Summary

The Campaign Manager (Manager) is a convener, organizer and policy advocate who works closely with other members of the Alliance’s policy team and our coalition partners to advance equitable investments in clean water and drinking water infrastructure. Water infrastructure in the United States is failing too many communities; estimates suggest water utilities must invest nearly $1 trillion to maintain their systems over the next 25 years. New federal funding for water infrastructure will help close this gap.  However, the communities with the greatest need still face several barriers to accessing the federal funds needed to restore clean water.  Done right, this historic investment could remove millions of toxic lead drinking water pipes, strengthen community resilience in the face of climate change, and alleviate our nation’s growing water affordability crisis.

The Manager will address these challenges through two primary streams of work:

1. Organizing a state-based advocacy campaign around State Revolving Fund (SRF) reform to improve equity and climate resilience. The Manager will lead the Alliance’s state reform efforts in Michigan, working closely with a network of Michigan-based partners that represent diverse bodies of work and varying degrees of engagement on and approaches to SRFs reforms. The Manager will play a support role, along with other Alliance staff and external partners, in Illinois and Ohio to share lessons learned and support partners in identifying and advancing strategic priorities in these key states.
   
2. Co-lead advocacy activities and strategy sessions that grow out of the SRF Advocates Forum (Forum), which the Alliance co-convenes with its partners, Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC), PolicyLink, and River Network. The Forum of clean water and drinking water advocates works to track federal investment in water infrastructure and advocate for state and federal reforms to improve equity and climate resilience in those investment policies and programs. The Manager will work closely with co-conveners and participants to identify and meet policy education and advocacy needs and facilitate the development of regional cohorts in which advocates can connect and learn from each other across state lines.

A typical week for the Manager…might begin with a quick check-in with the Policy Director for Clean Water and Equity to discuss progress on priority projects and coordinate tasks. You start drafting a grant report, but then a partner texts to let you know they heard that the meeting with [Agency Official X] has been scheduled for tomorrow. You set the grant report aside and start texting, emailing, and calling partners who need to be at this meeting, developing strategic talking points and making sure they have the fact sheets and other resources that you worked with them to develop. You attend the meeting, take notes, and help facilitate. After the meeting, you schedule a debrief meeting with partners to discuss what was learned and decide on next steps. In the debrief meeting, partners decide next steps are to develop materials designed to educate decision-makers about needed SRF reforms, meet with relevant agency and legislative staff to better understand the challenges and barriers they have in trying to implement these reforms, and identify existing case studies from other geographies. You begin to draft an action plan and develop budgets to ensure external partners and Alliance colleagues are on the same page. You set up a Google folder to share all docs with external partners, and flag for the Director that you’ll need her feedback, edits, and approval by the end of the month. You check your Outlook calendar and are reminded that your grant report is due. You finish your report and email it to the Foundation & Corporate Giving Manager. It has been a hectic week, so you take time for yourself to relax and recharge.

The Manager reports to the Policy Director for Clean Water & Equity

Responsibilities

Organize Advocacy Campaigns

• As an advocate and organizer, leverage research, advocacy tools, and networks of supporters to build political will for and secure changes to the administration of the SRF programs in Michigan to improve equity in distribution of funds and achievement of clean water outcomes by 2024. This is a permanent position; the Manager will lead Michigan campaign work and may go on to support campaigns in other Great Lakes states in coming years.
• Support state and local leaders in the Great Lakes region to advance policy reforms that ensure equitable investment in and administration of water infrastructure that supports water affordability, lead-free drinking water, and improved public health and quality of life 
• Engage and mobilize impacted stakeholders, educate decision makers, connect with agency staff and media outlets to build shared analysis and political will around policy priorities

Convene Advocacy Networks

• Convene a network of water equity and climate resilience advocates as part of the SRF Advocates Forum, collaborating closely with national partners and co-conveners: EPIC, which supplies technical expertise and analysis along with advocacy and direct support to communities on water infrastructure issues;  River Network, a membership-based capacity building organization; and PolicyLink, which supports community-led research and policy advocacy through its co-leadership of the Water Equity and Climate Resilience Caucus

