Campaign Manager, Food Safety

Center for Science in the Public Interest; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 94,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid vacation

Holiday leave

Paid parental leave

Health insurance

Job summary

The Center for Science in the Public Interest seeks a Campaign Manager to lead campaigns for stronger, evidence-based food safety policies addressing pathogens and dietary supplements. The role designs and executes state and federal advocacy campaigns to promote standards to limit contamination, improve product testing, and strengthen regulatory programs.

The Campaign Manager reports to the Director of Regulatory Affairs, collaborates across CSPI, and works from our Washington, DC office with a

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher with policy advocacy experience.
• Experience writing regulatory comments, testimony, letters, and policy documents.
• Excellent written communication and public speaking skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee development and execution of campaigns to advance food safety policies.
• Engage with coalition partners and regulators at FDA, USDA, and CDC.
• Develop policy targets and strategic opportunities for federal and state reforms.
• Prepare high‑quality advocacy materials and briefings for internal use and public dissemination.
• Collaborate with Legislative Affairs and Community Engagement teams on member education.

Skills

Public policy advocacy

Policy communication

Coalition building

Written advocacy materials

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Advanced degree

Tools

MS Office

Regulatory research tools

Job description

The Center for Science in the Public Interest is seeking a Campaign Manager to lead and advance our campaigns for stronger, evidence‑based food safety policies addressing foodborne pathogens and fraudulent or dangerous dietary supplements. This is an exciting opportunity to design and execute state and federal advocacy campaigns to promote standards to limit food contamination, ensure product testing, enhance research and regulatory programs, and otherwise advance safety, in addition to campaigns opposing efforts to defund, deregulate, or impede enforcement of existing safeguards.

The Campaign Manager reports to the Director of Regulatory Affairs and collaborates with colleagues across the organization involved with CSPI’s food safety and regulatory campaigns. CSPI’s office is in Washington, DC, where we offer a hybrid work environment with staff free to work from home but available for occasional in‑person meetings based on team needs. Many of our staff work remotely, and we will consider DC‑based or remote applicants within the United States.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Oversee the development and implementation of strategies to advance food pathogen safety and securing policies to enhance outbreak response and prevention. This work includes developing and implementing issue briefs, campaign and project plans, and budgets.
• Support campaign strategies to advance dietary supplement safety efforts, including developing and implementing projects.
• Engage in policy design, develop policy targets, prioritize and identify strategic opportunities to advance federal and state regulatory and legislative reforms.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with coalition partners, including scheduling, drafting agendas, and representing the organization in meetings with coalition partners and regulators at FDA, USDA, and CDC.
• Develop and update high‑quality written advocacy materials, including regulatory comments, testimony, fact sheets, advocacy letters, op‑eds, action alerts, articles, and social media content.
• Engage in advocacy with state and federal lawmakers and regulators in collaboration with CSPI's Legislative Affairs and Community Engagement teams, including member education, cultivating relationships, power‑mapping, and constituent engagement.
• Ensure high‑quality work product, including preparing documents for internal fact‑checking by peers and serving as peer fact‑checker.
• Carry out other departmental activities as needed.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated commitment to public‑interest advocacy and consumer protections, ideally with substantial demonstrated training or experience in food safety policy.
• Substantial experience with state or federal policy advocacy, including congressional and regulatory advocacy (Bachelor’s degree and 7+ years' experience or professional/graduate degree and 5+ years’ experience).
• Experience implementing and supporting successful policy/advocacy campaigns and maintaining the partnerships necessary for advancing those campaigns.
• Exceptional written communication skills with experience writing policy documents (regulatory comments, testimony, advocacy letters, fact sheets, op‑eds, action alerts, articles, and social media content).
• Ability to understand and communicate complex public policy topics effectively and persuasively to a policy and lay audience, with experience and comfort with public speaking. Media relations experience a plus.
• Excellent judgment, professionalism, and interpersonal skills demonstrated through a history of effective collaboration and teamwork.
• Demonstrated skills in organization/project management, ability to work in a fast‑paced environment and take responsibility for multiple projects and deadlines.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret legal, policy, and scientific documents.
• Proficiency with MSOffice applications, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Familiarity with social media and other web‑based research and advocacy tools.
• Beneficial skills/experience: Training in microbiology or food safety, academic research experience, or a prior position at a state or federal executive or legislative body.

About CSPI

CSPI, your food and health watchdog, is one of the nation’s leading public health advocacy organizations with a 50-year record of fighting for science in the public interest. We’ve led efforts to win passage of many federal, state, and local policies to improve food safety and nutrition. Our victories include successfully petitioning FDA to ban partially hydrogenated oils and carcinogenic flavorings; lobbying states to ban harmful food additives; spurring FDA to take enforcement action against retailers that illegally marketed supplements to treat COVID, opioid addiction, and infertility; and lobbying successfully for the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act. We do not take corporate donations, allowing us to serve as an independent voice for consumers in the food system.

CSPI on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

CSPI Is Committed To Including And Valuing Diverse Voices And Fostering a Culture That Ensures All Staff Feel a Sense Of Belonging And Are Encouraged To Be Their Best Selves. In That Spirit, Each Of Us Is Committed To Putting In Constant Work To Live Up To Our Organization’s Core Values

• We are inclusive. We seek to foster an environment where all staff feel a sense of belonging and are affirmed. We actively welcome and value staff with different experiences, backgrounds, attributes, abilities, and perspectives.
• We are open. We are honest and direct in how we communicate with each other.
• We are kind. We communicate and treat one another in a respectful, generous, considerate, and compassionate way.
• We are collaborative. We work together for the common good and shared success.
• We are accountable. We acknowledge and assume responsibility for our actions, learn from our mistakes with humility, and change course when circumstances warrant.

Compensation

The salary range is $94,000 to $110,000, based on experience. The actual salary offered will take into consideration many factors including but not limited to job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience, internal pay equity, and organizational needs.

• 3 weeks of annual vacation leave
• additional paid holiday leave between December 24 and January 1
• 8 weeks of paid parental leave
• excellent medical and dental insurance with CSPI paying a significant portion of employee and dependent premiums
• a 3% employer match contribution to the retirement plan after six months of service
• We also offer ½ day Fridays, which means full‑time staff work 36 hours per week

CSPI is committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills and encourages people of diverse ages, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, disabilities, religions, races, ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses, work, and life experiences to apply.

Research indicates members of marginalized groups tend to underestimate their qualifications and apply only if they are a 100% match. If you are passionate about CSPI's mission and think you have what it takes to be successful in this role, even if you don’t check all the boxes, please apply. We’d appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.