State Program Director

PIRG; Ann Arbor (MI); On-site; USD 44,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Paid sick time

Vacation time

Commuter benefit

401(k) with employer match

Parental leave

Long-term disability

Training program

Job summary

PIRG, the Public Interest Research Group, seeks state directors and advocates in Michigan (Ann Arbor area) to build support for campaigns that protect health, safety, and well-being. The role emphasizes policy development, coalition building, events, and persuasive communications to advance consumer protections and environmental goals.

Ideal candidates have 4+ years in advocacy/organizing, strong writing and public speaking skills, and willingness to travel; starting pay ranges from $43,500 to

Qualifications

• You are passionate about our public interest mission and using the power of grassroots organizing to win campaigns.
• A campaign advocate or grassroots organizer with at least 4 years of advocacy or organizing experience. Advanced degrees may count toward experience.
• An effective communicator with excellent writing and public speaking skills. Experience getting traditional and digital media coverage in previous work is a plus.
• Creative and effective at solving complex problems; a strategic thinker who can take advantage of new opportunities.
• A connector and good listener with a track record of bringing people together around a common goal; willing and interested in working with people who think differently than you.
• Well-organized and goal-oriented; capable of holding yourself accountable to a plan and also nimble enough to adapt as new opportunities or challenges arise.
• Able to travel regularly and be motivated to work when needed, which may sometimes be in the evenings and on weekends.

Responsibilities

• Help shape program priorities: Participate in policy development, research and messaging to determine our priorities in your state.
• Build powerful coalitions: Reach out to a broad range of organizations and affected constituency groups across the political spectrum to demonstrate support for our goals, including unlikely allies who might agree with us on one issue, even if we disagree on other issues.
• Organize events and recruit volunteers: Organize webinars, community events and public meetings. Recruit organizations and members of the public to attend and participate.
• Earn traditional media and social media attention: Organize media events and write opinion pieces. Build a following on social media for your campaign.
• Advocate: Present a compelling case to decision-makers for strong action on consumer protections through lobbying, testifying at hearings, and producing powerful written materials. Build relationships with key players in the state, the region and at the federal level.
• Fundraise: Write grant proposals, build relationships with foundation staff, and raise money from individual donors to bring more resources to our campaigns.
• Grow our team: Identify and recruit strong candidates to join our staff. Hire and manage interns to maximize the impact of your campaigns. Potential to train and oversee staff.

Skills

Advocacy experience

Writing skills

Public speaking

Grasroots organizing

Campaign strategy

Job description

PIRG, the Public Interest Research Group, is an advocate for consumers, advancing solutions to problems that affect our health, our safety and our well-being. With members across the country and a 50-year track record of getting results, we’re hiring state directors and advocates to build support for our goals in states across the country.

Some examples of our campaigns: Far too much stuff in our lives is single-use and designed for obsolescence, so PIRG’s Right to Repair campaign is making more of our things reusable, repairable and recyclable. While AI could transform society in positive ways, data centers are straining our energy resources and creating unacceptable levels of pollution, so we’re calling for a moratorium on new data centers to give us time to enact standards and protections. We pay too much and get too little value out of our health care system today, so our High Value Healthcare campaign is focused on cutting wasteful spending and absurd price tags.

We are looking for passionate, compelling, tenacious advocates to spotlight solutions and organize support behind them.

Key Responsibilities

PIRG State Directors are the face of our campaigns, and the voice for solutions. The position requires exercising discretion and independent judgment in making decisions in matters of significance. Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:

• Help shape program priorities: Participate in policy development, research and messaging to determine our priorities in your state.
• Build powerful coalitions: Reach out to a broad range of organizations and affected constituency groups across the political spectrum to demonstrate support for our goals, including unlikely allies who might agree with us on one issue, even if we disagree on other issues.
• Organize events and recruit volunteers: Organize webinars, community events and public meetings. Recruit organizations and members of the public to attend and participate.
• Earn traditional media and social media attention: Organize media events and write opinion pieces. Build a following on social media for your campaign.
• Advocate: Present a compelling case to decision-makers for strong action on consumer protections through lobbying, testifying at hearings, and producing powerful written materials. Build relationships with key players in the state, the region and at the federal level.
• Fundraise: Write grant proposals, build relationships with foundation staff, and raise money from individual donors to bring more resources to our campaigns.
• Grow our team: Identify and recruit strong candidates to join our staff. Hire and manage interns to maximize the impact of your campaigns. Potential to train and oversee staff.

Qualifications

You are:

• Passionate about our public interest mission and using the power of grassroots organizing to win campaigns.
• A campaign advocate or grassroots organizer with at least 4 years of advocacy or organizing experience. Advanced degrees may count toward experience.
• An effective communicator with excellent writing and public speaking skills. Experience getting traditional and digital media coverage in previous work is a plus.
• Creative and effective at solving complex problems; a strategic thinker who can take advantage of new opportunities.
• A connector and good listener with a track record of bringing people together around a common goal; willing and interested in working with people who think differently than you.
• Well-organized and goal-oriented; capable of holding yourself accountable to a plan and also nimble enough to adapt as new opportunities or challenges arise.
• Able to travel regularly and be motivated to work when needed, which may sometimes be in the evenings and on weekends.

Additional helpful experience

• Experience in the state legislature or other government office, or with an environmental or public health advocacy organization is a plus but not required.
• Fundraising experience, particularly in grant-seeking from charitable foundations.

Compensation and Benefits

The starting target annual compensation range for someone with 4-8 years of relevant experience is $43,500-$60,000. Candidates on the lower end of directly relevant experience should expect to be on the lower end of this range; candidates on the higher end of relevant experience are likely to be on the higher end of this range. PIRG offers an excellent benefits package. Our benefits package includes medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents, paid sick time (60-72 hours/year depending on location), vacation time (accruing 10 days over year 1, 15 days over year 2, and 20 days over year 3 and thereafter), 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.

Locations

We’re hiring state directors and advocates for existing state PIRGs in these locations: Madison, WI; Seattle, WA; Baltimore, MD; Raleigh, NC; Philadelphia or Harrisburg, PA; Ann Arbor, MI.

We’re hiring state directors and advocates to work in states where we are not currently operating in these locations: Chattanooga or Nashville, TN; Cheyenne, WY; Boise, ID; Salt Lake City, UT.

Why work with PIRG?

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

About PIRG

PIRG is an advocate for consumers, advancing solutions to problems that affect our health, our safety and our well-being.

Being a consumer advocate means being a champion for a marketplace that is not only honest and transparent, but also wastes less because it reduces, reuses and recycles more; prevents toxic threats to our health and safety; and considers the impact of new products and technologies on the next generation, not just the next quarterly earnings report.

The true North Star of a successful marketplace should not be the quantity of “stuff” we consume. It should be the quality of our lives.

Our Mission and Values

PIRG is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a new future and a strategic approach to change. Visit https://pirg.org/core-values/ for things you should know about our network when you apply.

Please do not use AI to help draft your cover letter or responses to our application questions. We want to know how you think and write.