Washington Conservation Action (WCA) is seeking a strategic, people-oriented Climate and Clean Air Manager to advance equitable and effective action on climate and air quality in Washington State. The Climate and Clean Air Manager will execute impactful issue-based campaigns and coordinate with diverse partners on strategies to achieve priorities.

Current Climate Program priorities include:

• supporting strong implementation of Washington’s climate laws, while defending them from political and legal challenges;
• advocating for responsible development of clean energy resources;
• championing equitable decarbonization of residential and commercial buildings; and
• organizing to ensure that new energy projects are responsible, protect public health, and address historic harms.

The Climate and Clean Air Manager will focus on helping develop the Climate team’s air quality advocacy, including:

• working in coalition to identify effective strategies to reduce major sources of air pollution that harm human health and the environment and contribute to climate change;
• advocating to improve air quality in communities highly impacted by air pollution, at both the state and local levels; and
• helping advance our climate laws and policies to address inequalities in pollution burden, economic opportunity, and the impacts of a changing climate.

This position involves an evolving body of work, with a core focus on advocating for racial and environmental justice across our state’s climate and air quality policy landscape and building power with impacted communities and coalition partners. This position is supervised by WCA’s Climate and Clean Energy Director.

Washington Conservation Action is a statewide environmental advocacy organization that advances environmental policies and pushes for actions that equitably address climate pollution, restore Puget Sound, sustain our state’s forests, and protect our democracy. For Washington to remain a national leader on environmental issues, we need environmental champions in elected office and to hold our leaders accountable. To keep our environment protected, healthy, and vibrant, we are committed to supporting Native candidates, candidates of color, and environmental leaders seeking election.

In January 2023, Washington Conservation Voters and Washington Environmental council unified under a shared brand—Washington Conservation Action. This evolution as organizations builds on over 50 years of work and history of bringing people together to solve Washington’s most critical environmental issues. We develop, advocate, and defend policies that ensure environmental progress and justice by centering and amplifying the voices of the most impacted communities. Washington Conservation Action is a 501(c4) organization. Washington Conservation Action Education Fund is our 501(c3) partner organization. Together, we advance a shared a vision for a Washington state where nature and people live in balance for the flourishing of all.

Washington Conservation Action is based in downtown Seattle. Most of our team of nearly 50 work in a flexible hybrid model with staff in the office typically two days a week (or 40% of the time over the course of a month on average) for collaboration and celebration. The remainder of our staff are considered fully remote, since they live outside the greater Puget Sound area but within Washington. All staff members have access to tools and systems to support work from home, whether hybrid or remote. We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and the opportunity to make a difference. We are committed to a diverse, socially just, and welcoming work environment. People of color, people with varying abilities, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are especially encouraged to apply. We continue to advance the application of a racial equity lens to our work and are led by a CEO who is a citizen of the Confederated Tribes Warm Springs, Oregon.

Responsibilities

This position will work as a member of the Climate Program, and with diverse partners and coalitions, to advance our goals across sector-specific campaigns, state legislative advocacy, strategic litigation, and policy implementation at state, regional, and local agencies. This is a dynamic position, and responsibilities will develop and change over time.

Policy and Campaign Advancement

• Grow and deepen relationships within and beyond the environmental community, including with community-based organizations, labor unions, business groups, and state and local agencies.
• Advance policy solutions for air quality improvement in Washington, particularly in communities most impacted by air pollution.
• Advocate in rulemakings and other processes to equitably and effectively implement laws and policies that impact climate and air quality.
• Execute strategic campaigns, rooted in racial and environmental justice and respect for Tribal sovereignty, to advance programmatic and organizational goals.
• Support involvement in litigation as needed.

Cross Team Collaboration

• Identify areas of mutual interest and collaboration across WCA’s areas of work and proactively collaborate with staff across programs.
• Collaborate with Communications staff to develop calls to action, email alerts, press releases, outreach materials, content for member publications, etc. to engage external audiences.
• Work closely with WCA’s Tribal Nations program to develop relationships with leaders and staff of Tribal Nations.
• Collaborate with Government Affairs and Political staff to directly engage elected officials and candidates for office.
• Coordinate with Field team to connect members and activists with priority policy campaigns, including public hearing attendance, legislative lobby days, phone and text banking, etc.

