Sacred Grounds Fellow

Founded in 1936, the National Wildlife Federation has grown into America’s largest and most trusted grassroots conservation organization with 52 state/territorial affiliates and more than six million members and supporters, including hunters, anglers, gardeners, birders, hikers, campers, paddlers, and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages and stripes. The mission of the National Wildlife Federation is to unite all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in our rapidly changing world. We advance this mission through programming focused on conserving wildlife, restoring habitats and waterways, expanding outdoor opportunities, connecting children with nature, advancing environmental justice, and addressing the causes and consequences of climate change.

To support our mission, we are seeking a Sacred Grounds Conservation Fellow to join our Conservation Department in Washington D.C.  Sacred Grounds is a program of the Garden for Wildlife program (www.nwf.org/sacredgrounds ). Sacred Grounds works with the faith community to care for creation through gardening with native plants. Planting native plants helps people and wildlife by providing food for birds, butterflies, and native bees which in turn pollinate our own food. Additionally, they slow the flow of polluted stormwater, keeping our waterways clean and safe, especially important in an era of climate change. With Sacred Grounds we work with congregations of a variety of faiths to both help create a native plant garden on their grounds and engage/educate their members to plant native plants at home. We conduct a 12–18-month educational program that we co-facilitate with the congregations’ green teams and our faith-based and watershed partners (e.g. Interfaith Power and Light and Interfaith Partners for Chesapeake). It is a positive, community building and engaging program for congregations that serves to assist them in putting their faith into practice.

This position is part of NWF’s fellowship program. NWF Fellows must be available to work a full-time schedule. This 11-month position offers $20.00 per hour plus core benefits. 

Principle Duties (major areas of responsibility):

• Create educational and promotional materials including fact sheets, PowerPoint presentations, social media
• Assist with congregation honorariums and contracts
• Track metrics for attendance, native plants and gardens
• Coordinate native plant pick-up days for congregations (plant orders/delivery, materials, staffing)
• Maintain calendar of events
• Provide reminders and updates to congregations and partners for events

Conduct and support outreach to Sacred Grounds congregations for all educational events and activities including:

• Monthly cohort meetings
• Webinars and in-person presentations
• Native plant giveaways
• Native plant garden tours
• Field trips
• Focus groups
• Partner meetings

Conduct and compile background research on:

• Local free tree programs
• Local stormwater rebate and incentive programs
• Climate action plans
• Local green infrastructure examples
• Residential native plant gardens

Qualifications:

Experience and interest in native plants and wildlife, habitat restoration, community organizing, organizing events, creating communications/outreach materials using graphics (flyers, social media) desirable. Familiarity with Excel, PowerPoint, and Google documents is necessary. Being comfortable working with a variety of faiths (Muslims, Jews, Christians and more) and enjoy communicating with people and organizing multiple community activities vital. Bilingual skills are a plus.

NWF Values:

Your actions are expected to reflect the staff values of the National Wildlife Federation: collaboration, mindfulness, empowerment, inclusivity, and mission focus.  Your competencies should include:

• Being motivated by values of equity and responsibility to those most marginalized;
• Consistently bringing a high level of empathy and social skills to work and interpersonal interactions;
• Being committed to deepening an environmental justice approach in policy priorities, program development and partner engagement;
• Actively seeks feedback, direction, and guidance from all team members and keeps staff informed of decisions that impact them;
• Being dedicated to advancing NWF’s internal equity transformation and compelling partners and allies to incorporate equity into their work; and
• Passion for and commitment to NWF’s mission

Applicants are invited to learn more about National Wildlife Federation’s required equity competencies at https://www.nwf.org/About-Us/Careers.

Travel Requirements: 

Visit congregations in the Washington D.C. metro area.

Location and Work Mode: 

This position will be based in Washington D.C.’s National Advocacy Center. The National Wildlife Federation is committed to a flexible and empowered work environment with an authentic community of care for all staff. In this position, the employee may work hybrid with some remote and some office and in-person events to be decided jointly with their supervisor in the final stages of the interview process. For more information on Work Modes, please review the benefits section of our careers page: https://www.nwf.org/About-Us/Careers 

Physical Requirements of the Job:

Remaining in a normal seated or standing position for extended periods; reaching and grasping by extending hand(s) or arm(s); dexterity to manipulate objects with fingers, for example, using a keyboard; communication skills using the spoken word; ability to see and hear within normal parameters; ability to move about the workspace. The position requires mobility, including moving materials weighing up to several pounds (such as a laptop computer or tablet). 

Persons with disabilities may be able to perform the essential duties of this position with reasonable accommodation. Requests for reasonable accommodation will be evaluated on an individual basis.

Please Note:

This job description sets forth the job’s principal duties, responsibilities, and requirements; it should not be construed as an exhaustive statement, however.  Unless they begin with the word “may,” the Essential Duties and Responsibilities described above are “essential functions” of the job, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Compensation and Benefits:

This 11-month position offers $20.00 per hour plus core benefits. 

Application:

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Candidates should submit a cover letter and resume.

For more information on our recruiting process, please review our Careers page: https://www.nwf.org/About-Us/Careers 

We strive to increase diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) in all elements of our work and with our partners to support the interdependent needs of wildlife and people in a rapidly changing world. We recruit, employ, train compensate, and promote regardless of race, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender individual), age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, genetic information, past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Applicants are invited to learn more about National Wildlife Federation’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at nwf.org/equity.

We recognize that people come with a wealth of experience and talent beyond just the technical requirements of a job, therefore our job descriptions are guidelines, not hard and fast rules.  Your experience, which may include paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work, helps build the competencies and knowledge that translates to our openings.  Diversity of experience and skills combined with passion is a key to innovation and a culture of excellence.  Therefore, we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to our positions.

Please let us know if you require accommodations during the application or interview process by reaching us at [email protected]  or 703-438-6244.

If selected for this position, a background check will be conducted.