State Program Director

PIRG, the Public Interest Research Group, is an advocate for consumers, advancing solutions to problems that affect our health, our safety and our well-being. With members across the country and a 50-year track record of getting results, we’re hiring state directors and advocates to build support for our goals in states across the country.

Some examples of our campaigns:
Far too much stuff in our lives is single-use and designed for obsolescence, so PIRG’s Right to Repair campaign is making more of our things reusable, repairable and recyclable. While AI could transform society in positive ways, data centers are straining our energy resources and creating unacceptable levels of pollution, so we’re calling for a moratorium on new data centers to give us time to enact standards and protections.

We pay too much and get too little value out of our health care system today, so our High Value Healthcare campaign is focused on cutting wasteful spending and absurd price tags.

We are looking for passionate, compelling, tenacious advocates to spotlight solutions and organize support behind them.

PIRG State Directors are the face of our campaigns, and the voice for solutions. The position requires exercising discretion and independent judgment in making decisions in matters of significance. Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:

• Help shape program priorities: Participate in policy development, research and messaging to determine our priorities in your state.
• Build powerful coalitions: Reach out to a broad range of organizations and affected constituency groups across the political spectrum to demonstrate support for our goals, including unlikely allies who might agree with us on one issue, even if we disagree on other issues.
• Organize events and recruit volunteers: Organize webinars, community events and public meetings. Recruit organizations and members of the public to attend and participate.
• Earn traditional media and social media attention: Organize media events and write opinion pieces. Build a following on social media for your campaign.
• Advocate: Present a compelling case to decision-makers for strong action on consumer protections through lobbying, testifying at hearings, and producing powerful written materials. Build relationships with key players in the state, the region and at the federal level.
• Fundraise: Write grant proposals, build relationships with foundation staff, and raise money from individual donors to bring more resources to our campaigns.
• Grow our team: Identify and recruit strong candidates to join our staff. Hire and manage interns to maximize the impact of your campaigns. Potential to train and oversee staff.

You are:

• Passionate about our public interest mission and using the power of grassroots organizing to win campaigns.
• A campaign advocate or grassroots organizer with at least 4 years of advocacy or organizing experience. Advanced degrees may count toward experience.
• An effective communicator with excellent writing and public speaking skills. Experience getting traditional and digital media coverage in previous work is a plus.
• Creative and effective at solving complex problems; a strategic thinker who can take advantage of new opportunities.
• A connector and good listener with a track record of bringing people together around a common goal; willing and interested in working with people who think differently than you.
• Well-organized and goal-oriented; capable of holding yourself accountable to a plan and also nimble enough to adapt as new opportunities or challenges arise.
• Able to travel regularly and be motivated to work when needed, which may sometimes be in the evenings and on weekends.

• Experience in the state legislature or other government office, or with an environmental or public health advocacy organization is a plus but not required.
• Fundraising experience, particularly in grant-seeking from charitable foundations.

The starting target annual compensation range for someone with 4-8 years of relevant experience is $43,500-$60,000. Candidates on the lower end of directly relevant experience should expect to be on the lower end of this range; candidates on the higher end of relevant experience are likely to be on the higher end of this range. PIRG offers an excellent benefits package.

Our benefits package includes medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents, paid sick time (60-72…