Sustainable Food Systems Campaign Associate

U.S. PIRG; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 36,000 - 44,000; Full time

Job summary

PIRG in Portland, OR is seeking an End Food Waste Campaign Associate to join the Zero Waste team, working to educate, organize, and build support across the political spectrum.

The role involves empowering communities, organizing events, recruiting volunteers, and lobbying officials to advance policies that reduce food waste.

Entry-level candidates are encouraged; training is provided, with opportunities for leadership, writing and public speaking; expect travel and evening/weekend work as needed.

Qualifications

• Leadership experience and strong writing/public speaking skills.
• Willingness to learn and take on challenges.
• Organizing experience on campus or in the community.
• Ability to travel regularly and work evenings/weekends.

Responsibilities

• Educate and mobilize public support across the political spectrum.
• Build coalitions with a broad range of organizations.
• Earn traditional media and organize events; build a social media following.
• Organize events and recruit volunteers and interns.
• Lobby elected officials and write reports.
• Recruit new people to the team and run a campaign office in summer.
• Participate in trainings and cross-team projects.

Skills

Leadership experience

Writing

Public speaking

Organizing experience

Travel regularly

Job description

PIRG

End Food Waste Campaign Associate

Portland, OR

PIRG is hiring an End Food Waste Campaign Associate to join our Zero Waste team, to work with us to stand up for consumers and the public interest.

We waste too much food. In the United States, we throw away roughly 30% of our total food supply every year. By one estimate, if all of the food wasted each year in the U.S. came from a single farm, that farm would be roughly the size of California and New York state combined.

Given the amount of time, energy, and resources involved in growing, processing, and transporting food, the last thing we should do is throw it away, especially if it is still good to eat. We are hiring a campaign associate to educate, organize and build support across the political spectrum for policies that would reduce food waste and make better use of these valuable resources.

Key Responsibilities

The Campaign Associate will work to build support for reforms that reduce food waste. This position requires exercising discretion and independent judgment in making decisions in matters of significance. Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Educate and mobilize public support: Conduct online and in-person outreach to educate the public on our issues and ways to get involved.
• Build powerful coalitions: Reach out to a broad range of organizations and affected constituency groups across the political spectrum to build and demonstrate support for our campaign goals.
• Earn traditional media and social media attention: Organize news conferences and write opinion pieces. Build a following on social media for your campaign.
• Organize events and work with volunteers: Organize webinars, community events and public meetings. Recruit organizations and members of the public to attend and participate.
• Lobby elected officials: Meet with decision makers - from city council members to state and federal legislators to regulatory staff - to make the case for and demonstrate support for our campaign goals.
• Research and write reports: Catalog and analyze data relevant to the issue and our policy proposals to help influence public debate and earn media attention for our cause.
• Recruit new people to your team: Help build your team by recruiting volunteers, interns and full-time staff.
• Run a grassroots campaign office each summer: Run a campaign office for the summer, knocking on doors to raise money to support our campaigns, build our organization and membership, and help build critical and timely grassroots support to win key campaigns. Your responsibilities will include meeting your own fundraising goals and managing a team of paid staff. You may be assigned to a different office location for the summer and should be flexible to move.
• Take part in organizational projects and trainings: Beyond your own campaign, you may be called on to help other teams on priority campaigns and tactics, ranging from clean energy to clean water to right to repair. You may travel and participate in regional and national trainings and other in-person or virtual projects as needed. This is not a standard “9-5” or “clock in, clock out” position.

Qualifications

Entry-level candidates are encouraged to apply. Though we expect you to take your campaign and run with it, we provide training on advocacy and organizing skills, as well as oversight by an experienced advocate. Ideal candidates will have leadership experience, top-notch writing and public speaking skills, an eagerness to learn, and be ready for a challenge. We value organizing experience, including building campus or community groups. Candidates must be able to travel regularly and be motivated to work when needed, which may sometimes be in the evenings and on weekends.

Compensation and Benefits

The target annual compensation for this position is $40,000 in the first year. PIRG offers an excellent benefits package. Our benefits package includes medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents, time off, a commuter benefit program, 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.

Location

Portland, OR

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.

PIRG is an equal opportunity employer.