Director of Community, Justice, & Impact

Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We take on the biggest, most precedent-setting cases across the country. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health; to preserve magnificent places and wildlife; to advance clean energy; and to combat climate change. We partner with thousands of groups, supporters, individuals and communities to engage the critical environmental issues of our time, and bring about positive change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.

Founded in 1971, Earthjustice has a distinguished track record of achieving significant, lasting environmental protections. We achieve this by hiring people who share a passion for justice and a healthy environment. Our headquarters are in San Francisco with offices in Anchorage, Bozeman, Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Juneau, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Tallahassee and Washington, D.C.

In 2025, the Community, Justice, and Impact (CJI) Department introduced the Justice Framework to meet current organizational needs and to help drive strategic and operational alignment and direction around the organization’s values and mission to advance justice. CJI serves as a strategic partner to the entire organization that must deliver the Justice Framework, strategies and tools for a practice of justice, community building, and impact assessment and analysis that connects internal and external communities, policies and practices, and effectively engages the Ecosystem of Justice.

CJI must work strategically, synergistically, and effectively to scale our efforts to meet the needs of the entire organization. Therefore, CJI must be comprised of strategic, transdisciplinary thought leaders who can effectively operationalize and execute bespoke projects, programs, and initiatives while also using the Justice Framework to help build community.

Under the leadership and direction of the SVP and AVP, the Community, Justice and Impact Director will design and execute Justice Framework, community building, and impact analysis processes, practices, and programming.

This position can be based in one of Earthjustice's offices or remotely from the U.S.

Responsibilities

Community / Institutional Community Building (65%)

Community represents a strategic imperative to help build and operationalize a cohesive sense of community amongst all Earthjustice staff grounded in Earthjustice’s values and driven by its programmatic work. Moreover, Community represents the communities and causes that Earthjustice serves through its programmatic work. To lead institutional community building, the Director must design bespoke programming, tools and strategies based on Earthjustice’s programmatic work by utilizing the Justice Framework and advancing the organization’s values that are responsive to the internal and external demands and opportunities that Earthjustice, our staff, partners, clients and the Ecosystem face.

• Use the Justice Framework to lead, design and deliver bespoke institutional community building strategies, programming, initiatives and practices to build interconnectedness, trust, strategic alignment, and increase impact amongst and of the staff.
• Design and deliver community building strategies, initiatives, and programming that appropriately and effectively connect the internal Earthjustice community and the communities and causes Earthjustice serves to meet strategic organizational priorities.
• Develop and implement strategic tools and utilize appropriate delivery mechanisms, as part of an integrated community building strategy, that the CJI team may administer and that teams may use on their own to advance community building, culture perpetuation as defined within the Justice Framework, and a practice of justice grounded within Earthjustice’s mission and programmatic work.
• Design community building strategies, programming, and initiatives that recognize and support the unique role that Earthjustice plays within the ecosystem of justice with consideration and recognition of organizational risks and responsibilities.
• Design and implement accessible and effective programming to build engaged culture and community connected to the Earthjustice mission and values within a hybrid organizational environment.
• Design, implement, and leverage effective, strategic, organizational values-based engagement practices to drive institutional community building efforts.
• Engage with operational and programmatic teams to synthesize and strategically align institutional community building efforts with organizational priorities, goals, values, and initiatives.
• Drive innovation in Earthjustice’s community building programming, tools and delivery mechanisms to ensure community building practices and programs are bespoke to Earthjustice, take account of the evolving Ecosystem of Justice and its impacts, and are strategically forward-looking to ensure organizational sustainability.
• Deliver institutional community building programs and processes that are agile, responsive, and iterative to ensure that processes amplify organizational practices and prioritize staff’s ability to perform their roles.
• Synthesize and apply relevant internal and external ecosystems of justice policies and dynamics to effectively design and programs that are appropriate, effective, and in alignment with and advance Earthjustice’s polices, practices, and mission.
• Build institutional community building programs based on Earthjustice’s values.
• Community building programming and initiatives must exemplify Earthjustice’s values of excellence, inclusion, justice and partnership.
• Exercise an exceptional level of emotional intelligence and professional judgment in the strategic development, planning, and execution of all community building strategies, programs, and efforts.

Justice / Justice Framework (20%)

The Justice Framework is a bespoke organizational framework that invites every member of the Earthjustice community to use an inquiry-based model to engage in an intentional practice of justice to support the Earthjustice community and advance the Earthjustice mission.