Relationship Building

• Steward strong working relationships with external partners, including stakeholders from community and faith-based organizations, NGOs, labor, business, health, research, water utilities, state government, and other sectors to support and advance policy goals

Create Data-Informed Policy Priorities

• Establish a baseline understanding of the Alliance’s water infrastructure and access policy priorities – focusing on lead service line replacement, water affordability, and stormwater/urban flooding management – and how these issues relate to infrastructure investment policies and programs, such as the State Revolving Funds
• Working with the Alliance’s Water Policy Analyst, other team members, and external partners, stay current on policy developments, analysis, and research to inform organizing efforts and provide feedback on what information and communication support is needed to support campaign work

Program Development

• Contribute to annual and multi-year work and campaign plans
• Recruit and manage interns, fellows, and engage campaign staff as needed
• Track and report on grant deliverables, project budgets and expenses

Knowledge/Skills

• Experience organizing, building consensus and coalition, and driving collective action to advance policy change
• Experience facilitating coalitions and building consensus to collectively advance policies that advance environmental equity
• Existing network of working relationships within the Michigan advocacy and policy-making environment
• Ability to analyze complex environmental policies and make strategic recommendations
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, experience leveraging research, data, and storytelling to support policy recommendations, and convey a persuasive message in concise and compelling ways to diverse audiences
• Demonstrated success at project or campaign management across a multidisciplinary team that includes a process for listening and responding to the needs and demands of diverse groups of individuals and partner organizations
• Bachelor’s degree plus 4+ years of relevant experience in public policy or administration, labor or community organizing, issue-based campaigns, or related field
• Commitment to and passion for mission-driven public interest work related to clean water, climate adaptation, the Great Lakes, and the role of water in community resilience and revitalization

• Adept with Microsoft Office Suite and project management software
• Adhere to and exemplify the Alliance for the Great Lakes’ values of community, relationships, courage, integrity, optimism and the principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in all our work

Additional Skills / Pluses

• Spanish language skills a plus
• Collaborative, collegial, with a good sense of humor and ability to adapt to diverse work styles; adept at working in teams and independently in both virtual and in-person settings
• Experience working in diverse teams, including with people from various educational, cultural, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds; ability to navigate community, labor, and policy spaces
• Commitment to and passion for mission-driven public interest work related to clean water, climate adaptation, the Great Lakes, and the role of water in community resilience and revitalization

Job Parameters

• This position is full-time and consistent with Alliance employment policy.  Salary range is 62,000-70,000, commensurate with experience
• Excellent benefits, including health, dental, FSA and vacation
• Eligibility to enroll in a retirement plan after 1 year of employment

• This position is to be located in lower Michigan. While fully remote, this position requires travel around Michigan to meet with partners (up to 2-4 times per month) and within the Great Lakes region (about 2-4 times per year).

Application Process

Please e-mail a cover letter, resume, references and writing sample to:

hr@greatlakes.org. Include job title in the subject line.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Materials should be compatible with Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat. Applicants will receive confirmation of receipt of their materials and further guidance and updates about the hiring process by e-mail, with interviews provided for finalists. No phone inquiries please.

About the Alliance for the Great Lakes

The Alliance for the Great Lakes is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The search process will reinforce the Alliance’s belief that achieving diversity requires an enduring commitment to inclusion that must find full expression in our organizational culture, values, norms, and behaviors.

AGL Operating Principles and Core Values Statement

Our vision is a thriving Great Lakes and healthy water that all life can rely on, today and far into the future. We aspire to be a voice for the lakes, and to support the voices of the communities that depend on the lakes and their waters.

The mission of the Alliance for the Great Lakes is to protect, conserve and restore the Great Lakes ensuring healthy water in the lakes and in our communities for all generations of people and wildlife. We advance our mission as advocates for policies that support the lakes and communities, by building the research, analysis and partnerships that motivate action, and by educating and uniting people as a voice for the Great Lakes.  

For more information about the Alliance’s programs and work, please visit us online at www.greatlakes.org.

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Original Article

News - Alliance for the Great Lakes

News - Alliance for the Great Lakes

https://greatlakes.org/2022/07/campaign-manager-clean-water-equity/

Michelle Farley