Advocate for Clean Water

Environment America seeks a skilled and savvy advocate to persuade key decision-makers to protect our rivers and our drinking water from pollution. Responsibilities include developing strategy and messaging, advocacy, coalition-building, generating media and visibility, fundraising, coordinating grassroots efforts, and helping us build our team.

Clean water is vital for our health, our ecology, and our quality of life. Yet from the lead in Flint to factory farms, we are seeing our water at risk. It’s time to hold polluters accountable and ensure that all our water is clean.

With a new administration and Congress, it will take strong public support and visibility – conveyed through persuasive advocacy - to make a compelling case for prioritizing bold action on clean water.

Environment America is a national grassroots advocacy organization tackling today’s toughest environmental problems. Working with our state affiliates and members across the country we use creative strategies, effective tactics, grit and determination to win positive change for our environment and our families’ health. That’s how we helped bring millions of people together with thousands of constituency groups, coalition partners and elected officials to restore Clean Water Act protections to thousands of waterways despite opposition from the oil and gas industry, corporate agribusiness, developers, and coal companies.

The Clean Water Advocate's Role:

  • Advocacy: Build relationships with key players on clean water at the federal level – in Congress and the next administration, and with key regional and state players. Present a compelling case for strong action on clean water to decision–makers through lobbying, testifying at hearings, providing briefings, and producing written materials.

  • Coalition building: Engage support from diverse and powerful allies and cultivate relationships with them over time.

  • Media and visibility: Earn media attention and online visibility using social media posts, as well as reports, press releases, talking points, op-eds, and letters to the editor. Build relationships with reporters and pitch stories to them. Enhance our visibility by networking at conferences, and speaking on panels.

  • Program development: Participate in policy development, engage in research, and help create winning strategies and powerful messaging for our clean water program.

  • Grassroots mobilization: Support our efforts to mobilize citizens on our campaigns by providing compelling and timely information and opportunities for action (including digital content), briefing our citizen outreach staff, and volunteers. Help determine where and how our field resources will be most effective.

  • Fundraising: Write grant proposals, build relationships with foundation staff, and meet with major donors, to bring more resources to our campaigns. Work with our citizen outreach and digital staff to build and develop a strong membership base to sustain our work.

  • Recruiting and developing interns and staff: Recruit new staff, new interns and new volunteers to increase our impact and build more power.

Qualifications

Candidates must have at least 4 years of relevant professional experience. Qualified candidates will have a demonstrated commitment to environmental issues and to citizen-based social change as well as a track record of leadership. We're looking for goal-driven and results-oriented individuals who have excellent verbal, writing and analytical skills, the ability to speak persuasively in a charged atmosphere, and enthusiasm for the work.

Pay & Benefits

Target annual compensation for this position is commensurate with the relevant professional experience and/or advanced degrees that a candidate has. Environment America offers a competitive benefits package.

Location

Washington, D.C.

To Apply

Direct your application to John Rumpler, Clean Water Program Director at Environment America.



Environment America is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, sex, disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, or veteran status.

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WITH ENVIRONMENT AMERICA

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