West Michigan Regional Coordinator

West Michigan Regional Coordinator 

The Michigan League of Conservation Voters (MLCV) — one of Michigan’s largest, most impactful political advocacy organizations working to clean up our water and air, address climate change, and protect access to voting — is seeking a full-time West Michigan Regional Coordinator to help anchor our regional organizing work to elect champions by running aggressive, focused issue-education campaigns and holding elected officials accountable while in office. 

This work is centered around the organization’s statewide #OurWaterOurVote brand, and the West Michigan Regional Coordinator will work as a member of our Advocacy & Outreach team. They will lead a team of organizers in daily work that engages voters and community partners to grow our volunteer base, and build collective strength in Kent County. Together, #OurWaterOurVote campaigns pressure our elected leaders to act on pivotal issues facing West Michigan families — like toxic PFAS water contamination, aging infrastructure that pollutes our rivers and lakes, and the dramatic impacts of climate change.  We then focus on that work at the local, state, and federal levels to have an impact.    

The ideal candidate has a tenacious, self-starter attitude with experience in either political candidate campaigns, issue-based 501(c)(4) community organizing, or union worker organizing. The ideal candidate is an organizer at-heart, who is detail-oriented and has instincts around how to blend field organizing, social media, and volunteer leadership management. They are passionate about politics and want to be immersed in the high-speed world of it. They can reference work experience that would be relevant to the above, and most notably, can  talk specifically about how to build a volunteer engagement and recruitment campaign from soup-to-nuts. 

About the Michigan League of Conservation Voters

The Michigan League of Conservation Voters is a statewide political organization whose mission is to elect pro-conservation candidates to office and to hold all decision makers accountable for protecting Michigan’s drinking water, attacking climate change, and expanding access to the ballot. We work closely with elected officials, business leaders, partner organizations, and advocates from across the state, and we have built a reputation as the leading, non-partisan political voice for Michigan’s land, air, and water.

Michigan LCV is an equal opportunity employer. We assure equal treatment in hiring selection, promotion, transfer, compensation, benefits, training, discipline, and other personnel practices and terms or conditions of employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, height, weight, marital status, genetic testing status, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender status, or any other protected class established by all applicable federal, state and local laws and ordinances.

Job Responsibilities 

This position reports to the Advocacy & Outreach Manager, is based in the Grand Rapids area, and is responsible for the following: 

• Lead a team of organizers in targeted areas of Kent County, building measurable work for them in community engagement, issue education, canvassing (both virtual and in-person), and other tactics 
• Collaborate with a coalition of partners in Kent County to develop and execute a series of campaigns that elevate key issues for both local and state action
• Organize and execute media events, town halls, volunteer canvassing efforts, local direct actions and other tactics to amplify and elevate our issues
• Supervise a part-time organizer
• Oversee and train part-time, capacity-building organizers doing 6-week programs of both virtual and in-person canvassing
• Develop and lead a program to recruit, engage and grow opportunities for #OurWaterOurVote volunteer leaders, who will help drive local efforts around toxic contamination and voting access
• Participating in all Michigan LCV political election work — doing the hard work of campaigning, which means volunteering yourself to do door-to-door field canvassing, text and phone banking, and attend campaign events

• Keeping a steady pulse on the local political lay of the land and local environmental issues, sharing that knowledge with staff and key partners, and using those issues and opportunities to engage Kent County residents in Michigan LCV’s work

Qualifications

We are seeking candidates who are results driven, passionate about politics, and excel at developing relationships. You should have: 

• Organizing instincts, with a minimum 3 years of experience in political candidate campaigns or 501(c)(4) issue-based advocacy experience — ideally with 1 year spent supervising staff and volunteers
• A goal-driven, organized, positive, and solutions-oriented approach to work, with the ability to complete projects independently or collaboratively as needed
• The ability to build and effectively manage a team as well as develop and maintain strong working relationships with and among a wide range of stakeholders, including communities of color
• Proficiency with a variety of database systems, including Microsoft, Google Suite, and ideally Voter Activation Network (VAN) or Every Action
• A commitment to West Michigan and the strong desire to address  local drinking water, air pollution, and climate impacts in the region
• Ability to work weekdays and willingness to work a flexible schedule, including nights and weekends
• A valid driver’s license, car insurance, reliable access to a car, the internet, and a phone to use for work purposes as well as the ability to canvass, walking at least a mile and navigating physical obstacles such as stairs
• Cultural Competencies:
  • Demonstrated awareness of one’s own cultural identity and the ability to learn and build on varying community norms
  • Commitment to equity and inclusion as organizational practice and culture.
  • Understanding of how environmental issues intersect with racism, economic and social inequality in the U.S. and has a passion for working to dismantle these systems.

Compensation & Benefits

The starting salary for this position ranges from $49,000 - $57,000 depending on experience. Michigan LCV offers a benefits package that includes health and dental coverage, long-term and short-term disability coverage, life insurance coverage, a retirement savings program, reimbursements for business-related travel, a generous paid time off policy, and a team of smart, funny, and kind colleagues working together to deliver on a mission that matters.