The campaign

From droughts and wildfires in the west to heat waves and Superstorms like Sandy in the east, extreme weather fueled by global warming is happening now and it's hitting us at home. 2015 was the hottest year on record, and in Pennsylvania, nearly 9 out of 10 people live in areas that were listed as federal disaster zones due to extreme weather between 2007 and 2013.

We know what we need to do: dramatically reduce the carbon emissions that are created when we burn fossil fuels, both by using less energy and by ensuring that all of the energy we do use comes from clean renewable sources like solar and wind.

The good news is that there's enormous momentum for action, and we're on the verge of the biggest step our country has ever taken to tackle climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized standards dramatically cutting carbon pollution from power plants. This unprecedented step forward is facing enormous opposition from the fossil fuel industry and their allies in D.C. and Harrisburg.

Pennsylvania is at the center of this fight. Nationally, Majority Leader McConnell along with major coal companies are leading the charge to rollback these climate pollution limits. And we'll need Senator Casey to stand with us to stop these attacks. Around the nation and in Pennsylvania, everyone is watching to see if Governor Wolf will implement a Clean Power Plan that transforms the 3rd largest emitter of carbon pollution the nation into a clean energy leader. But, coal companies are working with the conservatives in the legislature to interfere with this transformation.

The next 8 months will help determine the success of the Clean Power Plan, and whether Pennsylvania and the nation will be on the path to a clean energy future. PennEnvironment is expanding our efforts to mobilize and engage tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians for climate action and build the movement to tackle climate change. The stakes could not be higher, the opportunity has never been more clear, and victory will signal a historic step forward in the fight against climate change.

About the job

PennEnvironment's Climate Defender Organizers are responsible for recruiting, developing and mobilizing powerful teams of climate volunteers in critical communities across the state.

As a Climate Defender Organizer, you will work with our existing network of more than 50 team members and dozens of volunteers, and will build volunteer teams in key political areas to ensure support from local decision-makers for climate action. You and your volunteers will organize rallies, run phonebanks to generate thousands of calls, coordinate rapid response media, collect thousands of petitions and personal letters on climate change, attend lobby meetings with volunteers, run skills trainings for citizens and more. Along the way you will train dozens of volunteers to take on more leadership, organize creative events including forums and town halls, present to dozens of community groups and build political power to ensure real progress on climate change.

By the end of the campaign, you will will have built volunteer teams in key areas that can continue the fight for Pennsylvania's environment for years to come

Qualifications

We're seeking applicants who are ready to commit their time, talent and passion to advocating, organizing and recruiting new leaders to protect the environment. We look for smarts, organizing experience and an eagerness to learn. We value leadership experience of all kinds, especially organizing, grassroots outreach and building campus groups. College graduates, graduating seniors, and rising seniors are invited to apply.

Our Climate Defender Organizers will have the opportunity to apply for a career position with PennEnvironment and Environment America—the federation of state groups of which we're a part—at the end of the campaign.