Field Director, Pennsylvania

OVERVIEW

The climate emergency is here and it is the greatest societal threat that we face. The world as we know it is running out of time and the window for small, incremental action has closed. Instead, we need an emergency-level response to accelerate decarbonization around the world.

ACE works at the nexus of youth, climate education, and civic engagement to accelerate our pathway toward a decarbonized world. We reach tens of millions of people with our programs each year and are driving a new climate narrative to engage audiences that our movement has yet to reach. We utilize leading-edge media strategies to combat dangerous disinformation, drive action-taking, and increase diverse participation in the democratic process.

Our staff and board members are dynamic, diverse, and talented, and our team is currently growing to meet this critical moment of opportunity.

JOB SUMMARY

ACE’s Pennsylvania Field Director

ACE’s civic engagement programs are on the frontlines of progress in the United States, with campaigns spanning multiple strategic states including Pennsylvania. Our work utilizes the full suite of campaign methods including teams who register new voters, organize rallies and marches, lead phone banks and text banks, and so much more.

ACE’s Pennsylvania Field Director is an essential leader on the Campaigns and Civic Engagement team, leading all aspects of stakeholder engagement, grassroots mobilization, legislative tracking, campaign planning, and coordination in Pennsylvania. The PA Field Director also serves as a program advisor to leadership and our in-state coordinating lead for civic engagement table meetings.

The Field Director will collaborate with other state directors and national coworkers to lead activities to help end the climate crisis.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership and Management (50%): With thousands of youth members already on the ground, we are eager for our new Pennsylvania State Director to develop a thoughtful, evidence-based state strategy in collaboration with our partners and funders on the ground, with a special focus on civic engagement. The Pennsylvania State Director will also manage a statewide college fellows program, where they will directly recruit, train, and manage youth-leaders towards participation in civic engagement and advocacy.

Campaigns Strategy and Field-based Campaign Work (50%): The Pennsylvania State Director will stay tuned in to local and state current issues to inform our Pennsylvania strategy, and help to co-create and implement state-based climate education, civic engagement, and climate advocacy campaigns to grow our base and engage new young people in our campaign work. Additionally, the Pennsylvania State Director will lead and manage all field-based work seasonally each election cycle to increase diverse youth participation in our democracy, as well as manage field-based climate and clean jobs advocacy activities at the state level in partnership with state-based partners and youth members.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• A minimum of 8+ years experience in field or issue organizing, preferably with a climate or civic engagement focus.
• Exceptional leadership and management skills as demonstrated through leading organizing teams and campaigns.
• Strong digital skills in email and SMS marketing, social media, workflow management (e.g. MobileCommons, Engaging Networks, EveryAction, Salesforce, Monday.com, or other useful organizing technologies).
• Experience strategizing and leading campaign work in the climate, clean energy, or civic engagement sectors.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to set priorities, complete work with minimal supervision, and meet deadlines. The best candidates aren’t waiting to be told what to do—they are using the information they have to make decisions and get the work done.
• Strong track record of time and project management.
• Self-starter with exceptional organizational skills and creativity.
• Existing expertise or willingness to master trends in climate education, youth development, youth organizing, and the climate movement.
• Awareness of the issues of concern to young people, including climate change and climate justice, and a passion for empowering youth to take action.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to cultivate and manage partnerships, internal and external. Excellent communicator, reliable, and clear.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience working in a non-profit or electoral setting.
• Experience managing stakeholder relationships.
• Excitement to bring new ideas to the table and engage others in data systems.
• Troubleshoots challenges with patience and creativity.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Analytical and strategic mindset.
• Ability to adapt as necessary to fulfill additional roles, responsibilities, and opportunities in development programming as necessary.
• Passion for ACE’s mission and our work to educate young people on climate science and empower them to take action.
• Commitment toward equity and justice.

Deeply integrated throughout this work is an underlying commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. This description reflects ACE’s assignment of essential functions, it does not restrict the tasks that may be assigned. ACE retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position at any time. Employees must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship. ACE has a zero tolerance standard for abuse and inappropriate behavior by staff members.

POSITION DETAILS

• Schedule: Full-time
• Annual salary range: $80,000-90,000, commensurate with experience
• Generous benefits include: Medical, Dental, Vision, 403b retirement savings plan, Vacation, Sabbatical, Paid Parental Leave, 2 Floating Holidays, 2 Community Service Floating Holidays, sick time, two weeks of full-staff time off (July 4 week and Christmas-New Years week) and 13 observed holidays
• ACE is an equal-opportunity employer that highly values staff diversity
• Location: Philadelphia or Pittsburgh Metro Areas

ACE is an equal opportunity employer that highly values diversity, equity, and inclusion and views the climate crisis as a social justice crisis. People who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), people who experience gender oppression, people with disabilities, and people who identify as members of the LGBTQIA+ community are particularly encouraged to apply.

Learn more here