PennEnvironment is looking for a campaign organizer to drive our efforts to protect the environment in Western Pennsylvania. This person will work with PennEnvironment’s Deputy Director and state program team to coordinate our media efforts, build strong coalitions, and drive grassroots engagement to clean up the Toxic Ten (some of the worst polluters in the area), get the lead out of drinking water, and end fracking.

Western Pennsylvania is at a crossroads on critical environmental issues from fracking to climate change. In the last few years, our educational reports have revealed that Pittsburgh has the worst soot pollution east of the Mississippi, which means that for nearly half of the year it is unsafe to breathe. And on top of that, we’ve found lead in school drinking water that puts the health of our children at risk.

Our advocacy and organizing has helped clean up Cheswick Power Plant, one of the “Toxic Ten” Allegheny County polluters. We helped launch a statewide network of public health experts who have been taking on the fracking industry. And, our lawsuits are taking on the local illegal polluters, including the world’s largest steel company.

But there is more work to do. We can transform Western Pennsylvania into a 21st century clean energy leader that shows the world that even in the home of coal, wind can power our homes and sun can power our businesses. We can slash pollution at the Toxic Ten to ensure there isn’t even a single day where it is unhealthy to breathe. And, we can protect the natural legacy that surrounds us, from the Three Rivers to Ohiopyle.

That’s your job as PennEnvironment’s Western Pennsylvania Organizer.

Responsibilities

• Build powerful coalitions: You’ll reach out to small businesses, farmers, public health officials, unions, and others to demonstrate broad-based support for our policy goals.
• Generate traditional media and social media attention: From organizing news conferences, to writing opinion pieces, to maintaining a presence on Facebook and Twitter for your campaigns - you’ll work to shine a spotlight on our issues.
• Run grassroots campaigns: Work with PennEnvironment’s 18,000-person strong activist network in Southwestern Pennsylvania to demonstrate strong citizen support for protecting our environment. In the summer, you’ll direct citizen outreach offices, where you’ll hire and manage a staff of 20 canvassers, raise money, build our membership and help win one of our key campaigns.
• Lobby elected officials: You may discuss strategy with a champion in Congress, or make a convincing case to a legislator who is undecided on a particular vote. You’ll work the “inside game” to complement our outside field operation, where most of our power is derived.
• Research and write reports: From cataloging and analyzing sources of carbon pollution in the United States, to detailing the success of the Clean Water Act, our reports help us to influence public debate and earn media attention for our cause.
• Identify and cultivate donors: You’ll reach out to foundations and major donors and ask them to fund our work to fight global warming, ban fracking and protect our most spectacular natural areas.

Qualifications

We’re seeking candidates committed to fighting for a green future. We look for smarts, leadership experience, top-notch written and verbal skills, and an eagerness to learn. We value organizing experience, including starting and/or building groups.

Beyond your first two years

After two years as an PennEnvironment Campaign Organizer, you’ll have learned the ropes, gained invaluable hands-on experience, and made a real difference for the environment. You’ll have skills and experience that will set you apart from most other new organizers. And you’ll be ready to take on even more responsibility at Environment America, as a program director or a state director for one of our affiliates.