About RMI

RMI is an independent, nonpartisan nonprofit working to transform global energy systems and align markets with a clean, resilient, and prosperous future. We partner with businesses, financial institutions, policymakers, and communities to accelerate solutions that unlock the energy transition at scale.

Position Overview

RMI’s Finance team is seeking a Principal, Insurance & Climate Resilience to lead and expand our work at the intersection of extreme weather risk, insurance markets, and disaster preparedness. This role will shape RMI’s strategy on how insurance markets can better price risk, incentivize resilience, and mobilize capital toward climate-adaptive outcomes.

The Principal will bring deep experience from the insurance sector (carrier, reinsurer, broker, and/or adjacent ecosystem), strong understanding of insurance regulation, and a global perspective spanning U.S. and international markets. This individual will serve as a senior leader within RMI - setting direction, managing teams, representing RMI externally, and building durable partnerships across the insurance and finance ecosystem.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Thought Leadership

• Lead RMI’s insurance and disaster resilience strategy, identifying high-impact opportunities where insurance can drive real-world resilience outcomes.

• Develop and advance frameworks linking natural catastrophe risk, insurance pricing, resilience investment, and financial stability.

• Shape RMI’s positions on emerging issues such as resilience incentives, risk-based pricing, insurance protection gaps, and insurance-linked adaptation finance.

• Translate complex risk, regulatory, and market dynamics into actionable insights for insurers, investors, policymakers, and other stakeholders.

• Contribute to organizational strategy-setting and cross-program integration (e.g., climate finance, adaptation, energy systems, and policy).

Program Leadership & Delivery

• Design and oversee multi-year initiatives related to insurance, resilience, and physical risk.

• Ensure analytical rigor across workstreams, including engagement with risk engineering, catastrophe modeling, and financial modeling where relevant.

• Guide the development of high-quality outputs, including reports, frameworks, convenings, and pilot projects.

External Engagement & Partnerships

• Serve as a senior external representative of RMI with insurance executives, regulators, investors, philanthropic partners, and global institutions.

• Leverage and expand a strong external network across insurers, reinsurers, brokers, regulators, and allied adaptation and resilience organizations.

• Drive fundraising and partner development, including shaping proposals and stewarding strategic relationships.

• Represent RMI at industry forums, conferences, and private convenings.

People Leadership & Organizational Contribution

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of staff, fostering a high-performance, collaborative culture.

• Provide clear strategic direction, coaching, and accountability across a growing portfolio of work.

• Contribute to RMI’s leadership community, supporting institutional learning, talent development, and operational excellence.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional experience, with substantial experience in the insurance industry (e.g., carrier, reinsurer, broker, risk advisory, or related ecosystem).

• Demonstrated expertise in natural catastrophe risk, pre-disaster risk mitigation, and the role of insurance in managing and transferring risk.

• Strong understanding of insurance regulation and supervisory environments, particularly in the U.S., with exposure to global regulatory contexts preferred.

• Proven experience operating at a strategic and senior level, including representing an organization externally.

• Solid people management experience, including leading teams and complex work streams.

• Ability to bridge technical analysis and senior-level decision-making across diverse stakeholders.

• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to explain complex concepts clearly and credibly to executive audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in economics, finance, business, engineering, or a related field.

• Experience with risk engineering, catastrophe or physical risk analysis, and/or financial modeling.

• Familiarity with global insurance markets, including reinsurance and international regulatory frameworks.

• Experience working across sectors (insurance, finance, policy, technology) to drive system-level change.

Why This Role Matters

Insurance sits at the front line of climate and weather-related risk—and at a critical leverage point for resilience. This role offers the opportunity to shape how insurance markets evolve in the face of escalating physical risks, and to help redirect capital, incentives, and innovation toward solutions that protect communities and economies.

Location

We are a remote-ready company with team members around the globe. Our beautiful and welcoming offices are available for meetings or focused work, whether you are traveling through or living nearby. Our U.S. offices are in New York City; Washington DC; Oakland, California; Boulder, Colorado, and Basalt, Colorado. This role can be located from anywhere in the continental United States.

We provide you with the essential IT equipment plus a one-time home technology payment and a monthly work from home/commuter allowance to ensure you have a comfortable home office set up and necessary supplies.

We love seeing each other in person! We occasionally gather for shared time together like retreats and learning experiences. Be ready to travel for occasional in-person meetings (and of course, we cover travel costs). Some roles may require more travel, which will be discussed during the hiring process.

Compensation

At RMI, we prioritize fairness in our pay practices. Salaries are determined based on a mix of experience, market benchmarks, and internal equity across similar roles. The salary range of this position is $139,000-$172,000. New hires typically start toward the lower end of the range, depending on experience and alignment with the role’s scope. In addition to base salary, this position includes an annual bonus target of 20% and eligibility for merit-based increases, which are tied to both individual and organizational performance.

Benefits

We offer an array of benefits including:

• Medical, dental, vision insurance

• 403b retirement match with immediate vesting

• Group life, AD&D, and short- and long-term disability

• Optional voluntary life, AD&D and accident plans

• Health savings or flexible spending accounts

• Fertility and hormonal health support

• Mental health and wellness support

• Comprehensive leaves of absence (including generous parental leave)

• Generous paid time off and sick leave

• Paid sabbatical leave

• Regional holidays with at least one extended break in each geography

• Work from home and home technology allowances

• Learning & development opportunities (LinkedIn Learning and an annual individual professional development budget)

• Potential for bonuses and merit increases

• Discount marketplace (gym memberships, pet insurance, etc.)

• Hybrid / remote work options

• Team retreats and geographic meetups

• Rewards and recognition programs

Diversity

We know that the diversity of our teams makes us stronger as an organization, and RMI is dedicated to the principles of equal employment opportunity as outlined in U.S. federal law. We prohibit discrimination against applicants, interns, and employees on the basis of any legally recognized basis, including but not limited to: age (40 and over), race, color, sex, pregnancy (including lactation, childbirth, or related medical conditions), religion, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information (including testing and characteristics), sexual orientation, gender expression/identity, uniformed service member status, veteran status, citizenship status, or any other applicable status protected by applicable law.