• Support the Justice Framework rollout, application, implementation and updates initiatives, including but not limited to design and host office hours and other relevant and appropriate engagement and application opportunities for staff.
• Create systems, programs, and operating infrastructure for connectivity and alignment amongst teams to maximize Earthjustice’s application of the Justice Framework.
• Design internal community programming that advances the Justice Framework that recognizes and supports the unique role that Earthjustice plays within the ecosystem of justice with consideration and recognition of organizational risks and responsibilities.
• Maintain an organizational view to advance the Justice Framework, a practice of justice, and the role of Earthjustice within the Ecosystem of Justice.
• Model Earthjustice’s core values of justice, partnership, excellence and inclusion, and amplify and advance the organization’s Justice Framework to advance the organization’s mission.
• Understand and apply relevant internal and external ecosystem of justice policies and dynamics to effectively design programs that are appropriate, effective, and in alignment with and advance Earthjustice’s polices, practices, and mission.

Impact (10%)

Measuring impact extends beyond recognizing outcomes and allows Earthjustice to strategically align and navigate toward its ultimate goals around justice. The organization must understand its impact to identify how it is achieving its mission and to orient its position within the Ecosystem of Justice. While each team remains responsible for their own impact, CJI will collaborate with teams across the organization to help develop organizational impact goals and measures. Measuring the organization’s justice impact will be a long-term collaborative organizational effort that relies in large part upon CJI’s ability to support the adoption and application of the Justice Framework and success in community building strategies and efforts. While impact may only be measured in hindsight, it must be presently, continuously, and strategically planned.

• Collaborate with CJI SVP, AVP and team members to develop organizational impact assessment tools to effectively assess and measure the impact of community building strategies, programming, and tools.
• Implement and monitor impact assessment tools to ensure their effectiveness.
• Design impact assessment tools to measure the impact of community building programming and delivery mechanisms.
• Include impact assessment strategies within all community building and Justice Framework implementation strategies.

Communications (5%)

• Design and implement effective communication strategies and practices to support and deepen CJI’s community building programming and practices that leverage the justice framework and are grounded within Earthjustice’s mission.
• Draft CJI related communication for staff to advance internal community building efforts and to support external communication efforts, as applicable and appropriate.
• Draft and collaborate on CJI related communication for internal staffing alignment with external communications.
• Develop presentations & talking points and present to internal and external audiences on how to effectively advance community building.
• Professionally and effectively transition the CJI department’s changed scope and organizational narrative to maintain and advance the department’s credibility, integrity, and goodwill.
• Use the Justice Framework to model effective communication within the department and across the organization.

Qualifications

• 5-7 years’ experience in a related position.
• Experience in community building and/or community organizing in a professional setting required.
• Experience in change management preferred.
• Experience in program development and evaluation required.
• Experience in advancing applied practices of justice.
• Experience in environmental advocacy or litigation a plus.
• Strategic leadership.
• Agile and critical thinking skills combined with effective design and implementation skills.
• Active and demonstrated ability to effectively apply the Justice Framework to one’s own role and responsibilities.
• Exemplary professional judgment.
• Must possess advanced applied knowledge of contextual and current applied justice practices, community organizing and community building practices, as well as internal and external dynamics that impact Earthjustice’s practices and the ecosystem of justice.
• Change management experience with proven success in designing and implementing meaningful organizational change.
• Outstanding communication and comprehension skills as demonstrated through clear writing and speaking as well as the ability to translate complex issues for non-expert audiences.
• Ability to prioritize, manage multiple deadlines, and strategically consider and respond quickly to new opportunities.
• Experience facilitating programs and initiatives that effectively drive impact.
• Attention to detail, including the management of complex information, while maintaining and advancing strategic and organizational vision.
• Proven experience collecting, interpreting and persuasively utilizing data to drive and measure impact.
• Ability to maintain confidence and confidential information.
• Ability to scale programs and initiatives to serve at team and organizational levels.
• Experience serving as an effective team liaison, organizational ambassador and team partner to build team-based sustainable and respectful relationships throughout an organization.
• A skilled inclusive leader.
• Ability to communicate effectively and appropriately.
• Experience successfully leading projects to completion with strategic thinking and agile problem-solving.
• Proven experience taking initiative, multi-tasking, and effective ability to identify priorities amidst competing demands.
• Proven ability to synthesize data and trends to inform decision-making.
• Contributes towards an equitable and inclusive work culture that encourages partnership, active listening, and integrating diverse perspectives.
• Supports Earthjustice’s core values of partnership, inclusion, justice and excellence.

We offer a competitive salary and excellent, comprehensive benefits. We also offer a casual and congenial work environment.

Salaries at Earthjustice are determined by experience level and working location.

Salary range in San Francisco, CA and New York, NY: $153,800 - $170,900
Salary range in Washington, D.C., Chicago, IL, Seattle, WA, and Los Angeles, CA: $146,200 - $162,400
Salary range in Denver, CO and Philadelphia, PA : $138,500 - $153,900
Salary range in Miami, FL, Bozeman, MT, and New Orleans, LA: $130,800 - $145,300
Remote salary range will vary depending on specific location: $130,800 - $170,900