U.S. PIRG is seeking a Federal Legislative Director to promote our federal policy agenda and lead our D.C.-based advocacy team.

U.S. PIRG’s mission is to champion the public interest — to speak out for a healthier, safer world in which we’re freer to pursue our own individual well-being and the common good. The problems we address aren’t progressive or conservative, they’re just problems that our country shouldn’t tolerate in an age of great abundance and technological progress. And these problems affect all of us, whether we live in a blue state, red state or purple state. To solve them, we need to find common ground around commonsense ideas.

Our approach is about getting our country to take steps in the right direction, and working with anybody who is willing to work with us to put our country on the right path forward. And when we win on our campaigns, we’re not only making lives better now; we’re also building our organizational power and resources so that we can make even greater progress in the future.  We’ve successfully advocated for changes that have resulted in more recycling and less waste, healthier and safer choices in the marketplace, and greater accountability in government. We have a 45-plus year track record of figuring out solutions that will work and advocating for them until we get results.

When we tackle a problem, we almost always encounter special interests trying to block progress or maintain the status quo. To overcome that opposition, and make sure our solutions stick, we have to win a lot of people over to our side. To do that, we have to bring people together in ways that get beyond political labels; we have to find common ground and use that to generate broad support. Take our work reducing air pollution for example. Even with huge opposition from utilities, car manufacturers and the fossil fuel industry, we’ve won laws and policies which continue to save lives by limiting air pollution from power plants, cars and other sources. In fact, deaths from air pollution dropped nearly in half nationwide between 1990 and 2010.

U.S. PIRG’s coordinated approach has won hundreds of victories. Working with state PIRGs in 26 states and 20 field offices around the country, U.S. PIRG’s federal legislative team has resources far beyond the confines of the beltway. The Federal Legislative Director will lead our D.C.-based team of advocates and campaign staff to advance our policy goals. 

REPRESENTATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Develop and advance our federal policy agenda, including our work to strengthen consumer protections, ban single-use plastics, and tackle climate change by transforming our country’s transportation systems. 
  • Seek out and identify policy opportunities related to our issue portfolio and make recommendations regarding policy positions and messaging.
  • Develop strong and collaborative relationships with federal agencies, partner organizations, coalitions, legislators and congressional staff on both sides of the aisle, and other stakeholders to advance shared goals.
  • Draft materials for lawmakers, the public, and the media to help advance our campaigns, including opinion editorials, press releases, letters to the editor, campaign action emails, factsheets, bill summaries and policy briefs, regulatory comments, analyses, and presentations.
  • Fundraise from charitable foundations and individual donors to support our program.

QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate will be:

  • An experienced communicator with excellent writing and verbal skills.
  • Creative, effective at solving complex problems, and a strategic thinker who can take advantage of new opportunities. 
  • A good people-person and listener with a track record of successful access-building.
  • Well-organized and able to work on multiple legislative and administrative proposals, have excellent judgement and discretion, and be able to manage multiple projects independently. 
  • Experienced in campaign advocacy, grassroots organizing, coalition building and/or campaign politics for at least 5 years. 
  • Committed to our vision of building a new politics that faces today’s challenges head on.

Experience in a legislative office within Congress, a state legislature, or another organization is a plus but not required. 

LOCATION 

Washington, D.C. 

COMPENSATION

Target annual compensation for this position is commensurate with the relevant professional experience and/or advanced degrees that a candidate has. U.S. PIRG offers a competitive benefits package.

APPLY

To apply, fill out our online application at https://jobs.uspirg.org/apply_282.html. Please address your cover letter to Kate Canada, Hiring Director. 

U.S. PIRG is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to social change. Visit https://publicinterestnetwork.org/core-values.html for things you should know about our network when you apply.

 

U.S. PIRG is an equal opportunity employer.