California Solar Specialist

Job Purpose
The California Solar Specialist (Specialist) advances and leads AFT's Smart Solar℠ and agrivoltaics work in California. In this catalytic role, the Specialist combines deep subject matter expertise with partnership development and farmer-facing outreach that moves the program from research, demonstration and policy development to on the ground adoption. The role serves as AFT's primary presence in elevating Smart Solar and agrivoltaics pathways in California, building relationships with farmers and ranchers, solar developers, agency partners, universities, research centers, and agricultural organizations. Reporting to the National Smart Solar Director and closely involved with the California Regional Program, the Specialist will have an instrumental role in shaping the tools, resources, and multi-year agenda for AFT’s California and national Smart Solar programs. 

Position Summary
The Specialist possesses and applies cross-sector expertise in solar, agriculture, energy and farm policy, and partnership development to establish a foundation for agrivoltaics in the nation’s leading state for both agricultural and solar energy production. The Specialist will be AFT’s lead in educating stakeholders about agriculturally compatible solar, working with the AFT California and national Smart Solar program to develop, disseminate and refine farmer-facing resources, research products, and technical assistance delivery systems. The work will be multi-faceted, including research and demonstration project coordination, technical assistance design, policy analysis, and support in convening a growing statewide coalition supporting agrivoltaics across California.

The Specialist is part of the national Smart Solar team, working extensively with the California regional program.  As well the Specialist will work across several other Divisions including Farmer and Rancher Services (FRS), Policy, Communications, Development and Finance. The Specialist will also work closely with external partners including farmers and ranchers, landowners, service providers, researchers, solar developers, and policymakers. The Specialist role requires creativity and a highly strategic approach to problem solving, relationship management and external communications, and will demonstrate a high level of poise, professionalism and accountability with responsibilities to engage and support AFT regional program, funders, corporate partners, and service providers. The role does not involve direct supervisory authority but manages numerous relationships with vendors and external contractors.

Duties and Responsibilities
Technical resources and research delivery (30%)

• Develop and adapt the research and learning agenda, the technical assistance delivery model, and the analytical products that California agrivoltaics work depends on, refining methods as field conditions and the project portfolio change.
• Function as the senior subject matter expert on agrivoltaics for AFT, synthesizing complex technical, agronomic, and energy data into feasibility analysis, case studies, and the California Smart Solar and Agrivoltaics Roadmap.
• Design and run the farmer survey on agrivoltaics interest and barriers, including instrument design, analysis, and dissemination of findings through events and webinars.
• Plan and deliver the agrivoltaics site visit series, the regional webinar series, the train-the-trainer series for service providers, and the explainer video sets, building these into repeatable systems other staff can run.
• Lead the technical content of the financing roadmap and catalyst fund concept in coordination with Finance and impact funders.
• Coalition, partnerships, and communications (30%)
• Serve as a primary technical point of contact for Smart Solar in California, building and stewarding relationships with farmers, researchers, developers, funders, and policymakers.
• Convene and expand the California Agrivoltaics Working Group, organize regional stakeholder roundtables and policy leader roundtables, and convene the statewide agriculture–clean energy forum.
• Represent AFT on external technical advisory committees, contribute to proposal development, and serve as Smart Solar lead at conferences, webinars, and presentations supporting regional programs and national initiatives.
• Develop technical communications, including white papers, factsheets, blog posts, recorded presentations, and farmer-facing resources, in coordination with the Communications and Farmland Information Center (FIC) teams.
• Coordinate web and social media content for the program with Communications, third-party designers, and content experts (LinkedIn, Instagram).

Policy analysis and program development (15%)

• Draft the agrivoltaics policy white paper and provide technical input into policy positions, identifying barriers across technical, financial, and regulatory dimensions and proposing solutions.
• Assess and advance new programmatic and operational initiatives that move California agrivoltaics from foundation to scale, identifying innovative solutions to problems without clear precedent.
• Support cross-AFT coordination with Policy, Climate, and FRS teams, identifying timelines and process improvements that keep a growing program efficient.

Data, analysis, and knowledge management (15%)

• Lead project-level data analysis and research, including literature review, survey results, agricultural management data, crop yield, and economic data.
• Develop and maintain project tracking systems and manage technical files, datasets, and resources across formats.
• Maintain the Smart Solar photo and video inventory for use in publications.

Project, administrative, and contract support (10%)

• Support and as appropriate lead on funding proposals to funders to build financial resources for Smart Solar in California, including assistance in cultivation of individual, foundation and corporate partnership support for AFT.
• Work with program and project management teams to ensure timely submittal of contracts, agreements and invoices and to adhere to project timelines and deliverables.
• Track contracted deliverables with project management team and finance department, including contracts moving through AFT's internal approval process and invoice submissions.
• Collect and submit monthly and quarterly reports from the Smart Solar team, and contribute to Board quarterly reports and AFT annual reports.
• Support meeting management, travel logistics, agenda setting, note-taking, and action item tracking with the Director.

This is not necessarily an all-inclusive list of job-related responsibilities. Management reserves the right to revise the job or to request other or different duties be performed as assigned.