Energy and Climate Justice Organizer

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is hiring an Energy and Climate Justice Organizer in Bowling Green, KY, to lead campaigns for clean energy and accountability in electric utilities. The role involves grassroots organizing, supporting diverse leaders, and implementing strategies for energy and climate justice. Candidates should have experience in anti-racist organizing, grassroots fundraising, and community engagement to advance a just transition in Kentucky's rural areas.
Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC) seeks to hire an Energy and Climate Justice Organizer to advance local, state, and federal campaigns related to clean and affordable energy, holding electric utilities accountable, and shaping a just transition. This Organizer will help strengthen KFTC’s organizing, organization, and alliances in ways that advance the organization’s vision, values, and long-term goals. This position will focus primarily on campaigns related to Kentucky’s Rural Electric Cooperatives and the communities they serve.

What You’ll Do

KFTC seeks an organizer who is highly motivated, self-aware, creative, committed to lifelong learning and transforming the future of Kentucky while seeking to achieve mutual liberation for all. This organizer will collaborate closely with our Urban Energy & Climate Justice Organizer.

We are especially interested in hiring Organizers to:
• Do strong, anti-racist, anti-colonial organizing in specific regions of our state; with a focus in Kentucky’s rural electric cooperative territories as well as other rural communities.
• Bring skills and experience doing and leading organizing movements for mutual liberation, grassroots fundraising, campaigns, membership building, door-to-door canvassing, 1:1s and more.

You will:
• Recruit, support, and activate a growing, diverse, skilled, informed, and value aligned set of grassroots leaders in Kentucky whose lived experiences and values motivate them to work for racial, economic and environmental justice; energy, land, and climate justice; and Just Transition.
• Support KFTC’s New Energy and Transition Committee, members, and allies to advance a visionary, anti-racist, anti-colonial policy agenda related to energy, land, climate justice, and Just Transition.
• Support implementation of organizing campaigns and strategies related to energy, land, climate justice, and Just Transition. Current priorities include campaigns aimed at: speeding a just transition to clean energy by Kentucky’s monopoly utilities; transforming governance practices and clean energy programs offered by Kentucky’s rural electric cooperatives; pushing local governments to invest in equitable clean energy programs to benefit communities of color and low-income residents; shaping decisions about utility rates and Kentucky’s energy future at the KY Public Service Commission; winning / securing transformative federal climate and just transition policies; opposing the build-out of false climate solutions; and shaping public narratives about the climate crisis, jobs, and justice.
• Create opportunities for thousands of Kentuckians to grow as energy, land, and climate justice leaders, which can look like: designing and facilitating workshops; providing one-to-one and small group coaching; planning high-quality webinars, conferences, and community meetings; lifting and supporting the perspectives & experiences of Black, Indigenous, and people of color residing in KY; creating clear and compelling written materials; organizing door-to-door canvassing; creating opportunities for people to take collective action and demonstrate solidarity; and supporting people to take on various leadership roles.
• Represent KFTC within several key just transition, energy, land, and climate justice alliances and cultivate strong and healthy relationships that will lead to greater alignment, resources, and shared strategies among allies at local, state, regional, national, and global levels.
• Contribute to important organizational goals and priorities, including by centering anti-racist & anti-colonial principles and practices, building a strong and effective staff team, helping to raise resources through grassroots and foundation fundraising, and more.

Who You Are:

You are deeply committed to KFTC’s vision and values, as well as grassroots organizing as an approach to change. Key attributes & guiding principles include:
• Ideally, 3 or more years experience in a similar role.
• Brings a visionary spirit to the work and culture of the organization via brave imagination, innovative thought and creativity.
• Persistently seeks understanding the specific experiences of historically marginalized groups in the U.S., particularly Black and Indigenous groups.
• Employs anti-racist & anti-colonial values, practices, and principles to your personal & professional life.
• Direct anti-racism and anti-colonial experience (e.g. direct experience in and/or with Black & Indigenous led justice movements, etc.).
• Understands the importance and potential of building authentic solidarity between BIPOC folks and low income white folks historically, presently, and as a guiding light. Has experience cultivating these relationships.
• Understanding of grassroots community organizing and social justice issues in Kentucky including Kentucky’s political, economic, and energy landscape.
• Deep alignment with values, interests, principles and policies related to Just Transition and Black & Indigenous led energy, land, and climate justice movements.
• Experience with grassroots organizing campaigns and fundraising, preferably ones centered around Just Transition, energy, land, and climate justice through an anti-racist & anti-colonial lens.
• Familiar with local, state, and federal political institutions relevant to climate and just transition policy in Kentucky.
• Familiar with KFTC and our allies in the Just Transition, energy, land, and climate justice movement.
• Strong interpersonal communication, group facilitation, and listening skills.
• Organized and reliable; ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Strategic, able to cope with changing and uncertain circumstances.
• Ability to work well independently as this job is very self directed, but also skilled at working collaboratively in teams with volunteers and co-workers.
• Experience with spokesperson development and media relations.
• Comfortable using (and/or learning to use) technology, including Google platforms, databases, email and Slack communication and various social media platforms.
• Is committed to being a lifelong learner who is open to flow and change and capable of being open to giving, receiving, & applying critique.
• Prioritizes self-care for the purpose of collective care.

Tagged as: Advocacy/Communications, Law/Policy