About JTA: Founded in 1997, we are a coalition of environmental justice organizations and labor unions with a historic role in grounding the concept of just transition in the environmental justice movement and in forming the climate justice movement in the US. Together with workers and communities who live on the fencelines of polluting industries, we create healthy workplaces and communities. JTA provides organizing and educational support to workers, people of color, Indigenous, and low-income communities facing the worst impacts of climate change and toxic exposure on the local, national, and international levels. We provide thought leadership and principled practice in our work to create regenerative zero waste economies, promote healthy local food solutions, train community organizers on just transition, and democratize United Nations spaces.
Position Summary: The Policy Organizer will lead the development, outreach and implementation of JTA’s policy advocacy and civic engagement strategies. The position requires significant experience with environmental policymaking, analysis, and policy advocacy campaigns, the ability to develop intersectional strategies, and a commitment to environmental, racial, gender, and economic justice principles and practices. Applicants must have a strong ability to build relationships with integrity and humility, work independently and in collaboration with peers, forecast and plan multiple projects several months in advance, attention to detail as well as big picture political analysis, and consistent communication while working remotely. This new position will partner closely with the JTA Team to develop and implement an integrated power-building strategy for systemic change through policy interventions that are accountable to and aligned with grassroots organizing. The Policy Director will participate in the Environmental Justice Communities Against Plastics coalition and guide JTA’s strategy for engaging in state, federal and international policy arenas (such as the UNFCCC, UNEP, UNFAO). We prefer applicants with experience in environmental justice and labor movement advocacy.
Responsibilities include:
1. Lead JTA’s policy development
- Serve as JTA’s primary coordinator of our policy program, working closely with other members of the JTA team to develop JTA’s policy strategies, goals and program.
- Coordinate with policy leads at other allied organizations.
- Lead policy analyses of regulatory and legislative proposals, developing emergent strategies, in coordination with JTA team and key allies.
- Guide development of activities to advance policy goals, including developing reports; identifying needed research, creating power roadmaps, and helping the team plan critical pathways for building power, alignment and influence.
- Coordinate JTA team to weave connections across different programs, including projects, campaigns, and policy initiatives, to align emergent policy strategies with priorities with organizational goals and mission.
- Advise the Executive Director and the JTA team on all policy matters, including long-term strategy, growth, opportunities for policy interventions.
- Provide policy-related information for communications purposes where required, i.e. policy briefs and analysis of policy changes for JTA newsletter, social media and other publications, and action alerts.
- Develop talking points on policy for JTA.
2. Represent JTA externally in policy relationships
- Represent JTA in local, state, and federal policy spaces, including key meetings with legislature, executive branch, and regulatory agencies, as necessary.
- Represent JTA externally, cultivating relationships with a variety of decision makers and stakeholders including, but not limited to, environmental, labor, social justice, and feminist organizations, elected officials, unions, media, funders, and key political tables.
- Participate in meetings and networks to advance policy and civic engagement goals.
- Assert environmental justice principles and practices as necessary while in conversation with mainstream environmental and labor allies.
3. Participate in JTA team
- Provide timely response on all team communications (email, phone, texts, messaging apps).
- Attend staff meetings as necessary.
- Provide regular updates of their work during weekly check-ins with ED and team.
- Participate in and support preparation for events as necessary.
- Contribute to quarterly newsletter and blog posts.
- Comply with JTA remote working procedures (calendaring, availability online, response time to communications, receipts, etc.).
Required Qualifications:
- Minimum of 3 years experience in environmental and economic justice policy advocacy, advancing grassroots organizing strategies at local state, federal and/or international policy spaces, preferably with environmental justice and/or labor movement groups.
- Background in relevant local, state, federal and international policy initiatives.
- Strong understanding of the links between workers, climate, energy, plastics, waste, toxics, and food systems.
- Experience in building alignment with coalitions, networks and alliances, preferably with environmental and economic justice movement formations.
- Strong research and written communication skills, with ability to write quickly and compellingly.
- Excellent interpersonal and relationship building skills with ability to engage diverse audiences.
- Understanding and analysis of the political moment and national political landscape and relation to community-based and advocacy groups.
- Familiarity with the principles, practices and protocols of environmental justice and labor movements, including Just Transition Alliance principles, feminist economy, climate justice, energy democracy; and issues of global social justice such as self-determination, decolonization and organizing solidarity economies.
- Ability to work remotely, manage multiple work tasks, maintain attention to detail and accuracy, and meet the pressure of deadlines in a fast-paced, collaborative work environment.
- Adaptive, friendly, positive attitude, solution-oriented and strong collaboration skills.
- Effective strategic planning, program evaluation and project management skills.
- Ability to support a team-oriented environment; commitment to democratic participation.
- Be available for emergent calls during traditional work hours and occasionally during evenings and weekends- to accommodate communications with allies in other parts of the world
- Willingness to travel as required and as appropriate to meet health and safety concerns.
- Willingness to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Preferred Experience
- Significant experience in building grassroots and political power through base-building, civic engagement, and movement building.
- Ability to read, write and speak other languages besides English, preferably Spanish.
- Background in relevant local, state, federal and international policy initiatives.
- Existing relationships within environmental justice, labor and mainstream environmental movement formations.
- Existing relationships with elected officials and staff at local, State, and federal offices.
- Please prepare a resume, cover letter, a sample of a policy brief that you have created from previous work, a list of previous policies that you worked on, and 3 references (please include someone who has supervised you and someone you have supervised or mentored). Send these materials to Nona Chai: nona@jtalliance.org.
