The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is the nation’s most effective environmental action organization. We use law, science and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet’s wildlife and wild places and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our staff helped write some of America’s bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act, and many of the implementing regulations; our water enforcement cases played a major role shaping current water policy throughout the country. Today, our staff of more than 500 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy and communications experts, and others, work out of offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Bozeman, Montana, and Beijing.

Position Summary:

NRDC is seeking a City Advisor to work with the City of Seattle as part of the American Cities Climate Challenge (ACCC). The American Cities Climate Challenge is an unprecedented opportunity for 20 ambitious cities to significantly deepen and accelerate their efforts to tackle climate change and promote a sustainable future for their residents. The City Advisor will work with city officials to develop and execute a robust communications and public engagement strategy to reduce carbon emissions through transportation policies and programs with potential to work on buildings policies and programs. The City Advisor will be part of a network of similar positions located in cities across the country to support these building, energy, and transportation initiatives and will therefore be engaged at the local, regional, and national levels to advance the city’s goals. The position will interface with key influencers and decision-makers within city government, the real estate and/or transportation sector, utilities, industry, and other organizations in the community. Outreach to communities of color and other stakeholders often underrepresented in civic forums will also be a special focus of this position.

This position will be based in Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE), an executive office of Mayor Jenny A. Durkan, which designs, coordinates, and pilots leading-edge policies and programs to achieve Seattle’s ambitious environmental goals. OSE has a strong commitment to advancing racial equity by connecting issues of race and social justice with issues of environment and public health. The successful candidate will share this commitment.

This position will be located in Seattle, WA.

This is a limited term role through 12/31/2020

Learn more about the ACCC at:https://www.bloomberg.org/program/environment/climatechallenge/

• Strategic Communications:
  • Develop and lead implementation of communications strategy to engage the Seattle public and major stakeholders on priority climate issues, especially transportation-related issues;
  • Execute plan to better utilize digital platforms to reach and engage our residents;
  • Develop a range of communications materials – print, video, web, etc.
    – to highlight where Seattle has had success in reducing emissions to educate and inspire other cities to take similar actions;
  • Develop a comprehensive climate narrative for residents, media and stakeholders to understand the vast body of work the City is doing and where our major gap areas are. Create an online tool to track performance toward our goals and hold the City accountable;
  • Work with national partners to develop a broad distribution plan, including non-traditional ways to engage our own residents in the positive story of Seattle’s climate work and areas where we need to make more progress;
  • Represent Seattle’s climate work to diverse stakeholders including media;
• Stakeholder Engagement:
  • Working with colleagues, develop a two-year engagement strategy to better represent Seattle residents and stakeholders on climate issues, with a focus on frontline communities that are often underrepresented in civic conversations;
  • Develop an engagement strategy that reaches varied populations and interests, including major employers, small businesses, and employees;
  • Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders internal to city government as well as partners in the private, nonprofit and philanthropy sectors;
• Advance racial equity:
  • Apply Seattle’s Race and Social Justice Initiative to ensure all aspects of the Seattle’s climate efforts contribute to undoing systemic racism;
  • Work with community partners to amplify their stories of environmental justice and build support and capacity for their programs.

• Challenge Participation: Actively participate in the ACCC network of cities. This includes joining regularly scheduled calls, participating in online trainings, and attending in-person convenings.

• Experience developing and implementing strategic communications plans on social or civic issues;
• Experience utilizing social media and other technology platforms to both share and receive information about social issues;
• Knowledge of best practices of communicating about climate change, including experience with message development;
• Demonstrated ability to have and hold authentic relationships with communities of color and work in diverse teams;
• Excellent writing skills, strong verbal communication, and confident public speaker who is able to translate technical information for non-technical audiences;

• Experience working at the city level preferred;
• Exceptional strategic thinking, analytical, and interpersonal skills;
• Experience managing projects in a team setting, including developing project plans and managing timelines;

• Fiercely motivated by the urgency of climate action while still bringing positivity, hope and a sense of humor to your work.

NRDC is committed to workplace diversity and inclusion. We are equal opportunity employers and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity and expression, marital status, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a pleasant working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and commensurate with experience. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for positions based in San Francisco, CA we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

To apply, please visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your resume and cover letter through our online portal.  We would like you to upload any additional papers or project work that you think would showcase your abilities. Please no phone calls, emails, faxes or in-person resume drop-offs. Please reference where you saw this posting. NRDC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

If you are having technical difficulty while applying, please reach out to Customer Care by dialing 1-800-889-4422.

For further information about NRDC, please visit www.nrdc.org