Must be located in EPA Region 6: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas.

Priority Deadline: October 25th

The Environmental Protection Network (EPN) is composed of more than 800 EPA alumni from across the country who volunteer their time to protect the integrity of EPA and its mission. We harness the expertise of former EPA career staff and confirmation-level appointees from Democratic and Republican administrations to provide the unique perspective of former regulators with decades of historical knowledge and subject matter expertise. 

EPN is currently focused on building, defending, and reimagining the capacity of environmental health agencies and the communities they serve to truly address the most urgent health and environmental crises.

• We work to ensure that EPA advances policies, programs, budgets, and institutional changes to address climate and environmental injustices, as well as other pressing public health needs
• We provide pro bono capacity-building technical assistance and training to frontline communities, NGOs, and under-resourced state/local/tribal government agencies
• We offer pro bono support to civil servants 
• We educate Congress and serve as a critical resource for facts, objective analysis, and scientific rigor for reporters and NGOs

About The Position:

The Senior Community Outreach Associate will partner with and act as a support across the Technical Assistance Community Outreach Team and coordinate efforts with other teams (comms, policy, and operations) across EPN. They will leverage their strong organizational skills and relationship-building skills, combined with environmental justice and/or social justice expertise, to meet the evolving needs of a growing environmental justice nonprofit. This is an ideal opportunity for someone who loves working in deep collaboration with others and can quickly adapt to changing landscapes and conditions. This staff member will continue to take directives from the Technical Assistance leadership team, continue to support their assigned region(s), and will also project-manage a core project across the Technical Assistance team. The person in this role will lead all technical assistance support efforts for EPA Region 6 ( Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas).

Responsibilities:

Oversee the management and operations of our technical assistance work in Region 6. This includes but is not limited to: 

• Connecting frontline communities, non-profits, and under-resourced government agencies (including tribes) with our volunteers for community-driven projects, including problem-solving meetings, research, reporting, and comprehensive actionable emails
• Connecting communities with technical, grant, legal, and scientific resources such as decision-makers within government, advocacy, and academia; federal and foundation grants; and pro bono legal support 
• Engaging in active outreach to frontline communities, non-profits, and under-resourced government agencies to get the word out about EPN and our pro bono technical assistance services 
• Collaborating and coordinating with the partners in Region 6
• Assisting entities in identifying and applying to grant opportunities where relevant and contributing to a monthly funding bulletin for funding opportunities in Region 6
• Recruiting and activating volunteers across Region 6 and our EPN network 
• Tracking work in EPN’s database and various Google spreadsheets 
• Tracking next steps for EPN staff, volunteers, and key partner organizations 
• Scheduling meetings for communities, potential experts, and organizations 
• Forming truly collaborative partnerships between community leaders and government agencies to ensure that communities’ voices are represented in infrastructure investments 
• Growing individual and local partnerships to provide more holistic community support 
• Producing webinars, trainings, templates (including grant templates), and other capacity-building tools so that additional communities can benefit from our work 
• Traveling throughout the local EPA regions, and sometimes beyond to attend events and/or conferences
• Broadly sharing findings formally and informally 
• Adhering to and meeting all goals and priorities outlined in the core expectations document

Manage special projects across the TA team as assigned. 

• Special projects may include: supporting onboarding for new members, volunteer activation, regional coverage during periods of staff turnover, etc.
• Project management for special projects and initiatives across the TA team

Qualifications:

• At least 2 years of relevant work experience 
• Highly productive in remote working environments 
• Self-starter 
• Interest in environmental justice, US environmental and health policy, and/or the work of the EPA
• Experience with or knowledge of social justice and equity issues 
• Strong writing skills 
• Strong project management experience 
• Detail-oriented and unafraid to ask questions 
• Ability to work independently, work on many different projects, and switch effectively from one task to another 
• Experience working in collaborations or with multiple partners 
• Strong work ethic 
• Familiarity with Google Docs and Spreadsheets 
• Familiarity or experience using CRM systems 

Core Competencies:

