Background: The Environmental Protection Network (EPN) is a 501c3 non-profit organization with an annual budget of over $5 million. EPN has a small staff across the country, a number of contractors, and more than 700 EPA alumni volunteers focused on building and defending the capacity of environmental agencies and the communities they serve to address the most urgent health and environmental crises. EPN works to:

• Ensure that EPA advances policies, budgets, and institutional changes to address climate and environmental injustices, as well as other pressing public health needs 
• Provide pro bono capacity-building technical assistance and training to frontline communities, NGOs, and under-resourced state/local/tribal government agencies 
• Provide pro bono support to civil servants 
• Educate Congress and serve as a critical resource for facts, objective analysis, and scientific rigor for reporters and NGOs 

Over 4 years ago, EPN launched its pro bono capacity-building technical assistance program to fight climate change and environmental injustices across the country. Since then, EPN has connected over 200 experts from within its volunteer network—scientists, lawyers, economists, and others—to over 2,500 requests from disadvantaged communities; non-profit organizations; and under-resourced state, local, and tribal government agencies. EPN provides pro bono assistance on community-identified needs, including reviewing permits, teaching protocols for gathering water and ambient air samples, advising on critical next steps to achieve proper contamination remediation at Superfund sites, and more. EPN has helped communities receive over $700 million in federal grant awards. 

In addition, in partnership with Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Communities First, and many others, EPN deploys information, resources, and 1:1 support to EPA federal grantees to safeguard and defend over $35 billion in critical EPA funding and help grants implement their work. Internally, we refer to this work as “Safeguarding” and have a team of staff and contractors or support its implementation. This position would be located in the “Safeguarding” team.

This is a fully remote position, and all day-to-day work is remote, as EPN does not have an office. In addition, there are some in-person meetings and travel. We are looking for this position to start immediately.

About The Position:

Reporting to the Director of Development, the Senior National Grants Associate will partner with and support the Safeguarding team and coordinate efforts with the other Senior National Grants Associates. They will leverage their strong organizational and relationship-building skills, combined with environmental justice and/or social justice expertise, to meet the evolving needs of a growing environmental justice nonprofit. This is an ideal opportunity for someone who loves working in deep collaboration with others and can quickly adapt to changing landscapes and conditions. This staff member will take directives from the Executive Director and the Safeguarding team (including some senior consultants and outside partners). 

Responsibilities:

General Safeguarding Support Activities- 

• Monitoring the Safeguarding inbox and answering grantee questions using template responses
• Tracking grantee questions and answers; ensuring our internal records of support are kept up-to-date
• Supporting the development of presentations/resources
• Supporting the facilitation of our federal funding webinars and grant-specific working groups
• Managing our group of grants management volunteers, which would include:
  • Scheduling and facilitating volunteer calls
  • Tracking and strategizing on volunteer engagement/contributions/capacity
• Assisting with drafting grantee emails, federal funding guidance newsletters, call agendas, follow-up emails, and website updates
• Assisting with the relationship management of partner coordination
• Supporting the creation of a triage system to streamline the intake of communities requesting assistance with grants management and compliance

Qualifications:

• At least 2 years of relevant work experience 
• Highly productive in remote working environments 
• Self-starter 
• Interest in environmental justice, US environmental and health policy, and/or the work of the EPA
• Experience with or knowledge of social justice and equity issues 
• Strong writing skills 
• Strong project management experience 
• Detail-oriented and unafraid to ask questions 
• Ability to work independently, work on many different projects, and switch effectively from one task to another 
• Experience working in collaborations or with multiple partners 
• Strong work ethic 
• Familiarity with Google Docs and Spreadsheets 

Competencies:

1. Building Relationships: Establishing and maintaining strong relationships is vital for success in this role. The Senior National Grants Associate should foster trust and rapport with internal and external staff, leveraging these connections to advance organizational goals. They must be skilled in networking, collaborating, and navigating complex relationships to execute support across the entire Safeguarding team and coordinate efforts with other teams across EPN. They engage in open, respectful communication and understand the importance of giving and receiving feedback with peers to strengthen partnerships and enhance team effectiveness. 
2. Making Decisions & Demonstrating Judgement: The Senior National Grants Associate demonstrates sound judgment by prioritizing tasks, assessing resource needs, and providing support where necessary. They feel comfortable iterating on ideas and concepts, adapting approaches based on emerging needs and new insights. They identify opportunities for both personal and professional growth throughout the project lifecycle and take the initiative to act on them. 
3. Managing Execution: The Senior National Grants Associate ensures effective execution by coordinating tasks, tracking database progress, and supporting staff during absences or high demand. They facilitate connections between communities and resources, schedule key meetings, and foster partnerships to align community needs with organizational goals. Through webinars, templates, and training materials, they enhance capacity-building efforts. Additionally, they collaborate with senior leadership on resource needs, special projects, and conference representation, ensuring seamless and impactful operations.
4. Planning: Senior National Grants Associate creates strong plans to ensure effective management of their core responsibilities and day-to-day workflow. Additionally, the Senior National Grants Associate will be responsible for becoming a project manager for special projects on the Safeguarding team. This will require creating and managing a project plan with a wide variety of stakeholders, monitoring progress, and adjusting the course when necessary. 

Pay:

• An annual salary of $74,261 based in D.C. We will adjust the salary up or down based on locality. 

Benefits:

The Environmental Protection Network is a fully remote virtual environment. We think about our compensation as a package of total rewards that starts with a competitive salary. 

Work-Life Balance:

• 40-hour work week with a flexible work schedule and core hours of 11 AM-4 PM ET. 
• 11 paid Federal Holidays and other paid days when the office is closed (including the work day before or after July 4, the day after Thanksgiving, and the work days between December 25th and January 1)
• Organization-wide non-meeting days on all major holidays that fall outside of the federal calendar (our staff can submit these to our calendar based on religious or cultural holidays)
• 3 weeks (120 hours) of paid time off (inclusive of sick, personal days, and vacation)

Financial Security:

• Competitive market-based salary 
• Annual tenure bonus (determined annually, where funds are available)
• Performance-based bonuses where applicable
• 401K Retirement Plan, 4% company match 

Wellness Benefits:

• 80% employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance, 50% employer-paid family

• 100% employer-paid life (50K), opportunity to purchase additional life coverage is available for the employee and spouse 
• 100% employer-paid short and long-term disability insurance 
• Access to employee-paid FSA, HSA, and commuter benefits 
• Up to 6 weeks of paid leave upon the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child

Career Development:

• Up to $500/year for professional development-related expenses 
• Ongoing access to internal professional development training 

Additional Benefits:

• $150 monthly cell phone plan and home internet reimbursement 
• Up to $2,000/year for the purchase of phones, computers, headsets, software, or other equipment used consistently to carry out staff responsibilities
• Applicable travel expenses, including travel time outside of your local area

Environmental injustices disproportionately impact the most marginalized people in society, including people of color, people from working-class backgrounds, women, and LGBTQIA+ people. Because we believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities.