CAREERS

 

Campaign Director, Arctic Defense Campaign 

Location: Washington, DC strongly preferred with an expectation to work Eastern Standard time. 

 

Salary:  $130k – $150k 

 

The Arctic Defense Campaign (ADC) is a collaborative campaign providing a centralized strategic and coordinating home for the Arctic Refuge and Western Arctic coalitions. This combined campaign effort leads the work necessary to achieve ADC-created goals for the Arctic Refuge and the Western Arctic over the next two years and beyond. The campaign provides strategic coordination across landscapes to maximize resources, messaging reach, and capacity. Collaborative strategies and fundraising allow for greater participation of organizations and interested voices, bringing more power and amplification to the fight against oil and gas industrialization in this region.  

 

The Director of the Arctic Defense Campaign will lead this collaborative work to defend the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Western Arctic (National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska) from destructive oil and gas development during the next two critical defensive years and beyond. The Director will work closely with leading conservation organizations, the Gwich’in Steering Committee, Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, and other Indigenous allies, as well as partners in the faith, environmental justice, outdoor recreation, climate change, wildlife, and Native American rights movements. The Director will oversee and coordinate a multi-pronged campaign – consisting of communications, administrative, legislative, corporate, legal/technical, and grassroots strategies – to protect these cherished and iconic landscapes. This is a unique and exciting job requiring someone with strong leadership, strategic thinking, collaboration, communication, and organizational skills. The Director must have a successful track record of issue and/or political campaign work and a desire to engage a diverse group of partners, including regional and national partners and Indigenous allies.
 

Given the challenges resulting from the 2024 election, this position is critical to the campaign’s success. The Director must be the driver of the campaign with oversight from a steering committee, and direct supervision by three co-chairs. This includes establishing work plans for each aspect of the campaign with input from the expertise of the working subgroups of the campaign. This work requires a lot of relationship building. 

 

Responsibilities:  

• Strong leadership in the development and implementation of a creative, integrated advocacy campaign strategy and national efforts to successfully stop new oil and gas industrialization of the Arctic.
• Collaboratively work with and coordinate inter-organizational Steering Committee and Working Group chairs (communications, lobbying, legal/technical, national elevation, corporate) to make strategic decisions.
• Manage and coordinate working groups as well as a senior level steering committee, ensuring appropriate information flow among team members. 
• Convene Steering Committee and submit annual budget and campaign plan for its approval while regularly identifying strategic plans for key sub-issues for deliberation. 
• Oversee and ensure effective day-to-day execution of campaign strategy, including rapid response, and maintain a culture of shared commitment and accountability for the coalition. 
• Regularly update campaign strategies, proactively identify gaps and needs, and develop proposals to fill them. Provide strategic campaign advice to coalition partners and drive strong implementation of our shared plans
• Track and regularly report on progress towards campaign goals and accomplishment of key tactics through the Steering Committee. 
• Lead budget planning and management of shared coalition resources, ensuring consensus around budget decision making and deployment of resources. 
• Engage with the Steering Committee to develop a fundraising plan and assist in raising additional financial support.
• Engage and build relationships with Indigenous and other new partners to expand the campaign's reach, diversity, and effectiveness. 
• Hire and supervise vendors, consultants, and other service providers, as needed. 
• Hire and manage campaign staff as needed and resources allow, developing goals and work plans as necessary. 
• Lead weekly broad ADC Campaign calls (Mondays) and ADC Strategy Calls (Wednesday), as well as the bi-weekly Steering Committee calls, providing agendas in advance and ensuring notes are taken and distributed after the calls.
• Participate in bi-weekly campaign co-chair calls and effectively utilize the co-chairs for feedback related to problem-solving and strategic campaign decisions.
• Anticipate rapid responses to campaign needs and effectively manage associated tasks and planning.
• Performs other related duties as assigned. 

 

Qualifications:  

• Minimum 7 years of experience in issue and/or electoral campaign work or a related field, ideally with experience covering strategic communications (earned media, paid advertising, and/or digital), field/grassroots organizing, and other advocacy campaign strategies and tactics.
• Strong track record of collaborative team leadership among partners with diverse perspectives and backgrounds.
• Exceptional strategic thinking skills and demonstrated ability to manage multiple fast-paced needs and to adapt, innovate, and solve problems effectively.
• Proven capacity to design, implement and adapt a national or regional campaign plan, including strong project management and organizational skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills, including ability to connect with a general audience.
• Motivated, self-starter with the ability to take initiative, develop ideas, and see them through to implementation.
• Strong time management skills and proven ability to organize, prioritize, and meet competing deadlines. 
• Strong emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and cultural humility.
• Awareness of and sensitivity to the needs and concerns of individuals from diverse cultures, backgrounds and orientations.
• A commitment to social justice and/or natural resource conservation issues and a proven ability to develop strong, trust-based partnership 
• Knowledge of Capitol Hill and/or the Department of the Interior and experience working on public lands and/or wildlife issues.
• Prior experience working in partnership with Tribes, Alaska Native communities, or Indigenous-led/serving NGOs.

 

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At the Arctic Defense Campaign, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in this job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles. 

 

To apply: Submit a resume and cover letter that expresses your interest in Alaska public lands conservation and your top two or three skills that will allow you to be successful in this role to Jobs@defendthearctic.org. Position open until filled; application review will be on a rolling basis, with priority consideration given to applications received by January 31, 2025.