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10 May 2022

Full-Time Transportation Electrification Attorney

Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) – Posted by hoverstreet Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

Job Description

Overview:

The Southern Environmental Law Center is accepting applications for a Transportation Electrification Attorney in our Charlottesville, VA office. The start date is as soon as possible.

This is an excellent opportunity to be part of an organization that is successfully addressing some of the most important and challenging transportation, energy and environmental issues in the South and the nation.

This attorney will develop, coordinate, and play the lead role in implementing an advocacy strategy to equitably achieve the greatest climate benefit possible from the growth in vehicle electrification in the six states in SELC’s region, with a particular focus on Virginia. This position is open to practicing attorneys with four or more years of experience.

About the position:

The primary goal of SELC’s Clean Energy & Air program is to bend down the arc of greenhouse gas emissions in the South’s electric power sector while ensuring that the new clean energy economy will relieve, not reproduce, the environmental and financial disparities of the old one. Our Land & Community program works to advance transportation electrification as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce tailpipe pollution—the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions nationwide—while increasing mobility equity.

Increasingly, these areas of our work intersect as the push to electrify the transportation sector gathers momentum. This transition is a cornerstone of our efforts to achieve economy-wide decarbonization, but it also raises challenges, especially in states dominated by vertically integrated electric utilities. We seek an attorney who will spearhead our work to guide and implement this transition in our six states, leveraging the broad and deep experience of our Energy & Air and Land & Community teams to maximize greenhouse gas reductions from the electrification of the transportation sector while managing the increased burden on our electricity system.

This position will cover a range of venues in our region, including state and federal courts, state utilities commissions, environmental regulatory agencies, transportation agencies, and legislative bodies. But it will particularly focus on Virginia, which in recent years has passed landmark policies to advance clean energy, reduce greenhouse gas emission from the power sector, and accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. Working closely with Virginia-based attorneys, the Transportation Electrification Attorney will focus on ensuring these policies deliver on their potential, on advocating for policies to further boost the transition to electric vehicles, and on achieving this transition in an equitable manner.

Qualifications:

We are seeking a talented, multi-faceted lawyer with:

  • Excellent academic credentials.
  • At least four years of experience with transportation- or energy-related advocacy, including administrative review processes and litigation.
  • Familiarity with transportation policy or electric utility regulatory policy, preferably both.
  • Effective written and oral communication skills in both legal and non-legal settings.
  • Interpersonal skills and an ability to build productive relationships with a diverse set of clients, partners, and governmental officials and staff.
  • Organization and project management skills.
  • Experience working with technical experts for the preparation of reports or testimony.
  • Ability to identify and prioritize strategic objectives.
  • Experience managing multi-person project teams.
  • A demonstrated personal commitment to SELC’s mission, including SELC’s deep commitment to being an open, welcoming, diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization.

Job description:

SELC’s new Transportation Electrification Attorney will:

  • Develop an advocacy strategy to advance and manage transportation electrification in SELC’s region, identify priority projects, and coordinate strategy implementation with SELC staff in multiple offices and in the Land &
  • Community and Energy & Air programs.
  • Work closely with our Communications team to develop public messaging about transportation electrification initiatives, identify communications opportunities to advance SELC’s transportation electrification strategy, and coordinate communications with SELC staff in multiple offices.
  • Ensure that SELC’s transportation electrification advocacy is coordinated with the broader strategies of both the Land & Community and Energy & Air energy programs, working with the leaders of those programs.
  • Be responsible for select transportation electrification work, including administrative comments, communications, legislation, and litigation. This work will primarily be in Virginia, but will likely include projects in other states.
  • Cultivate working relationships across the country and particularly in our region with public officials at the federal and state levels, electric power utilities, charging companies, technical experts, and partner organizations.

About SELC:

The Southern Environmental Law Center is one of the nation’s most powerful defenders of the environment, rooted in the South. With a long track record, SELC takes on the toughest environmental challenges in court, in government, and in our communities to protect our region’s air, water, climate, wildlife, lands, and people. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, the organization has a staff of 170, including 90 attorneys, and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., with offices in Asheville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Chapel Hill, Charleston, Nashville, Richmond, and Washington, D.C.

SELC works in Congress and state legislatures to inform environmental laws; in regulatory agencies to implement environmental laws and policies; and in the courts to enforce the law, stop the worst abuses, and set important precedents. The organization works collaboratively with more than 100 national, state, and local groups to enhance their efficacy and achieve common conservation goals. Additional information regarding our work and staff is available at www.southernenvironment.org.

SELC believes that a broad range of ideas, life experiences, and backgrounds enriches our workplace, drives innovative thinking, and attracts highly talented people who seek a work environment that values the unique contributions of individual team members. We are eager to welcome new team members who share this belief. We still have much progress to make, but our goal is to create and maintain a staff that, at every level, reflect the rich racial and cultural diversity of the communities where we work and the clients that we serve. SELC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and committed to fostering a transparently inclusive workplace environment. We are looking for people to join us in this effort. Persons of all backgrounds—including people of color, women, people with disabilities, veterans, and LGBTQ candidates—are strongly encouraged to apply.

Compensation:

SELC offers salaries competitive with leading national environmental non-profits and an excellent benefits package.

How to Apply

  • To apply, click here to be directed to an online application where you may upload your application materials. Applicants must submit a cover letter, resume, and one writing sample. Interested persons should apply immediately.
  • There is no deadline for applications. We intend to fill this position as soon as possible and will accept and review applications until the position is filled.

Job Categories: Environmental. Job Types: Full-Time.

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