CALPIRG Zero Waste Campaign Associate

CALPIRG is hiring a passionate, dedicated, and organized campaign associate to help lead our campaign to move Beyond Plastic in California. 

Every day Californians throw away millions of single-use plastic containers, wrappers, packaging and other plastic “stuff.” The big problem with all that plastic is that it can take hundreds of years to fully degrade and the vast majority of it can’t be recycled. That means that almost every piece ever made is still out there piling up in our landfills, littering our streets, and polluting our environment.

CALPIRG is working to eliminate the single-use plastics we can all live without. We recently won our campaign to eliminate all plastic bags from grocery store checkout stands. We are seeking a Campaign Associate who will help drive our other campaigns to reduce needless plastic waste. 

Key Responsibilities

• Build powerful coalitions: Reach out to a broad range of organizations and affected constituency groups across the political spectrum to demonstrate support for our campaign goals.
• Earn traditional media and social media attention: Organize news conferences and write opinion pieces. Build a following on social media for your campaign.
• Lobby elected officials: Meet with decision makers - from city council members to state legislators - to make the case for our campaign goals. When a critical vote is happening on your campaign, work to demonstrate the support you’ve been building on the ground to help line up the votes needed to win.
• Research and write reports: Catalog and analyze data relevant to the issue and our policy proposals to help influence public debate and earn media attention for our cause.
• Recruit new people to your team: Help build your team by recruiting volunteers, interns and full-time staff.
• Run a grassroots campaign office each summer: Run a campaign office for the summer to raise money to support our campaigns, build our organization and membership, and help build critical and timely grassroots support to win key campaigns while honing your organizing and management skills. You may be assigned to a different office location for the summer and should be flexible to move.

Qualifications

Entry-level candidates are encouraged to apply. Though we expect you to take your campaign and run with it, we provide training on advocacy and organizing skills, as well as oversight by an experienced advocate. Ideal candidates will have leadership experience, top-notch writing and public speaking skills, an eagerness to learn, and be ready for a challenge. We value organizing experience, including building campus or community groups.

Details

Compensation and Benefits

The target annual compensation for this position is $37,000. CALPIRG offers an excellent benefits package. Our benefits package includes medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents, paid time off, a commuter benefit program, a 401(k) plan with employer match, parental leave, long term disability insurance, and may include needs-based student loan assistance. We also offer an excellent training program and opportunities for advancement. 

Location: Los Angeles, CA

We’re also hiring campaign associates to work on other campaigns in locations across the country. We accept applications on a rolling basis for immediate or summer 2025 start.

Why work with CALPIRG? Check out 10 reasons: https://pirg.org/why-work-with-us/ 

Mission and Values

CALPIRG 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://pirg.org/core-values for things you should know about our network when you apply.

CALPIRG is an equal opportunity employer and will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.

COVID-19: We take COVID-19 safety very seriously. Employees must follow our COVID safety protocols and be fully vaccinated and boosted. Accommodations are provided to the extent required by law.

About PIRG

PIRG is an advocate for the public interest. We speak out for the public and stand up to special interests on problems that affect the public's health, safety and well-being.

How is it possible that, in the richest country the world has ever seen, dissatisfaction is rising and life expectancy is lower than in any other high-income country? Is it just inequality? Or could it be that, in the name of producing and consuming more "stuff," we’ve lost sight, as a society, of what really matters — including health, well-being, community, and a clean environment? 

PIRG’s mission is to spotlight these problems and find new solutions. Let's make more of the things we need reusable, repairable and recyclable, instead of single-use and designed for obsolescence. Let's choose conservation and renewable energy over fossil fuels. Let's value clean air and water over short-term profits and lower costs. Let's grow food that nurtures us as well as the land, with fewer pesticides, antibiotics and other quick fixes. 

Getting governments and corporations to make these choices is hard, and steps in the right direction are almost always small. But we have a 50-year track record of training and putting even our newest staff in a position to overcome powerful interests and win real results for the public interest.