Public Health Community Organizer

Vermont and New Hampshire Community Organizer

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

At Toxics Action Center, we start from the core belief that everyone has a right to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live in a healthy community where government operates responsively and democratically. Our mission is to make these rights a reality by organizing side by side with residents who are facing toxic threats. We train residents in the skills and know-how they need to run effective local campaigns, while also developing long-term leaders to fuel New England’s progressive movements. Our work over the last 31 years has led to hundreds of victories, including:

• We coordinated the Safe Power Vermont Coalition and won retirement of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.
• We stopped massive new landfills proposals in Williston and Rockingham, VT, beat an unwanted and divisive landfill expansion at the polls in Bethlehem, NH and closed down polluting, leaking, and unlined landfills in Moretown and Bristol, VT.
• We built support to move towards zero waste solutions through the passage and implementation of Vermont's Universal Recycling Law.
• We protected neighbors in Moretown, Cavendish, Chester, Bristol, and Rochester, VT from unsafe quarries proposed dangerously close to homes, schools, and drinking water.
• We coordinated the Stop the Fracked Gas Pipeline coalition that successfully stopped Phase 2 of the Vermont Gas pipeline from being built under Lake Champlain, and formed the NH Pipeline Awareness Network to defeat the Northeast Energy Direct Pipeline in Southern NH.
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• We helped residents in Bennington, VT whose drinking water was polluted by toxic Teflon chemicals, win access to clean water, and built the National PFAS Contamination Coalition to connect and mobilize communities facing similar threats nationwide.
• We passed a ban on new highly toxic construction and demolition waste incinerators in NH.

Key Responsibilities Include:

• Campaign development: You will identify the biggest local environmental threats in Vermont and New Hampshire, enter communities, and build relationships with key local leaders. You’ll work with local leaders to identify solutions to local environmental problems and develop creative strategies to win, including building coalitions. You will also respond to groups contacting Toxics Action Center for assistance in fighting a variety of toxic threats.
• Community organizing, training, and leadership development: You will conduct group training consultations on campaign skills as well as having one-on-one coaching, relationship building, and leadership development sessions with group leaders.
• Communications and organizational visibility: You will work to increase Toxics Action Center’s media presence and name recognition by organizing events, news releases, and holding one-on-one meetings.
• Fundraising: You will identify and cultivate donors, assist with grant-writing, and participate in other grassroots fundraising tactics including door-to-door canvassing, letter writing, and events.

Qualifications:

Candidates must have at least one year of related work experience, such as community organizing, campaign coordination, environmental advocacy, or coalition building. The ideal candidate is passionate about community organizing, movement building, and racial, economic and environmental justice. Candidates should have excellent judgment and discretion. Candidates need to have a driver’s license and a car that they are willing and able to drive for work.

Salary and Benefits:

Salary for this position is commensurate with the relevant experience and/or advanced degrees that a candidate possesses. We offer a competitive benefits package including health care, 401(k), education loan assistance, and paid vacation and sick days. Opportunities for advancement, travel and additional training are available.

To Apply

Apply online at our website. Direct your application to Shaina Kasper, Vermont and New Hampshire State Director. We’ll review your application and if we are interested in discussing your candidacy further, we will be in touch with you shortly.

Toxics Action Center is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse workplace and a diverse movement across race, class, and other differences.