Executive Director, Environmental Action – Washington DC/Boston, MA/Denver, CO

Posted on: May 16, 2011

Organization: Environmental Action

Location: Washington DC

Location: Boston, MA

Location: Denver, CO

Salary: commensurate with experience

Post of: Executive Director

Environmental Action is seeking an Executive Director to manage and expand Environmental Action.

Mission and Background: Environmental Action was one of the key players in the environmental victories of the 1970s – passage of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, NEPA, and more. Dormant for several decades, the organization has re-launched with a new approach: to call for the real changes we need to make in order to save the planet – not just for what is politically doable today. Our mission is to enlarge the frame of debate about the environment by articulating the hard choices our society needs to make, demanding meaningful action from leaders and polluters, and ultimately making substantial change a political reality. Over time, we aim to build a constituency that can, as the hard core of the conservative right has done over the last 40 years, redefine the politics of the country. As we’ve seen setbacks on global warming, especially at the federal level, the time is ripe for Environmental Action to fulfill its mission through winning the hearts and minds of Americans and making real global warming solutions a reality.

Priorities and Strategies:

• One of the most important ways for Environmental Action to execute its mission is to enlarge the frame of the debate. Environmental Action will prioritize communications – reaching as many people as possible and educating them about the problems and solutions. Further, to win the support of the American people on issues like global warming, Environmental Action needs to organize the media, celebrities, and other opinion leaders.
• Another key strategy will be developing new program areas. Environmental Action will need to meet people where they are at, and then cultivate a deeper awareness, understanding of , participation in solving our biggest environmental challenges.
• Environmental Action will pursue close synergy between online and offline organizing. Online organizing is essential for reaching broad swathes of the public and sparking interest. But offline organizing is the only way to build the true grassroots power environmentalists need.
• The fourth strategy will be to utilize all channels of interest to engage and organize the public. Environmental Action will connect with people interested in changing their lifestyle, old-school environmentalists, and radical activists and look to meld these groups into one powerful organization that effectively advocates for needed solutions to environmental problems.

Job Description: The Executive Director position has been unstaffed to date. Environmental Action staff have built an active email membership and developed a strong base of small donors. Our staff have also contributed their organizing and policy expertise to several important environmental and electoral campaigns. The Executive Director will be charged with developing and executing a strategic plan to staff up Environmental Action and upgrade and expand Environmental Action’s programmatic work.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop a 3-Year Strategic plan for Environmental Action in consultation with experts at the Public Interest Network.
• Hire, train, and oversee a core staff, including a Program Director, Communications Director, and Field Director, and field organizers.
• Develop program areas and campaigns, with a specific emphasis on global warming. Campaigns should build power in the long-term while achieving victories in the short-term.
• Expand Environmental Action’s citizen outreach program, particularly by launching a face-to-face canvass operation and expanding Environmental Action’s already strong online program.
• As Environmental Action’s track record and staffing grow, the Executive Director will be responsible for raising money from foundations and large donors and building Environmental Action’s access with key coalition partners and environmentalists.

Qualifications: We are looking for candidates who have 5+ years of experience in organizing or advocacy and staff management. Candidates must have a demonstrated commitment to nonprofit and political work, with an enthusiasm for Environmental Action’s mission and a commitment to grassroots social change. Applicants must have experience organizing; online organizing experience is a plus but is not required. Top applicants should be excellent writers with experience writing to diverse audiences. Candidates must be ready for a challenge and ready to build Environmental Action into a major, national environmental organization, and they must have the vision to see the path for getting there.

Applicants should have excellent verbal communication, analytical and planning skills. They should have the ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously. An outstanding work ethic and an entrepreneurial mindset are expected.

Locations, Salary & Benefits: Boston, Denver, Washington, DC (though other locations in major cities will be considered). Salary is commensurate with experience. Generous benefits package.

HOW TO APPLY

Send resume and cover letter to Tiffany Isaacs, [email protected]. No phone calls please.

Please also be sure to include where you saw our position advertised!

The Public Interest Network: Environmental Action works closely with the Public Interest Network, a family of 13 organizations working for social change throughout the United States. Though Environmental Action is not a member of the Public Interest Network, Environmental Action shares many of the values of member groups, including a model for organizational success that emphasizes goal-setting, accountability, and sustainable expansion. Environmental Action takes seriously the mission of identifying, recruiting and training the next generation of leadership for the public interest movement, and it works with the Public Interest Network when new opportunities or challenges arise to share resources, ideas and technical expertise.