Environment Florida State Director

Environment Florida is a citizen-based environmental advocacy organization and a project of Environment America. We believe there’s something special about Florida — something worth protecting and preserving for future generations. Whether it’s exploring the Everglades, snorkeling in the coral reefs of the Florida Keys, or walking along the coastline, Florida’s natural wonders enrich our lives in countless ways.

And yet it’s no secret that the earth is in trouble. For too long, our society has degraded the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink, diminished the wildlife and wild places we love, and destabilized the climate we need to survive. Despite the challenges, Environment Florida and our national network keep finding multiple ways to make a positive difference for the planet. We’ve won campaigns to ban offshore oil drilling, reduce the use of single-use plastics, and expand clean energy in Florida. But there is still more to be done.

We are currently recruiting a State Director to run our state-based programs. Environment Florida is a policy and action group with thousands of supporters across the state. Our mission is to protect clean air, clean water and open space. As state director, you will work to protect more parks and open spaces, keep our waterways and beaches clean and safe for wildlife and humans alike, and continue to advance clean energy solutions.

Environment America

Environment America is a national network of 29 state environmental groups with one mission — to change our country and our world to be a greener, healthier place. We have more than 2 million members and supporters spread across all 50 states. We promote national, state and local policies that put the earth first. For example, we’ve won policies that have resulted in more solar and wind power in 25 states, passage of the 2020 Great America Outdoors Act, America’s most sweeping conservation law in decades, and better protections for our rivers, streams, lakes and drinking water.

In every campaign we run, we put the earth first. Nothing else matters if we don’t have a healthy planet. Restoring and protecting the environment is our only mission. We also know that lasting progress for the planet comes one challenging step at a time. We have a bold vision of a greener world. But we know that making a difference often requires compromise. We also know that, to make progress sustainable, we need to reach out to everybody, not just the people who already agree with us. We recruit supporters from every state we can — whether it’s considered “red,” “blue” or “purple.” We work with any elected official — Democrat or Republican — who wants to protect our environment. And we do whatever we think will turn public opinion and political momentum toward a greener, healthier world. To make progress sustainable, we reach out to everybody, not just the people who already agree with us.

Job Description

The State Director is responsible for developing our strategy, approach and local message to win our campaigns in a specific state. The State Director will also meet with local decision-makers and opinion leaders and represent our organization to allies and the media. State Directors help to build and foster our membership, grassroots and online base of support. Finally, the State Director will help recruit staff and volunteers to join us, fundraise for our programs, and maintain good systems for tracking and building on our work.

Responsibilities

Program: Run our in-state program, participating in and overseeing policy development, research and messaging.

Advocacy & coalition building: Bring problems and solutions to the attention of decision-makers—including state legislators, people on the governor’s staff, state regulators and local officials. Develop appropriate messages and materials for making the case to decision-makers. Build relationships with key players in the state, the region and at the federal level. Identify, reach out and work with partners who can help us win our campaigns.

Campaign strategy: Develop plans to win on our environmental or public interest campaigns. Assess opportunities for building political support for our agenda through coalition-building, grassroots organizing, media coverage, endorsements and message development.

Communications: Serve as the public spokesperson for our environmental campaigns through media events, press releases, editorial board meetings and other outreach with a goal of building name recognition for the organization, educating the public about our issues, and building and demonstrating support for our positions.

Fundraising: Write grant proposals, build relationships with foundation staff and meet with large donors, all to bring more resources to campaigns we're waging to protect our environment. Work with our citizen outreach staff to build and develop our membership base.

Staff recruitment and development: Recruit new staff and volunteers to increase our impact and build our power.

Qualifications

Candidates must have at least three years of relevant professional experience, show excellent judgment and discretion, and have the ability to oversee significant projects. Qualified candidates will have a demonstrated commitment to environmental and public interest issues, to citizen-based social change, as well as a track record of leadership. We're looking for goal-driven and results-oriented individuals who have excellent verbal, writing and analytical skills, the ability to speak persuasively in a charged atmosphere, and enthusiasm for the work.

The ideal candidate will have experience in state-level political advocacy and organizing, a proven ability to recruit, train and develop staff, the ability to raise money, and demonstrated success in building relationships with the full spectrum of environmental and political stakeholders.