Program Support

• Help shape WCA’s organizational culture in our unionized workplace, working to center anti-racist practice and advance racial equity goals, foster a positive and inclusive work environment, and support colleagues across programs to advance our organizational mission.
• Support Development staff with organizational fundraising, including development of grant applications, meetings with funders, and assisting with fundraising events as needed.

Learning & Evaluation

• Maintain a practice of continuous learning across all areas of work and practice. Participate in ongoing professional development, racial equity organizational committees, and other opportunities to build knowledge and skills.
• Sustain a commitment to continuous learning in a rapidly changing field. Seek out knowledge to deepen understanding on climate and air quality-related issues. As new issues emerge, seek and center ongoing input from impacted communities to integrate perspectives on historical, contemporary, and potential future impacts of pollution into our policy work.
• Contribute to the team’s ongoing evaluation of bodies of work and revise strategy as needed based on changing political conditions, access to resources, and/or emergent opportunities.
• Share program successes and lessons learned within WCA and with partners.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• A commitment to an ongoing anti-racist learning journey, both personally and professionally, and a strong desire to be a productive member of a team that is deeply engaged in the work of building power with Black, Brown, and Indigenous people.
• A minimum of two years of experience in legislative, policy, and/or sector-specific advocacy.
• Enthusiasm for WCA’s mission to advocate for environmental progress and justice through actions that mobilize the public, elect champions for the environment, and hold our leaders accountable.
• A heartfelt connection to the natural beauty, abundance, and diversity of the Pacific Northwest: its people, cultures, and environments.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including adeptness at navigating conflicts and high stress environments.
• Demonstrated experience working collaboratively with people from different backgrounds, interests, and approaches.
• Strong written communication skills in order to prepare effective comment letters, public testimony, reports, correspondence, etc. Ability to make complex, specialized policy issues understandable and accessible for a variety of audiences, including supporters, volunteers, funders, partners, etc.
• Ability to read and understand complex laws, regulations, reports, and other policy documents. Skilled at analyzing policies to identify key issues and priorities for advocacy.
• Proficiency and/or ability to learn and utilize a variety of computer applications (e.g., Microsoft Office, Google suite, Zoom, Salesforce, Box, Asana).
• Excellent organizational skills, keen attention to detail, and good judgment.
• Capacity to work effectively both independently and within a team in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Demonstrated ability to identify connections between efforts and/or groups that can help maximize impact.

Desirable Skills & Qualifications

• Familiarity with political dynamics and climate policy in Washington State.
• Familiarity with air quality policy and advocacy.
• Experience engaging with Tribal Nations.
• Experience working in local, state, federal, or Tribal government, and/or grassroots community organizing, and/or electoral campaigns.

Location Information

This position is hybrid (minimum of 40% in the Seattle office) or fully remote (for those located within Washington State, but outside of mass transit options to our Seattle office). This job will involve occasional travel (under 15%) to in-person meetings and staff gatherings at the discretion of the supervisor. Travel costs are reimbursed by the organization.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

This job requires frequent sitting. Must be able to conduct business in English, though fluency in other languages is welcomed. For remote work, employees must maintain a workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work during scheduled work hours. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with different abilities to perform functions essential to the duties of the position. Washington Conservation Action and Washington Conservation Action Education Fund is a unionized employer represented by Communications Workers of America Local 7800. This is a represented position.

COVID-19

The organization follows all requirements of local health authorities. We work in a hybrid remote work model with staff working from home in addition to in-office time for collaboration and celebration. We maintain safety protocols while in our office. All staff who come to the office must be fully immunized against COVID-19.

WCAEF and WCA are equal opportunity employers committed to dismantling structural racism and creating a welcoming work environment. WCAEF and WCA do not discriminate on the basis of age, race, gender, religion, marital status, veteran’s status, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation. People of color, people with disabilities, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are especially encouraged to apply.