Friends Earth: VP Programs, Climate & Biodiversity

Reports to:

President
Direct Reports:
Director, Economic Policy Program and Director, Climate, Energy, and Oceans Program

Location:

US Remote, with occasional travel
Salary: $165,000 - $200,000

We are at a generational – if not historic – tipping point for people and the planet.

Our unsustainable consumption of the earth’s natural and life resources are pushing our planet’s life sustaining systems to the brink of collapse. The climate change crisis, the biodiversity crisis, the staggering economic inequity and racial injustice are driven by global systems which commodify the planet’s natural systems and its people. We campaign to challenge and dismantle these systems, while working with communities to build a healthy, equitable, democratic, and resilient future for people and the planet.

Friends of the Earth is a hard-hitting, progressive, environmental organization that pulls no punches and speaks sometimes uncomfortable truth to power. We campaign at the nexus of environmental protection, economic, social, and racial justice to fundamentally transform the way our country and the world value people and the environment. Our power comes from more than five decades of producing important victories that protect our planet and its people.

We have a dedicated core of staff, board members, members and volunteers that understand that championing a more healthy and just world requires pushing past our own comforts. We are a founding member and campaign in solidarity with Friends of the Earth International and our sister groups in more than 70 countries. Together we are working globally, nationally and at the grassroots level to solve some of the most urgent environmental and social justice issues.

We are looking for a strategic leader that can help Friends of the Earth level-up our Climate and Biodiversity campaigning. We are seeking a candidate that wants to challenge the status quo, develop short and long-term campaigns that help challenge and change the systems of destruction that impact people, climate and biodiversity, and are eagerly willing to gather the resources and people power necessary to make it happen.

• Partner with the President on assessing and shaping the future direction of the Climate & Biodiversity portfolio.
• Partner with the President and Senior Management Team to shape organizational priorities, strategy, and decision-making, ensuring strong programmatic leadership and alignment across the organization.
• Share responsibility with the Vice President of Programs, Food & Agriculture for fostering a cohesive, collaborative, and high-performing Programs Division that advances shared organizational priorities and drives synergy across portfolios.
• Represent Friends of the Earth in high-level external forums, coalitions, media engagements, and stakeholder relationships to advance organizational goals and influence.
• Work with the President and Board of Directors on long-term programmatic strategy and effectiveness, organizational accountability, and reporting on program impact and priorities.

• Set strategic direction and priorities for the Climate & Biodiversity portfolio, including climate policy, fossil fuel phaseout, biodiversity protection, and global environmental and economic governance.
• Guide Program Directors and senior leaders in developing ambitious, innovative, and fundable campaign and advocacy strategies that advance organizational goals.
• Ensure programs are strategically aligned, effectively executed, and deliver measurable impact while advancing equity-centered approaches and long-term systems change.
• Assess emerging opportunities, risks, and external…