Vermont State Director

Salary:  $55,000
Location:  Remote, but must live in Vermont

The position reports to the director of state affairs.

DUTIES

1. Build animal welfare capacity in Vermont

• Identify legislative priorities in the state legislature and lobby on priority items at the Statehouse during the legislative session (January-May).
  
  
• Play defense on legislative initiatives that attempt to set the state back on animal welfare.
  
  
• Work with the digital communications team and help to build a list of 50 supporters/month, with regular outbound communications to the state’s universe of supporters.
  
  
• Cultivate small, medium, and large gifts from Vermonters concerned about animal welfare so that people in Vermont are genuinely invested in this work.
  
  
• Support pro-animal county and city ordinances and resolutions where appropriate.
  
  
• Monitor state agencies and their respective activities and develop executive agency reform goals. Become familiar with workings of other agencies such as the state Department of Fish & Wildlife and animal care and control agencies.

2. Empower local animal advocates and supporters

• Develop a state council that allows you to harness advocates’ energy and extend your reach into more communities. Work with them to find tasks and activities that appropriately utilize their time and energy.
  
  
• Coach and develop local volunteers and support them in their goals to effectively advocate for animals.
  
  
• Broaden the coalition to build local and state coalitions, including religious organizations, law enforcement, domestic violence organizations, and others whose values and work intersect with animal welfare. Develop contacts at the University of Vermont and connect with the Animal Law Program there.
  
  
• Establish relationships with other animal protection groups, including shelters, rescues, sanctuaries, and wildlife rehabilitation centers. Activate them to the extent practicable on our legislative and other programmatic campaigns.
  
  
• Recommend candidates to open positions on various state agency boards and commissions.

3. Be a cultural change agent and leader

• Set a high-water mark for Vermont regarding animal welfare, creating an expectation of success in the state.
  
  
• Identify a list of major businesses in the state that include animals in their supply chains, R&D programs, or operations, and those with extractive or waste disposal activities that have an impact on wildlife, habitat, and biodiversity.
  
  
• Organize an annual day of awareness around animal deaths on roads and highways, coexisting with wildlife, responsible pet care, advocating for a plant-based diet, protecting farm animals, and other common concerns about animals.

4. Communications

• In collaboration with the director of state affairs and the communications team, develop and send regular communications to email subscribers, including general updates and targeted content for specific audiences.
  
  
• Social Media Management:
  • Manage and maintain the Vermont Facebook and Instagram pages.
  • Create, schedule, and post engaging content that aligns with organizational goals and resonates with the audience.
  • Monitor and respond to comments and messages in a timely and professional manner.
  • Analyze social media metrics with the communications team to inform strategy and improve performance.
    
    
• Legislative Communications:
  • Collaborate with the Director of State Affairs to develop and send communications to legislators using specialized software.
  • Ensure timely and accurate delivery of legislative updates, calls to action, and other pertinent information.
  • Track and report on legislative communications, including legislators’ positions on various bills/issues.
    
    
• General Communications Support:
  • Assist in creating and distributing newsletters, press releases, fact sheets, and other communication materials, as needed.
  • Coordinate with other team members to ensure consistent messaging across all platforms.
  • Stay updated on communication trends and best practices to enhance outreach efforts.
    
    
• Website Management:
  • Update the Vermont website at least monthly to ensure that current and relevant information is available to the public.
  • Coordinate with other team members to develop new to develop new content, including news updates, event announcements, and resource materials.

4. Other duties

• Ability to present yourself in a friendly, professional and non-partisan manner.
  
  
• Attend biweekly check-in meetings with supervisor and Vermont partners, biweekly staff meetings, and other meetings as necessary.
  
  
• Be prepared and on time for intramural and extramural meetings and events.
  
  
• Monitor the legislative calendar/journals daily and attend the Statehouse in Montpelier during the legislative session (Tuesday-Friday from early January through early May).
  
  
• Attend monthly Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board meetings in Montpelier (about 6-7 meetings a year).
  
  
• Maintain and update various organizational databases, including but not limited to:
  • Legislative trackers to monitor and record pending policy, regulatory, and legal actions.
  • A deliverable tracker will ensure the timely completion and accountability of project milestones.
  • A communications calendar schedules and tracks outreach efforts and media engagements.
  • Additional databases as deemed necessary by the supervisor to support organizational needs.

QUALIFICATIONS

1. Minimum five years’ experience in animal welfare policy, or a related field.
   
   
2. Experience in a nonprofit advocacy organization, or with an agency that works with advocacy clients, strongly preferred.
   
   
3. Bachelor’s degree required.
   
   
4. Ability to travel frequently to state capital and as needed to various destinations within the state.
   
   
5. Ability to achieve results with minimal supervision.
   
   
6. Ability to successfully manage key internal and external stakeholders and relationships.
   
   
7. Ability to prioritize and multitask efficiently.
   
   
8. Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested applicants should be submit a resume, cover letter and salary history to: HR@animalwellnessaction.org.

ABOUT US

Animal Wellness Action is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(4) organization with a mission of helping animals by promoting legal standards forbidding cruelty. We champion causes that alleviate the suffering of companion animals, farm animals, and wildlife. We advocate for policies to stop dogfighting and cockfighting and other forms of malicious cruelty and to confront factory farming and other systemic forms of animal exploitation. To prevent cruelty, we promote enacting good public policies, and we work to enforce those policies. To enact good laws, we must elect good lawmakers, and that’s why we remind voters which candidates care about our issues and which ones don’t. We believe helping animals helps us all.

The Center for a Humane Economy is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(3) organization is a nonprofit organization that focuses on influencing the conduct of corporations to forge a humane economic order. The first organization of its kind in the animal protection movement, the Center encourages businesses to honor their social responsibilities in a culture where consumers, investors, and other key stakeholders abhor cruelty and the degradation of the environment and embrace innovation as a means of eliminating both.