve other matters.
Frame strategic questions, assemble relevant analysis, and prepare written recommendations with options and trade-offs.
Prepare the Pillar Manager for internal and external engagements with SCEP and DOE leadership, other Federal offices, State Energy Offices, Tribal recipients, and program stakeholders.
Prepare, review, and quality-check decision memos, briefings, talking points, read-aheads, and correspondence.
Translate leadership direction into workstreams with owners, milestones, and due dates, and track initiatives through completion across SEP and HER.
Track commitments, taskers, and action items across both teams and follow through to completion.
Identify opportunities for the programs to share approaches, tools, templates, or lessons learned, and coordinate adoption.
Surface cross-pillar dependencies, risks, and resourcing gaps and coordinate technical, grants, budget, and communications input to address them.
Develop and maintain consolidated status reporting on obligations and expenditures, recipient performance, milestones, deliverables, and staffing across both programs.
Coordinate across SCEP program and functional areas on shared issues, recipients, and requirements.
Coordinate with the SCEP Front Office on higher-office taskings and information requests, ensuring requests have context and responses are complete, accurate, and timely.
Support responses to data calls and oversight inquiries from SCEP and DOE leadership, other Federal offices, and external oversight bodies.
Support annual operating planning, performance goals, milestone tracking, and recurring internal reporting, carrying leadership direction into pillar plans.
Draft and maintain pillar guidance, standard operating procedures, and internal reference materials, and support their review and clearance.
Own the Pillar Manager’s meeting cadence across both programs, including scheduling, agenda development, materials, facilitation support, notes, and action-item tracking.
Manage the Pillar Manager’s calendar and scheduling, including prioritizing competing requests, sequencing engagements, and protecting time for strategic work.
Support correspondence and inbox management by triaging incoming items, tracking responses, preparing draft responses for review and release by Federal staff, and following up on outstanding replies.
Plan and coordinate pillar meetings, working sessions, offsites, and stakeholder convenings, including requirements, logistics, invitations, materials, and follow-up.
Maintain pillar records, distribution lists, trackers, and shared file structures so information remains current, organized, and retrievable.
Coordinate with SCEP support functions, including budget, procurement, human capital, communications, and information technology, on behalf of the Pillar Manager.
Support onboarding and orientation for staff joining either program, including access, systems, and program background.
Manage multiple highly sensitive or complex tasks simultaneously and work cross-functionally to resolve problems and implement changes.