Job Description

Location: California (Los Angeles preferred)

Context: At the Sierra Club, we believe in the power of togetherness. Together, we remain committed to the fight for a healthy climate built on a foundation of environmental, racial, economic, and gender justice – a future where all people benefit from a healthy, thriving planet and a direct connection to nature. As the climate crisis and deeply entrenched systemic racism all fuel inequity, we will continue to fight for a bold, transformational agenda that recognizes the interconnectedness between our planet, our humanity, and our democracy. By recognizing that our destinies are tied, we continue to name that all things are fundamentally connected, and the overlap between ecology, race, gender, and representative government will move to either advance our collective humanity or to oppress it.

Sierra Club is comprised of staff across the country and a network of local chapters that support our grassroots engagement. We are also proud to be a unionized employer, with two labor unions representing more than half of our employees.

The Sierra Club is seeking a strategic, collaborative, equity-driven leader who is committed to modeling the Jemez Principles and centering organizational Equity Values to lead this work.

Scope: The Associate Director oversees planning and implementation of campaigns that produce just and equitable solutions that advance Sierra Club’s climate and clean energy goals. They are responsible for the direction of all staff activities and financial resources to accomplish the goals and objectives of Energy Campaigns in California. They provide leadership and collaborate with other managers to support and maintain high functioning, leaderful teams. The Associate Director develops strategies, creates regional work plans, establishes priorities and benchmarks, evaluates campaign effectiveness and manages budgets. They ensure the successful day-to-day operational aspects of regional / statewide campaigns. They represent the Sierra Club to government officials, the media, business and community leaders, allies and other organizations, and the public. They support organizational fundraising by developing fundraising proposals and participating in fundraising activities and donor stewardship.

Job activities include but are not limited to:

1. Development and implementation of strategic regional campaigns to move the California economy to 100% clean energy within a climate justice framework. Analyzes, develops and advocates for electric, buildings, and transportation sectors policies. Presents Sierra Club positions to the general public, media, decision makers, and strategic allies. Engages key state/regional stakeholders, state/regional elected and appointed decision makers, and executives in related industries to assure advancement of Sierra Club’s priorities. Ensures strategy development and implementation occurs in consultation and collaboration with Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program, Chapters, Communications, Organizing and Digital Strategies Capacities, Political Team, Sierra Student Coalition, Sierra Club’s programs, and volunteer leadership. Partners with other national Sierra Club campaigns to successfully deliver on organizational goals at the state and regional level. Introduces creative ideas and approaches for consideration.
2. Manages Energy Campaign staff in California. Management includes recruiting and hiring for equity, diversity, and excellence, establishing priorities and assisting in work planning, preparing and conducting performance reviews, and providing mentoring, and providing on-going professional development opportunities. Supports and provides senior level professional expertise to staff. Works with campaign team to write, edit, and review educational and advocacy materials.
3. Supports Sierra Club’s power-building goals by ensuring campaign strategies and activities are designed to build a base of leaders and grow strategic partnerships. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring Sierra Club participates in strategically aligned coalitions. Works to ensure that local, regional, and national volunteers assume meaningful roles in the campaign. Supports analysis and development of goals alongside Grassroots Power Building team members.
4. Models and implements Sierra Club best practices regarding the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing, justice, equity, and inclusion. Supports, motivates and encourages broad grassroots campaign by encouraging engagement of and providing guidance, training, and information to strategic allies and Sierra Club volunteer leaders. Manages themselves and team with clear expectations while stewarding a culture of collaboration, accountability, learning, and distributed leadership that works in the best interests of the Sierra Club as a whole.
5. Supports fundraising and budget management. Works in collaboration with Advancement to plan and execute fundraising plan. Collaborates on creating grant proposals, donor solicitations and building donor relationships. Evaluates and reports on progress toward campaign goals and objectives; establishes metrics for campaign progress. Manages and monitors regional campaign resources and expenses. Provides analysis and support of budget and quarterly re-forecasts.

