Grand Junction Field Organizer

Location: Grand Junction

Work Schedule: Non-exempt, Full-time

Deadline for submission: March 28, 2022

About Conservation Colorado
Conservation Colorado is committed to protecting our climate, air, lands, water, and communities. Conservation Colorado’s work to protect and advocate for the environment reflects our commitment to racial and social justice.  Particularly by ensuring that policy victories are shared by all Coloradans including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other people of color (BIPOC) communities and other frontline communities. We achieve these goals by organizing people and electing conservation-minded policymakers. We work closely with policy leaders, activists, businesses, and other organizations, and have built a reputation as one of the leading conservation advocacy organizations in the region. Within the organization, we aim to create a workplace culture of policies and practices that demonstrate how we value equity and inclusion.

What You’ll Do
As Conservation Colorado’s Grand Junction Field Organizer, you’ll be responsible for building a movement representative of the community – including Black, Indigenous and Latinx communities, and rural communities that have been traditionally left out of conservation conversations –  that is engaged and takes action to protect our environment and natural resources and provide for healthy communities. This position reports to the West Slope Field Manager and is based in Grand Junction, CO. This role can evolve over time, but you will have these areas of responsibility:

Recruit & Develop Activists

• Build our activist base in Western Colorado by engaging communities, including those who have been traditionally excluded from the environmental movement, and mobilize them to take action to pass strong conservation policy.
• Develop authentic relationships with community members ranging from individual activists and business owners to community leaders and local elected officials and through education, create a culture of advocacy and engagement on our issues. Incorporate fundraising into the day-to-day work as a skill that is essential to the continued success of the organization

Engage People to Take Action

• Work closely with the advocacy team to design and/or implement strategic and effective campaign plans that intersect with our power-building, fundraising, political, and issue-specific organizational goals so we can win strong pro-conservation policies and win at the ballot box
• Build power for our issues by elevating the voices of our activists and connecting them to decision makers to hold them accountable  
• Engage the community to take action on our campaigns and look for strategic overlap between local issues and our state and federal work.

In addition to your regular responsibilities, all staff are expected to participate in certain fundraising efforts, take part in our election-related activities, and commit to our efforts around equity & inclusivity.

Qualifications

To be successful in this job, you will be a dedicated organizer who is committed to building a movement for a better future, with the skills to build community and a willingness to learn. More specifically, you will have:

• Our work brings the people to the policy and politics, and a commitment to our theory of organizing is critical. You will need to be able to articulate an understanding of how organizing people can influence power to make change. Experience, whether through school, work in the community, or previous jobs, paid or volunteer, where you helped people understand the system and motivated them to take action, is an added benefit to success in this role.
• The ability to build and maintain authentic relationships where you inspire and teach people about our issues, particularly with people from different racial or socio-economic backgrounds. 
• As we are working to build a more racially diverse environmental movement, you need to be able to articulate an understanding of racial equity and the importance of environmental groups being involved in racial issues.
• We work in a collaborative space and so you need to be a reliable and dependable teammate who can accomplish all facets of the job, including the more day-to-day administrative tasks that might not seem as urgent, but are important for the work.
• Organizing is often about solving problems so you need the orientation to want to figure out what the problem is, ask questions when necessary, and propose a solution and then work towards the solution.

Spanish/English bilingual is recommended for this position, but not a requirement. The position requires some evening and weekend hours.

Compensation and Benefits:

The full-time salary range for this role is between $43,000 to $47,000, based on a wage analysis across the organization and new staff rarely starting at the top of the range. We provide high-quality, zero-deductible health insurance and a strong benefits package that includes a SIMPLE IRA retirement plan with a match, at least 28 days of vacation & holidays as well as 6 physical & mental wellness days in your first year, and parental leave and a sabbatical program. This job offers an opportunity to engage people to find solutions to some of the most important environmental issues in Colorado and work with a great team that is committed to a better, more equitable future. Please note that as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, Conservation Colorado employees are not eligible to participate in the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

We are committed to building a more diverse and inclusive organization and conservation movement to fully represent and engage all Coloradans and to build as powerful a movement as we can. Recruiting staff that better reflects Colorado is a priority and we encourage applicants from all cultures, race, ethnicity, geographies, political affiliation, sexual orientations, gender identities, and all other identities represented in Colorado or protected by law. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

To Apply

If this job truly speaks to you, please click here to apply by submitting a cover letter, resume, and answer a few short questions. If you need accommodation or assistance with our online application process, please tell us how we can help by emailing jobs@conservationco.org.