1. Building Relationships: Establishing and maintaining strong relationships is vital for success in this role. The Senior Community Outreach Associate should foster trust and rapport with internal and external staff, leveraging these connections to advance organizational goals. They must be skilled in networking, collaborating, and navigating complex relationships to execute support across the entire Technical Assistance team and coordinate efforts with other teams across EPN. They engage in open, respectful communication and understand the importance of giving and receiving feedback with peers to strengthen partnerships and enhance team effectiveness. 
2. Making Decisions & Demonstrating Judgement: The Senior Community Outreach Associate demonstrates sound judgment by prioritizing tasks, assessing resource needs, and providing support where necessary. They evaluate staff and volunteer capacity, connect communities with appropriate resources, and form strategic partnerships. Using data and stakeholder feedback, they make informed decisions to ensure effective and sustainable community support. They feel comfortable iterating on ideas and concepts, adapting approaches based on emerging needs and new insights. They identify opportunities for both personal and professional growth throughout the project lifecycle and take initiative to act on them. 
3. Managing Execution: The Senior Community Outreach Associate ensures effective execution by coordinating tasks, tracking database progress, and supporting staff during absences or high demand. They facilitate connections between communities and resources, schedule key meetings, and foster partnerships to align community needs with organizational goals. Through webinars, templates, and training materials, they enhance capacity-building efforts. Additionally, they collaborate with senior leadership on resource needs, special projects, and conference representation, ensuring seamless and impactful operations.
4. Planning- The Senior Community Outreach Associate creates strong plans to ensure effective management of their core responsibilities and day-to-day workflow. Additionally, the Senior Community Outreach Associate will be responsible for becoming a project manager for a core priority for the entire TA team. This will require creating and managing a project plan with a wide variety of stakeholders, monitoring progress, and adjusting the course when necessary. 

Pay:

• An annual salary of $74,261 based in D.C. We will adjust the salary up or down based on locality. 

Benefits:

The Environmental Protection Network is a fully remote virtual environment. We think about our compensation as a package of total rewards that starts with a competitive salary. 

Work-Life Balance:

• Employees are encouraged to balance a 40-hour work week with a flexible work schedule and core hours of 11 AM-4 PM ET. 
• 11 paid Federal Holidays and other paid days when the office is closed, including: 
• • The work day before or after July 4. 
  • The day before and after Thanksgiving. 
  • The week of December 25th and the week of Jan 1st (FY26-Dec 21st-Jan 1st, FY27- December 20th-December 31st).
• Organization-wide non-meeting days on all major holidays that fall outside of the federal calendar (our staff can submit these to our calendar based on religious or cultural holidays).
• 3 weeks (120 hours) of paid time off (inclusive of sick, personal days, and vacation).
• 5 days of annual disaster relief time off in the event of a natural disaster impacting you or your family (does not carry over or pay out upon exit).
• 5 days of annual bereavement (does not carry over or pay out upon exit).
• 3 annual “EPN” days to be used for any purpose across the year (does not carry over or pay out upon exit).
• Org-Wide Friday office closure between July 1st and September 1st. 

Financial Security:

• Competitive market-based salary. 
• Annual tenure bonus (determined annually where funds are available)
• Performance-based bonuses where applicable.
• 401K Retirement Plan, 4% company match. 

Wellness Benefits:

• 80% employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance, 60% employer-paid family.

• 100% employer-paid life (50K), opportunity to purchase additional life coverage is available for employee and spouse. 
• 100% employer-paid short and long-term disability insurance. 
• Access to employee-paid FSA, HSA, and commuter benefits. 
• 12 weeks of paid leave upon the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.

Career Development:

• Up to $500/year for professional development-related expenses. 
• Ongoing access to internal professional development training. 

Additional Benefits:

• $150 monthly cell phone plan and home internet reimbursement (included in first paycheck every month). 
• $2,000/year for the purchase of office equipment including but not limited to phones, computers, headsets, software and/or wellness purchases that includes but is not limited to gym memberships, exercise equipment, wellness subscriptions, etc.
• Applicable travel expenses will be reimbursed, including travel time outside of your local area.

Environmental injustices disproportionately impact the most marginalized people in society, including people of color, people from working-class backgrounds, women, and LGBTQIA+ people. Because we believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities.