WHO WE ARE: The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy has been the leading legal and scientific voice for Minnesota’s environment since 1974. A growing nonprofit with offices in Saint Paul and Duluth, MCEA supports its employees through a commitment to a living wage, a good benefits package, and regular opportunities for professional growth and development. We value diversity, equity, an inclusive culture, and respect in the workplace. MCEA was featured on the 2021 Best Nonprofits to Work For list by the Nonprofit Times.
POSITION SUMMARY: We seek an energetic and experienced senior-level employee to increase our competency for equitable decision-making, policies, practices, and culture and to build capacity for strengthening our partnerships in environmental justice communities. This is a critical role for the organization both internally and externally. Externally, this person will craft and implement a strategy for building coalitions and strengthening partnerships with communities working towards the goal of environmental justice in Minnesota. Internally, this person will direct our organizational development for diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Chief Equity and Partnership Officer is a member of the senior leadership team and contributes to MCEA’s overall management and strategic direction to successfully achieve our mission. MCEA values bold leadership and seeks to empower its leaders with creative license and control in a collaborative and supportive culture. This is a great opportunity to join a nimble team that is committed to working and laughing hard together, and to have a big impact on the state’s future.
The ideal candidate would be deeply committed to our mission, capable of leading design and implementation of organization-wide strategies in a collaborative fashion, a good listener who is capable of giving and receiving honest feedback, an experienced leader who can inspire others with their vision, and able to contribute positively to the creation of a diverse, equitable, inclusive team-oriented work environment that celebrates differences.
WHY NOW? This is a new position for MCEA. Four years ago, we adopted a new strategic plan to center equity and environmental justice in our work. Over the past four years, we have engaged in training in diversity, equity, and inclusion for our board, leadership, and staff. We have examined our pay and benefits structure to ensure that we are effectively and equitably supporting our employees. We have established new relationships with communities across Minnesota, and we have changed the way we do our work. Hiring an Officer of Partnerships and Equity is a critical part of our strategic plan and organizational growth.
HOW WILL WE SUPPORT YOU? MCEA’s goal is for this to be a successful and powerful position at our organization. We will support the successful candidate through outside consultants on our diversity, equity, and inclusion work, coaching from an expert on DEI work in legal settings, or another coach of the Officer’s choice, and the strong support of our DEI and environmental justice work from our leadership team and board.
MAJOR AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
- 40% Designing and strengthening partnerships – Develop and implement strategies to:
- Strengthen MCEA’s relationships in communities that are historically overburdened or suffer increased vulnerabilities from pollution;
- Identify opportunities for partnerships in communities that further MCEA’s strategic goals;
- Engage a variety of perspectives both inside and outside the organization on how to effectively shape and engage with coalitions in the environmental justice movement;
- Lead the implementation of an environmental justice program, including the potential for additional hires, to execute the above strategies.
- 40% Leading Organizational Development – Lead development and implementation of strategies to:
- grow a shared language and understanding of equity and inclusion throughout the organization;
- ensure that dominant culture norms are not the sole arbiter of success within our organization;
- foster an inclusive culture that welcomes and embraces diversity;
- increase the diversity of staff and board;
- enable MCEA to become a leader on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and inspire other white-led partner organizations to follow our lead.
- 20% Executive Leadership – Participate in the senior leadership team at MCEA making decisions about:
- Strategic planning and implementation;
- New hires and other investments for a growing organization;
- Allocation of time and resources among various programs and priorities; and
- Fundraising initiatives and supporting and growing foundation relationships.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Five years of experience in organizational leadership or development, either in nonprofits, government, or the private sector
- Experience with training and professional development for diversity, equity, and inclusion
- The skills to wrestle with others on a journey of understanding environmental justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as the ability to see disagreements as an opportunity.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate and work effectively in environmental justice communities, including Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and low-income people.
- Commitment to public interest environmental advocacy and environmental justice
- Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
- Skilled at strategic planning and decision-making
- Demonstrated ability to efficiently direct a team to organize and complete tasks towards an identified goal.
SALARY & BENEFITS: MCEA strives to create a mission-focused work environment that is equitable and inclusive. MCEA highly values diversity and is an equal opportunity employer. We are proud to support our employees through a range of strategies, including generous benefits for employees and dependents, paid family leave, and support from an executive coach. The annual salary range for this position is $95,000-$105,000. The position is 0.8 – 1.0 FTE, and the salary would be prorated accordingly.
REPORTS TO: Chief Executive Officer.
TO APPLY: Please send your resume and cover letter to hr@mncenter.org by March 15, 2022 for priority consideration. In your cover letter, please describe how you would approach advancing environmental justice in the legal sector or in the environmental movement generally. Please also indicate in your e-mail where you located this job posting. You must submit all materials directly to this email address – no applications via third party website (such as Indeed) will be accepted.