Bennington College is seeking a National Plastics Organizer to join the Beyond Plastics team to lead the organization’s work to block proposed chemical recycling facilities and advocate for safer and more responsible alternatives to chemical recycling. The National Community Organizer will design and implement new campaigns that will support local residents who are opposing the construction of chemical recycling facilities at the community level. The  National Plastics Organizer will report to the President of Beyond Plastics and work with other Beyond Plastics staff, volunteer advocates, and partner organizations to accomplish the comprehensive goal. This is a remote work arrangement. 

The individual will create a thorough organizational plan of action, which integrates strategic planning, outreach, grassroots mobilization, and communication. Working collaboratively with our Digital and Communications teams, the individual will leverage social media, emails, and online platforms to provide cohesive, compelling messaging. Working with our Policy and Organizing teams, the National Plastics Organizer will plan, coordinate, and execute a grassroots strategy to block these polluting facilities at the local level.  

The ideal candidate will have demonstrated success in developing and leading effective campaigns, communicating with the public, and building and maintaining diverse coalitions. The ideal candidate will have the experience, maturity and self-direction to work autonomously in this fully remote organization. An understanding of environmental justice, climate change issues, plastics pollution, and public health is important.  The key to this role is relationship building; creating and maintaining fundamental relationships by identifying individuals and organizations who will work with Beyond Plastics to block polluting facilities. 

Bennington serves a diverse student population inclusive of members of ethnically/racially minoritized, international, LGBTQIA+, and disability communities, as well as diverse gender identities, socioeconomic backgrounds, religions, and political beliefs. Our staff and faculty also reflect diverse and intersecting backgrounds and identities. All employees are expected to be respectful and responsive to these differences in the service of building a community that promotes student and employee success and community cohesiveness. Each individual (faculty, staff, and students) will be accountable for upholding these values. The College’s approach to pluralism and inclusivity—both as fields of inquiry and practice—is to prioritize flexible thought, and to invite the examination of access, value, power, and privilege through its institutional policies and areas of study. We encourage applicants from diverse realms of interest, backgrounds, experience, and accomplishment to apply.

The National Plastics Organizer will work with members of Beyond Plastics’ Staff to: 

• Design, develop, and direct grassroots work to oppose the siting of chemical recycling and petrochemical facilities nationally, with a focus on a handful of proposed facilities.
• Cultivate relationships with elected officials, environmental groups, community groups, and citizen activists and support their work
• Join, build and mobilize coalitions with existing organizations and community leaders.
• Raise awareness about dangers of chemical recycling, especially with the media.
• Build the grassroots base of support to block these polluting facilities. 
• Serve as a spokesperson for Beyond Plastics on these matters
• Create high-quality educational materials, including fact sheets, brochures, social media posts, testimony, op-eds, sign-on letters, news releases, and petitions
• Utilize earned media and social media to achieve goals
• Engage with elected officials to forward the goals of Beyond Plastics
• Work with other groups to monitor permitting processes for priority facilities and use information to educate public officials, provide feedback, submit testimony at public hearings 
• Strategically mobilize grassroots volunteers
• Supervise Beyond Plastics colleagues working on chemical recycling 
  

This position requires successful completion and acceptable results of a background check. 

Qualifications

Commitment

1. A strong interest in ending plastic pollution and a commitment to Beyond Plastics’ goals
2. A demonstrated commitment to social equity and racial justice and an eagerness to understand how these issues are related in communities impacted by plastic pollution
3. Grounded in the connections between climate, economic, health and racial justice and the ability to speak fluently about these issues
4. A commitment to environmental advocacy

Education/Experience

1. A bachelor’s degree and a minimum of ten years of experience managing campaigns and working in advocacy, policy, and/or  climate initiatives.

Skills

1. Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
2. Ability to work well within a team of motivated individuals
3. Skilled at managing projects with tight deadlines  
4. Effective trouble-shooting skills and good judgment
5. Willing and able to work varying schedules including mornings and evenings with occasional weekends and travel 

Salary range: $90,000 - $100,000 annually 

About Beyond Plastics 

Launched in January 2019 and based at Bennington College, Beyond Plastics pairs the wisdom and experience of environmental policy experts with the energy and creativity of grassroots advocates to build a vibrant and effective movement to end plastic pollution. We use our deep policy and advocacy expertise to build a well-informed, effective movement seeking to achieve the institutional, economic, and societal changes needed to save our planet, and ourselves, from the negative health, climate, and environmental impacts of the production, usage, and disposal of plastics.

The College

Bennington College offers a comprehensive benefits program that includes medical, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability insurance, retirement, and tuition benefits, including Tuition Exchange scholarships. The College also offers an on-site fitness center as well as generous time off benefits.

Bennington College is a laboratory for innovation in higher education. At Bennington, learning and making—on campus and in the field—are inseparable, and its graduates are noted for their outsized impact on the world’s stage.

This campus celebrates the ongoing making of work—shared on walls, in shows and performances, in lectures and readings, and in conversations—and believes that equity, diversity, and inclusivity are vital to a collaborative community. The position reflects the ethos of this creative community.

Nestled at the foot of the Green Mountains in Vermont, the campus consists of approximately 370 acres. The College was named one of ten with the best architecture by Architectural Digest.  From campus, it is a short drive to the cultural offerings of the northern Berkshires in Massachusetts, Albany, New York, and many of Vermont’s top recreational centers. New York City, Boston, and Burlington, Vermont are all within three and a half hours by car.

To Apply

Please apply online with a letter of interest and resume.