GAIA, 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.