Policy and Advocacy Director

Overview

Job Title: Policy and Advocacy Director
Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is a dynamic non-profit working to restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay and the marine environment and share them with the public for everyone to enjoy. With offices on the Boston Fish Pier overlooking Boston Harbor, Save the Harbor is the region’s leading voice for clean water and continued public investment in Boston Harbor, the region’s public beaches, and the Boston Harbor Islands, providing 3-season programming that works to connect youth, teens and families to our spectacular, urban natural resources.

 

Save the Harbor has a committed and collegial full time staff of seven, as well as enthusiastic and engaged interns, volunteers and consultants. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we have currently switched to a hydrid work model.

 

Position Summary
Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is looking for a Policy and Advocacy Director with strong leadership skills and experience in government relations and communications, to join our hard-working 7-member team. The Policy and Advocacy Director will report to and work directly with the Executive Director to lead, manage and coordinate critical aspects of Save the Harbor’s advocacy, outreach, policy, government relations and communications:

 

·       Provide leadership in the development of policy and strategy for advocacy efforts.

·       Maintain and steward close working relationships with elected officials at all levels of government, staffers, partners, community leaders, corporate partners, Metropolitan Beaches Commissioners and Beaches Science Advisory Committee members.

·       Support the effort to build a committed constituency connected to the benefits of our $5 billion investment in the Boston Harbor cleanup.

·       Staff Commission hearings and Committee meetings, coordinate event logistics, and oversee completion of reports to the Commission and Committee.

·       Coordinate outreach, help identify priority focus areas and advance Save the Harbor’s policy agenda.

·       Represent Save the Harbor at external meetings and events.

·       Stay current on the continued development of the Boston Harbor Waterfront properties and resources.

·       Provide leadership in support of Save the Harbor’s communications, including preparation of reports and white papers in close consultation with Save the Harbor’s Executive Director and Development Director.

·       Prepare and provide leadership in the development of press releases and direct mail.

·       Coordinate education efforts and public processes targeted at stakeholders and decision makers in government and in the press.

 

The successful candidate will have worked in political campaigns, legislative and/or executive offices and/or consulting firms, be experienced in the legislative process, have passion for Save the Harbor’s mission and community, and be willing to make 3-year commitment to a job that could have future internal opportunities.

Desired Qualifications:
·       A keen interest in key issues facing the city, the region, the nation and the marine environment.

·       Proven relationship building skills with internal and external stakeholders.

·       Excellent administrative, organizational, research, calendar management, computer, verbal, and written communications skills.

·       A commitment to anti-racist principles and racial, social and environmental justice and equity.

·       Demonstrated cultural competence and commitment to working with diverse populations.

·       Bachelor’s degree and/or 3-5 years’ experience in the non-profit, philanthropic, public policy or political arenas, including government service at the state or municipal level, including political campaigns.

·       Strong initiative, problem solving and ability to prioritize without direct supervision.

·       Ability to enjoy the spectacular, urban natural resources in Boston Harbor, the Harbor Islands and our region’s public beaches.

·       Interest in being a part of a collaborative, fun, and hard-working office environment with a focus on open communication and enthusiasm for our mission.

·       Superior people skills and sense of humor.

 

Salary and Benefits
Salary range for this position is $60,000-$75,000/year based on experience and qualifications, plus benefits including 100% health and dental insurance; vacation, personal, holiday and sick time; 401K retirement plan.

 

To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, and writing sample as a single PDF or Word document with your name in the file name to hr@savetheharbor.org.

 

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, LGBTQ+ and disabled individuals. We will not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any classification protected by federal, state, or local law.

 

 

About Save the Harbor/Save the Bay
Save the Harbor is an ambitious organization that has enjoyed tremendous success and earned the regard and friendship of a broad based constituency. Since 1986 we have been the region’s leading voice for clean water and the completion of the $5 billion Boston Harbor Clean-Up, which has transformed Boston Harbor from one of the dirtiest harbors in the nation into a source of educational, recreational and economic opportunity for all Bostonians and the region’s residents. Our mission is to restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, and the marine environment and share them with the public for everyone to enjoy.

 

Though clean water and environmental advocacy remain at the core of our mission, since 2001 Save the Harbor/Save the Bay has increasingly focused our attention on finding new ways to connect the nearly one million residents who live within half an hour of the coast, with the harbor, the beaches, and the islands. Today, Save the Harbor:

 

·       Leads and manages the Metropolitan Beaches Commission for the Massachusetts Legislature, charged with improving quality and equitable access to the Boston Harbor Region’s public beaches from Nahant on the North Shore to Nantasket on the South Shore.

·       Strengthens Boston’s waterfront neighborhoods and the region’s beachfront communities by hosting and sponsoring 870 free Better Beaches events and programs on the region’s public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket since 2008.

·       Connects over 35,000 youth and families each year with free Youth Environmental Education Programs that have introduced more than 260,000 underserved and low-income young people to the spectacular harbor we have worked so hard to restore and protect since we began them in 2002.

·       Convenes and leads our Beaches Science Advisory Committee, which led the effort to transform the South Boston beaches into the cleanest urban beaches in America and is working to improve water quality at King’s Beach in Lynn and Swampscott and Tenean Beach in Dorchester.

 

For more information about Save the Harbor and our work, visit www.savetheharbor.org, and review our 2021 Annual Impact Report.

 

Save the Harbor is committed to making Boston Harbor, the Islands, our beaches, and our programs inclusive, equitable, diverse, and accessible for everyone and anyone, knowing that racism and oppressive systems have prevented that from becoming a reality