IMPORTANT: This Advertiser has requested that applicants MUST be National Residents / Valid Work Permit-holders. Other applicants need not apply.
We all want clean air, clean water and open spaces. But it takes independent research and tough-minded advocacy to win concrete results for our environment, especially when powerful interests stand in the way of environmental progress. That's the idea behind Environment Maryland. We focus on protecting Maryland's air, water and open spaces. We speak out and take action at the local, state and national levels to improve the quality of our environment and our lives.
Environment Maryland is hiring people for our Fellowship Program. We’re part of a nationwide network of similar state-based environmental groups that are also hiring. If you’re interested in a position in another state, you can apply through Environment Maryland.
Fellowship Program: 2008 – 2010 Job Description
We’re hiring recent college graduates to help win campaigns with Environment Maryland or one of our partner groups. By working together, our network’s efforts to pass renewable energy standards in the states has already resulted in decreasing global warming pollution – the equivalent of taking 1.5 million cars off the road. We have protected pristine wilderness areas across the country, including 4 million acres of forests in Maryland and convinced the state to designate three key areas protected in Michigan. We have protected countless waterways, including designating 45 waterways for Clean Water Act protections in New Jersey and passing an ocean protection bill in California. And, we’ve passed renewable energy standards in Congress.
Environment Maryland Fellows will get a chance to work with some of the top environmental advocates and organizers in the country, and will have an immediate impact on a critical environmental issue. The Fellowship Program gives recent college graduates the training and experience to assume leadership roles in the environmental movement for the long term.
The Fellowship Program positions include, but are not limited to:
Issue Associate: As an issue associate, you’ll master your issue area and build the kind of powerful support it takes to make your voice heard and change public policy. Responsibilities include: researching and writing reports, developing and coordinating campaigns, preparing legislative testimony, building statewide and national coalitions, organizing media events, raising funds, and meeting with elected officials.
Field Associate: As a field associate, you’ll build and demonstrate support for proposals at the state or federal level to ensure that decision-makers hear from and pay attention to the public. You must quickly master the basics of a variety of issues, and then reach out to individuals, media outlets and organizations to build visibility and gain their support.
Issue associates and field associates may work on any of the following issues: global warming, energy policy, clean air and water, preserving our open spaces, and more. Each associate takes on the critical role of building the organization by canvassing at various times during the year and running a citizen outreach office during the summer.
Qualifications
We are looking for recent college graduates who care about the environment and are driven to preserve it for the future. We look for strong leadership skills, academic excellence, problem solving ability, and top-notch written and verbal skills. We value experience with campus and activist groups.
Training and Experience
A key part of the Environment Maryland mission is to train leaders who are capable of organizing and winning results for the environment. Immediately following an intensive training, fellows are trusted with significant responsibilities in their jobs. The training lasts 10 days, is fully paid, and starts in mid-August in Boston. Four additional trainings take place during the rest of the year. Training topics include skills and political strategy; and topics are covered in a mix of lectures, classroom briefings and discussions, role-plays and in-the-field training. Throughout the year, you gain valuable skills and experience in both making your voice heard on the issues and in building an organization through grant-writing, canvassing, recruiting and managing staff, and directing campaigns.
Placement
Fellowship candidates are considered for positions with Environment Maryland and our network of state environment group offices across the country. If you are interested only in particular locations, you will be asked to identify those locations during the interview process. If you are offered a fellowship position, you are guaranteed placement in one of your desired locations. In most cases, final placement, including location and position, occurs during the August training in Boston.
Salary & benefits
As a recent graduate, you will earn $23,750 in your first year and $24,250 in your second year. Salary for experienced candidates is commensurate with relevant professional experience and/or advanced degrees. You will be eligible to opt in to our group health plan, and will accrue two weeks paid vacation over the course of your first year, three weeks in your second year and will be eligible to apply for college loan assistance. In your second year, you will also be eligible to participate in our 401(k) plan.
Locations
Our network of environmental groups is currently hiring for positions in: Phoenix, AZ; Los Angeles, CA; Sacramento, CA; San Francisco, CA; Santa Barbara, CA; Denver, CO; Hartford, CT; Washington, DC; Tallahassee, FL; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Portland, ME; Boston, MA; Ann Arbor, MI; Trenton, NJ; Baltimore, MD; Concord, NH; Albuquerque, NM; Raleigh, NC; Columbus, OH; Portland, OR; Providence, RI; Austin, TX; Seattle, WA; Philadelphia, PA; Madison, WI
Applications online