NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy 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 the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our people helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our team of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and the globe from our offices in Beijing; Bozeman, Montana; Chicago; New Delhi; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; and Washington, D.C.

For over fifty years, NRDC has advocated for everyone to have the right to safe water and a healthy environment. From helping to write and win passage of the 1972 Clean Water Act to prevailing in a 2017 lawsuit on behalf of Flint, Michigan residents plagued with lead-contaminated tap water, we have built a solid foundation for using litigation, harnessing political power, and building bridges with grassroots advocates to protect people and the planet. Water pollution is a top environmental concern in the US and it's easy to see why. Old lead pipes contaminate drinking water impacting millions of households around the country, and too many communities lack affordable water and adequate sanitation. Many of these issues are either concentrated in the southern United States or have the most pronounced inequitable impacts in that region, which is why we are enthusiastic to hire someone to support southern communities in their struggle for justice, clean water, and sound infrastructure.

NRDC is seeking a Senior Advocate to work with the Safe Water Initiative team within our Environmental Health department. The position will report to the National Policy Director/Senior Attorney of the Safe Water Initiative. The position can be based out of the Washington, DC office and/or a remote location in a southeastern state.

Position Summary

The Senior Advocate will work with the Safe Water Initiative team in the southeastern region. NRDC's Safe Water initiative is a multi-faceted, cross-institutional effort that seeks to make safe, sufficient, and affordable water from source to tap an enforceable human right. This person will collaborate with a team of attorneys, policy analysts, and other staff engaged on drinking water and source water protection issues across the organization. They will also work to build strong relationships with local community partners in key states in which we are working and seek to deepen relationships or in which we seek to develop relationships and a body of work supporting frontline communities. At this time, the person's portfolio of work will include lead pipe drinking water policy advocacy but will likely expand to include other related work such as addressing contaminants like PFAS, water affordability, and more.

The ideal candidate will have a deep passion for using law and policy to help people, skill and knowledge of racial equity in advocacy, and simultaneously also be a fearless advocate. In this position they will work in solidarity with communities in the southeast often on the frontlines of the fight for safe, sufficient, and affordable water.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the following essential functions:

Develop strategies to grow NRDC's advocacy efforts on water policy in key states, under the supervision and leadership of the National Policy Director.
• Actively work to center diversity, equity, inclusion, and movement building in our work, especially with our partners.
• Build and maintain strong ties and participate in productive working relationships with diverse stakeholders including community partners, environmental organizations, and non-traditional allies to establish new relationships with government decisionmakers, social justice, civil rights, and health organizations to support improved water policies.
• Serve as a resource for partners when our insights and technical expertise are requested.
• Review and analyze current federal, state, and local water policies; in partnership with local community groups, produce and promote relevant and innovative solutions.
• Advocate at the city/local, state, and federal level for our policy goals and objectives.
• Pursue and/or support litigation in state and federal court, where necessary, to achieve our programmatic objectives.
• Represent NRDC to the public via blogs and traditional and social media.
• Assist with fundraising efforts and grant reports.
• Travel as necessary to implement work plan objectives in national, state, and local areas of focus.

The above list of duties is not comprehensive but generally demonstrates the types of matters under this position's responsibility. Other duties may be assigned.

Minimum Education & Experience

• Bachelor's Degree required. A law degree or advanced degree in public policy, water resources, public health, engineering, or a related subject is a plus (as is relevant practical experience).
• Minimum of 7 years' work experience in a related field.
• Experience and/or working knowledge of environmental justice and social justice issues.
• Project management experience.

Skills, Abilities, & Competencies

• A passion for protecting the environment and advancing NRDC's policy priorities.
• Knowledge of water policies, especially as they relate to drinking water, is ideal.
• A general understanding of issue advocacy or fundamentals of an advocacy campaign.
• Excellent oral and written communication and advocacy skills.
• Ability to work hard, efficiently, and independently.
• Ability to represent NRDC with maturity, judgment, and professionalism.
• Comfortable interpreting scientific and technical concepts.
• Demonstrated commitment to racial, economic, and health justice in the candidate's work experience. Training in these areas is a plus.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work as a member of a team to build upon strengths of the program.
• Willingness to travel periodically.
• Demonstrated commitment to principles of and competency in equity and inclusion, including contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment. * Commitment to NRDC's values and mission.

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by

federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and is commensurate with skills and experience. Internal equity will be reviewed and considered to determine a final offer. For this position, the salary range is $138,500 to $152,500.

Our offices are open and we are operating in a hybrid model. We offer NRDCers flexibility, and we ask them to come into the office and spend meaningful time there in collaboration with their colleagues. We call this purposeful presence.

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination, those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions via NRDC Employee Relations. NRDC treats all vaccine-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws.

To apply, visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your resume and cover letter. Please mention where you saw this posting and upload any additional materials that showcase your abilities. Due to the high volume of applications, we will contact only those candidates we would like to interview. Please no phone calls, emails, or in-person resume drop-offs.

If you experience technical problems while applying or if you are a person with a disability and need assistance applying online, please reach out to iCIMS Customer Care at 1-800-889-4422.

For more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org.