Zero Waste Associate

Zero Waste Campaign Associate, CALPIRG

Los Angeles, CA

CALPIRG is hiring a passionate, dedicated, and organized campaign associate to help drive our campaigns to reduce fashion waste, plastic pollution, and in general move us towards a “zero waste” economy in which less is consumed and all materials are reused, recycled and composted. 

Our country has a waste problem. Natural resources are continually extracted to produce goods that are used – often just once – before they are thrown into landfills, incinerators or the natural environment. For example, it takes a lot of water and energy to produce clothing, but with the rise of fast fashion, many clothes are thrown away after being worn a few times or never at all, and now the equivalent of a dump truck filled with clothing is sent to a landfill or incinerator every second. 

To protect public health and the environment, conserve natural resources and landscapes, and address the mounting crisis of climate change, California needs to move toward an economic system characterized by zero waste. 

Key responsibilities

Our Zero Waste Campaign Associate will support campaigns to tackle fast fashion, reduce needless plastic waste, protect us from microplastics and other zero waste efforts. This position requires exercising discretion and independent judgment in making decisions in matters of significance.

• 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 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.
• Lobby elected officials: Meet with decision makers – from city council members to state legislators – to make the case for our campaign goals. When a critical vote is happening on your campaign, work to demonstrate the support you’ve been building on the ground to help line up the votes needed to win.
• 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.

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.

Compensation and Benefits

The target annual compensation for this entry-level position is $38,250-$39,500. CALPIRG offers an excellent benefits package. Our benefits package includes medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents, time off, 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. 

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Why work with CALPIRG? Check out 10 reasons on our website.

About CALPIRG

CALPIRG is a part of 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

CALPIRG and PIRG are part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to social change. Visit our website 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.

CALPIRG is an equal opportunity employer and will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.