GAIA  [Printer-friendly version]
August 17, 2006

JOB AVAILABLE: ANTI-INCINERATOR U.S. CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR

[Rachel's introduction: GAIA seeks an energetic and experienced
organizer to work collaboratively with allies on urgent and exciting
work on a national level, including working with a coalition of
community groups, NGOs, and recyclers preventing incentives for new
incinerators; supporting local campaigns across the country to stop
the new plague of incinerator proposals; and strategically promoting
zero waste strategies, environmental justice, social justice, and a
toxics-free future.]

Position description

GAIA seeks an energetic and experienced organizer to work
collaboratively with allies on urgent and exciting work on a national
level, including working with a coalition of community groups, NGOs,
and recyclers on this issue; preventing incentives for new
incinerators; supporting local campaigns across the country to stop
the new plague of incinerator proposals; and strategically promoting
zero waste strategies, environmental justice, social justice, and a
toxics-free future.

The position will be based in GAIA's Berkeley, California office, or
possibly another location.

Key Duties/Responsibilities

** Network communities fighting incineration to facilitate information
sharing and strategic discussions, in regions where other GAIA members
are not already doing this

** Conduct effective policy development and legislative advocacy at
local, state, and national levels

** Work with groups to provide technical and strategic advice, going
to communities and speaking at public hearings, helping groups to find
resources, and developing case studies about viable solutions, in
regions where other GAIA members are not already doing this

** Research technologies, companies, proposals and related issues

** Write factsheets, letters, articles, and policy positions

** Network with related issue organizations, including clean
production, climate change, renewable energy, environmental health,
recycling, and others

** Communicate with GAIA's global coordination team and with GAIA
members around the world

Qualifications

** At least three years successful organizing and advocacy experience

** Demonstrated ability to work well with diverse groups and build
alliances

** Commitment to environmental health and justice

** Self-starter and well organized

** Strong oral and written communication skills, including public
speaking, information materials development for diverse audiences
(i.e., technical and lay audiences), and media outreach

** Project and budget management experience desirable

** A team player who works well with others as well as independently

** Ability to work in a second language desired

** Willingness to travel within the U.S. and likely internationally

Background

In the 1980s and 1990s, U.S. community groups and environmental
organizations stopped proposals for hundreds of municipal waste
incinerators. Waste burners poison our food and bodies, destroy
resources that should be recycled, drain money from local economies
and discourage waste prevention. By the mid-1990's, incineration was
widely viewed as an obsolete, uneconomical and dirty technology in
this country and many cities re-focused their attention on waste
reduction practices. However, after nearly a decade of no incineration
expansion, the incinerator industry is attempting a comeback here. A
recent spate of new proposals now require a coordinated effort to
preserve the progress made against this wasteful technology and to
ensure that real, sustainable approaches gain an even stronger and
effective hold. GAIA works with allied organizations and members such
as Greenaction on opposing these incinerators and advocating for long
term solutions.

About GAIA

The Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance / Global Alliance for Incinerator
Alternatives is a Philippines-based network of over 450 community,
academic, environmental, environmental justice, informal recycling,
and recycling organizations in 77 countries. GAIA's name has two
meanings to reflect the dual nature of our work. GAIA members campaign
against wasteful and polluting incinerators and work for safer
sustainable alternatives. Our network was founded in December 2000,
and has grown steadily ever since.

Collectively, we recognize that our planet's finite resources, fragile
biosphere and the health of people and other living beings are
endangered by polluting and inefficient production practices and
health-threatening disposal methods. We oppose incinerators,
landfills, and other end-of-pipe interventions.

Our ultimate vision is a just, toxic-free world without incineration.
Our goal is the implementation of clean production, and the creation
of a closed-loop, materials-efficient economy where all products are
reused, repaired or recycled back into the marketplace or nature.

GAIA's Secretariat is in Manila, Philippines with other offices in
Buenos Aires, Argentina and Berkeley, USA. For more information please
visit www.no-burn.org.

Compensation

Depending on experience with generous benefits package.

To Apply:

Submit a statement of interest, recent writing sample, and resume to
fatou @ no-burn.org (delete spaces in address).

No telephone inquiries.

Deadline

Open until filled. The target start date is the end of August 2006, or
as soon as the appropriate candidate is found.

We value diversity and strive to create a workplace which reflects
this value. We especially encourage people of color to apply. EOE/AA.