State Grassroots Program Manager

Job Title: State Grassroots Program Manager
Department: North Carolina Chapter
Location: Hybrid based in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
Reports To: Chapter Director
Supervises: Field Organizer(s); summer fellows

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 volunteer leaders and 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 NC Chapter of Sierra Club supports volunteer grassroots advocacy at the state and local levels and, along with NC environmental and social justice organizations, is helping lead efforts to advance policies that protect the state’s air and water, public lands, and those suffering from the disparate impacts of climate change.

Scope: The Grassroots Program Manager is an experienced campaigner with a statewide reach. This position holds primary responsibility for the Chapter’s digital and in-person organizing functions, and coordinates with staff, volunteers, allies, and impacted communities to advance state-level conservation campaigns and build just relationships grounded in the Jemez Principles. In this role, they develop campaign plans, communicate priorities, drive execution towards concrete goals, meet benchmarks, and report on progress. They recruit, train, and mobilize volunteer activists, and are responsible for increasing the number of people engaged, mentoring new leaders, and innovating pathways to volunteer leadership within the Sierra Club. Digital organizing, including frequent use of multiple social media platforms, email marketing, virtual meeting, and other online tools is also required.

This position is also responsible for managing one or more field organizers and/or summer fellows each year.

This is a hybrid position that requires frequent in-person meetings as well as regular travel in-state and overnight. Valid driver’s license, satisfactory driving record, and proof of auto insurance is required.

 

Job activities include but are not limited to:

1. Leading: Builds a statewide program that supports sustained grassroots engagement. Coordinates with policy, government relations, communications staff, and with volunteers, to develop and execute issue campaigns. Ensures alignment with overall organizational strategy. Regularly measures and communicates progress towards program and campaign goals.
2. Organizing: Identifies, recruits, trains, and organizes grassroots volunteers to build their capacity as advocates for conservation and environmental justice issues. Helps volunteers succeed by coaching them on how to strategize, organize, inspire, and motivate. Organizes and leads educational events and outings to highlight the impacts of our issues on North Carolinians. Provides organizing support in electoral campaigns, as assigned.
3. Communicating: Uses in-person and digital organizing tactics such as events, outings, phone and text banking, canvassing, action alerts, and email marketing to accomplish campaign goals. Represents Sierra Club to the public and in the media; helps develop and execute public education and media strategies. Provides information, research, and other assistance to NC volunteer leaders, the public, and others about campaigns and conservation issues of consequence.
4. Managing: Manages grassroots volunteer engagement in issue campaigns. Onboards and supervises one or more political field organizers and summer fellows each year.
5. Building allyship: Works in coalition with new and emerging environmental and environmental justice partners, and in allyship with impacted communities, to achieve shared goals. Ensures alignment with Sierra Club’s brand, values, and policies. Centers equity, inclusion, and justice in all work.
6. Meetings and other work outside of regular business hours, including weekends and evenings is required. Heavier workloads may occur as a result of deadlines and during peak activity periods.

The successful candidate MUST demonstrate the following skills, experience and competencies:

• Compassionate Staff Manager. Experience managing, supporting, and mentoring staff to succeed in their work and develop professionally. Demonstrated ability giving and receiving feedback and mentoring individuals. Track record of developing just relationships with direct reports and peers.
• Expert in grassroots organizing, building volunteer leadership and mission-aligned partnerships
• Substantial campaign and/or project planning and management experience
• Ability to export, manipulate, and deploy the use of electronic data to inform, evaluate and advance organizing goals
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Equity Analysis and Practice. You are aware of your group identities and how they have shaped your life and experiences at work. You have an analysis of how racism and other forms of oppression in society impact relationships, systems and culture. You bring experience and skills for working effectively with colleagues across group identities and position/role

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

• Can recognize where work needs to be done and fill the gaps. Self-motivated; can work independently as well as part of a team.
• Experience in and knowledge of the legislative and administrative policy-making processes
• Knowledge in a specific issue area of the environmental field related to assigned programs and campaigns
• Knowledge, background, and relationships with communities impacted by issues related to assigned programs and campaigns; familiarity with North Carolina issues a plus
• Fast learner who can quickly absorb, distill and communicate to diverse audiences new and often complex information
• Experience in the environmental, environmental justice, and/or in political campaigns
• Strong public speaker and ability to liaise with the media

Compensation and Benefits

The salary for this position is $65,000- $75,000.

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 5, exempt, non-represented, managerial, 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.

 

Click Here To Apply

Applications will be accepted via the Sierra Club website only. No applications will be accepted by email or directly from third-party posting sites. No phone calls please.

Review of candidates will continue until the position is filled.

Additional writing samples and a short presentation will be required from finalists. Reference and background checks will be conducted before a final offer is made.

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, so please do not send one in with your application.