Local recruitment: Water Policy Analyst

Overview

NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet’s wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our people helped write some of America’s bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our team of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and the globe from our offices in Bozeman, Montana; Chicago; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing.

NRDC is seeking a Water Policy Analyst to work with the National Policy Team in People & Communities team in our Washington, DC office.

Position Summary

The National Policy Team in the People and Communities Program (P&C) at NRDC is looking for a Policy Analyst to support our advocacy to help secure safe, sufficient and affordable drinking water on the local, state, regional, and federal levels.  Within P&C, The National Policy Team is a matrixed team focused on equity and community-centered federal, state, local and regulatory policy across the built environment, including: climate, adaptation, safe drinking water, housing, and equity and justice.  The Analyst will collaborate within People & Communities Program and with other NRDC colleagues in various programs and capacities, as well as with partners and external consultants.

The Analyst will provide technical assistance and strategic guidance on various drinking water efforts throughout the institution. Duties will include conducting detailed analyses, reviewing data, legislation, regulations and policies that are at the intersection of water, equity, justice, health, and the built environment. The Analyst will work closely with environmental justice groups and community-based organizations to support priority institutional initiatives such as equitable implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other efforts of the water team.  This position requires a commitment to addressing environmental injustices, very strong analytical, organizational and project management skills, communication skill attention to detail and the ability to understand and translate complex metrics/analytics.  They must be able to juggle multiple tasks and possess an eagerness to work with a diverse and fast-paced team with limited supervision.

Responsibilities

• Perform analysis of the effectiveness and impacts of emerging regulations and policy proposals in support of the National Policy Team developing strategies to in an effort to secure safe drinking water.
• Perform analysis of policy proposals for other sectors if they intersect with safe drinking water infrastructure.   
• Collaborate with partners and consultants performing economic and health modeling of federal, regional, state and local impacts of regulations and policy proposals.
• Lead research and analyses needed to support our advocacy, either by conducting original research or by managing consultants conducting analyses.
• Draft material pertaining to national, regional, state and local consequences of policies and investments, including fact sheets, blogs, policy briefs, and primers in various forms. This may include PowerPoint presentations, GIS web maps and other graphics, and other visual and report formats.
• Develop metrics, collect and analyze data, reports and blogs, interactive and public-facing materials and graphics.
• Contribute to legal briefs and comments.
• Provide technical expertise and analysis on federal legislation, policy proposals and emerging regulations, including: drinking water at the federal, state and local levels and replacing lead pipes and the data gathering on where the pipes are located, how to access financing for replacing pipes (ex. the Lead and Copper Rule, Safe Drinking Water Act, school drinking water quality, and more).
• Contribute to and review policy publications, including peer reviewed articles, NRDC reports, issue briefs, internal memos, and NRDC blogs.
• Communicate with government officials, the scientific community, and the public our positions and goals as they relate to the Analyst’s expertise.
• Speak on behalf of NRDC’s work in the media and other related opportunities, such as the organization’s social media platforms.
• Engage in public speaking at conferences, webinars, and other related opportunities.
• Act as a resource and mentor for colleagues with less experience.
• Contribute to the advancement of internal and external diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
• Actively work to center diversity, equity, inclusion, and movement building in our work with our partners.

Qualifications

Required

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in economics, engineering, public health, or other relevant field.
• Have at least 3 years of experience studying water policies, particularly pertaining to policy implementation.
• Understanding of federal and state policies related to the water sectors.
• Familiarity with publicly available data sources and databases.
• Strong communications and writing skills.
• Strong interpersonal and active listening skills with a collaborative working style.
• Well-developed organizational skills and proven ability to manage projects and relationships.
• Experience working in diverse coalitions and in partnership with community groups, particularly BIPOC-led groups, preferred.
• Deep understanding and demonstrated commitment to and competency in racial equity, diversity, and inclusion principles, including contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment and experience with advancing DEI.

Preferred

• Graduate-level degree in economics, engineering, public health, or other relevant field.
• Have 4-5 years of relevant work experience in water or environmental field;
• Have experience working on water policies, particularly pertaining to policy implementation.
• Experience working with federal and state policies related to the water sectors.
• Experience working with publicly available data sources and databases.
   

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet’s most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and is commensurate with skills and experience. For this position, the salary is $80,000 to $100,000. Internal equity considerations will be reviewed before making a final offer.

Since March 2020, NRDC’s offices have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You will be associated with one of our offices, but until circumstances allow us to re-open, we will continue to support NRDCers with remote working arrangements.

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination, those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions via NRDC Employee Relations. NRDC treats all vaccine-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws.

To apply, visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your résumé and cover letter. Please mention where you saw this posting and upload any additional materials that showcase your abilities. Due to the high volume of applications, we will contact only those candidates we would like to interview. Please no phone calls, emails, or in-person résumé drop-offs.

If you experience technical problems while applying or if you are a person with a disability and need assistance applying online, please reach out to iCIMS Customer Care at 1-800-889-4422.

For more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org.