Environmental Justice Associate

Overview 

Carbon Direct seeks a passionate environmental justice community engagement professional to join our Climate Justice team. The successful candidate will help a diverse range of clients develop and implement community engagement plans that promote environmental justice outcomes in carbon management and removal. The ideal candidate will bring hands-on experience designing and implementing meaningful community engagement programs alongside expertise in environmental justice analyses and methodologies. Our work environment is collaborative, fast paced, and may require travel. We are a fluid, rapidly-growing organization and we value flexibility, curiosity, and ability to work effectively in teams and independently. We are looking for a knowledgeable environmental & climate justice professional who: stays informed about best practices in environmental justice engagement, understands how these practices apply within the shifting policy landscape and technological developments in carbon management in domestic and international contexts, and is committed to the implementation of effective, scaleable, and just climate change solutions. 

Responsibilities 

• Community engagement: advise clients on community engagement development and implementation. Facilitate meetings with community stakeholders and community-based organizations that intersect between EJ and climate solutions, specifically carbon removal, capture and utilization, and related strategies
• Community benefits plans: alongside community engagement, advise on key elements in meaningful community benefits plans that drive real-world environmental justice outcomes as carbon dioxide removal projects are implemented and scaled
• Climate justice offerings: Collaborate with the Senior Climate Justice Strategist to identify opportunities to develop and expand client offerings related to community engagement and community benefits plans
• Education and capacity: Support developing and maintaining an environmental and climate justice (E&CJ) learning curriculum to be presented to advisory clients related to community engagement and benefits plans best practices.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Support internal Climate Justice initiatives across the Advisory, Supply and Product divisions that deepen the firm’s capacity for world-class leadership in environmental & climate justice in carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and carbon management
• Strengthen Carbon Direct’s capacity to identify policies and practices that center communities most impacted by environmental injustice and the climate crisis.

Qualifications

• • Work experience in a position whose primary responsibilities include a focus on the intersections of environmental justice and community engagement.
  • Knowledge of environmental and climate justice best practices in community engagement.
  • Lived and/or professional experience working with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities in the U.S. and/or frontline communities in the Global South to design or implement equitable and just policies or programs related to climate change adaptation or mitigation
  • Strong project management skills and the ability to appropriately prioritize multiple, overlapping tasks and deliverables and adapt to shifting client priorities
  • Environmental Justice Expertise:
  • A strong understanding of issues relating to community engagement, environmental racism, and social justice and their points of intersection with sustainability and climate action
  • Familiarity with targeted policy and program interventions that address the environmental health hazards that disproportionately burden lower-wealth and communities of color
  • An awareness of power-building strategies that enable residents of impacted communities to participate as co-creators in the development and implementation of interventions to meet local needs
  • Research and Data Analysis: Experience sifting through a diverse set of informational resources (both genre and subject matter) and producing products (written or digital) that harvest meaningful insights.
  • Relationship Management: Relates well to people from diverse backgrounds and different situations and is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical information into client deliverables and deliver compelling and concise presentations to an interdisciplinary audience
  • Ability to work independently in a fast-growing international environment
  • Experience with carbon dioxide removal, carbon management, and carbon credits are a plus.

Salary

$108,000-$132,000