The successful candidate must have the following skills and experience:

• Extensive Campaign Manager Skills and Experience: Experience in the planning and implementation of regional, state or national level campaigns or a similar strategic initiative centered in equity and justice. This includes developing policy positions and related materials, planning and managing that involves cultivating and sustaining high performing teams, working with volunteers and strategic partners, developing strategy, assessing a power analysis, moving decision makers towards goals, and demonstrated effectiveness working in diverse groups and leading inclusive, collaborative processes. Candidates new to climate justice and environmental advocacy but holding strong campaign management experience in other fields beyond the environmental and climate justice are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Compassionate Staff Manager Skills and Experience: Experience managing and supporting staff to succeed in their work and develop professionally. Demonstrated ability giving and receiving feedback and mentoring individuals. Direct communication and the ability to balance professional skill development with compassionate forms of accountability. Highly developed resiliency and self-care skills. Awareness of your personal self-care needs and a track record of actively attending to them to ensure resilience and endurance are important for long term success. Track record of developing just relationships with direct reports and peers.
• Advanced equity skills and practice. Demonstrated commitment to, and an understanding of, concepts of equity, justice and inclusion in the workplace and a demonstrated ability to effectively work and collaborate across differences and identify and intervene in problematic dynamics across identity. A working knowledge and understanding of the ways implicit bias, personal identity, and power and privilege impact individuals, organizations, systems, and structures. Clear analysis of the environmental and climate movement’s connection to racial justice and vice versa.
• Highly developed written and oral communication skills, with a focus on communicating effectively across different groups of diverse stakeholders. Demonstrated ease communicating complex policies to diverse groups including staff, volunteers, funders, decision makers and external partners. Demonstrated public speaking and media presentation ability. Experience and skills managing meetings, developing clear agendas and moving a group towards equitable and time bound decisions. Ability to proactively communicate to resolve tensions within a team. Demonstrated track record of communication in a timely, respectful manner during times of conflict and stress.
• Experience effectively navigating complex organizational systems, structures and dynamics and proactively problem solving in a campaign-oriented environment. Demonstrated track record of strong organizational skills and ability to work effectively with ambiguity and change. Is a consensus builder when possible and strives for transparent and equitable, timebound processes that arrive at strategic decisions. Demonstrated ability to work under their own initiative, handle multiple assignments simultaneously, and manage projects to completion. Ability to navigate complex and layered organizational/volunteer structures and matrix management. Ability to identify and address root causes and to work within and improve opaque systems and processes. Ability to use logic, reasoning and empathy to identify alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

The strongest candidates will also demonstrate the following experience, skills and competencies:

• Climate and decarbonization policy knowledge. Familiarity with climate policies and strategies to equitably decarbonize the electric, transportation and building sectors is very helpful but experience in other areas like labor, immigration, racial justice, reproductive rights, housing or others are welcomed provided the candidate is passionate about climate justice and can demonstrate their ability to learn policy quickly and apply in a campaign environment.
• Experience at organizations or companies with unionized workforces.
• Experience fundraising and reporting of deliverables to donors.
• Experience working closely with organizers, as an organizer, or working with volunteers.
• Approaches growth and learning with humility.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $95,000, non-negotiable.

The Sierra Club offers a competitive salary package commensurate with skills and experience plus excellent benefits that include medical, dental, and vision coverage, and a retirement savings 401(k) plan.

This is a category 3 exempt, non-represented, supervisory position.

Sierra Club is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. Sierra Club employees are not eligible to participate in the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

Sierra Club values the expertise and talents of foreign nationals. Sierra Club sponsors both nonimmigrant and immigrant visas when certain criteria are met, based on immigration laws and organizational needs. Such sponsorship is at the discretion of the Department Head and Sierra Club Human Resources in consultation with the employee’s manager. The Sierra Club cannot guarantee the approval of a visa petition.

The Sierra Club is an equal opportunity employer committed to workforce diversity.

How to Apply

• Submit resume here: https://phf.tbe.taleo.net/phf01/ats/careers/v2/viewRequisition?org=SIERRACLUB&cws=39&rid=1890
• This position does not have an undergraduate education requirement. If you choose to include your education history, please remove your schools from your resume. You may leave your degree (e.g., “B.A. Philosophy”), but please remove any undergraduate and graduate school names.
• This anonymous process is aimed at opening this opportunity to more candidates, reviewing applicants on performance assessments and mitigating bias in the decision-making process.
• Lastly, we are intentionally not asking for a cover letter.
• We are accepting applications on an ongoing basis, with priority for applications received by February 1st, 2022.
• Explore, enjoy and protect the planet.

Job Categories: Climate Change. Job Types: Full-Time. Salaries: 80,000 - 100,000.

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