Vice-President of Community Engagement

Conservation Colorado•Denver, CO

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Conservation Colorado is seeking a Vice-President of Community Engagement to lead the organization’s grassroots and grasstops mobilization efforts, building public support for policy and political priorities and developing leaders from disproportionately impacted communities. As the largest statewide environmental organization in Colorado, our mission is simple: we work to protect our state’s climate, air, land, water, and communities. We play a unique role in Colorado as our work focuses on organizing communities, influencing decision-makers, and electing conservation-minded leaders. We work for a Colorado where every community can breathe clean air, drink clean water, protect the landscapes we share and secure our climate future. And, where communities once burdened by environmental injustices lead the way forward.

Requirements

5+ years of experience managing people, including time managing high-performing leadership level staff.
Clear and demonstrable understanding of racial equity and structural racism and the centrality of this analysis to environmental policy.
Experience building successful relationships where there is little to no trust to start, as well as experience building relationships across different social identities.
Experience developing and executing campaign goals and training people on goals, strategies, and tactics.
Ability to articulate the organization's theory of change to the team and help them learn how to build and leverage power effectively.
Skills to deal with abstract problems and translate ideas into practical actions to achieve the organization's goals.
Ability to deploy resources to maximum effect.
Ability to communicate complicated policies in easy to understand language.
Ability to think outside of your own experience to incorporate outside views and opinions.
Ability to set a clear direction for the team that aligns with the organization’s values and mission.
Seasoned collaborator who thrives in complex, mission-driven environments.
Ability to work across departments—programs, communications, development, and executive leadership—to align strategies, share information, and drive collective impact.
Ability to bring clarity to roles and decision-making, navigate tensions with empathy and purpose, and foster a culture of trust, accountability, and shared ownership.
Self-awareness, ability to self-regulate, understanding social awareness, resolve conflicts in a healthy manner, and leveraging intrinsic motivation and empathy.
Ability to adapt behavior or work methods in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles without placing blame & taking learnings into other similar situations.
Mindset that believes that skills, knowledge, and capabilities can be developed and enhanced with work, education & persistence.
COVID vaccination is required.

Nice To Haves

Spanish/English bilingual

Responsibilities

Owns the organizing program that drives action to grow grassroots and grasstops power to advance our policy & political priorities.
Builds and maintains the organizing infrastructure — systems, tools, data, pipelines, standards, and evaluation frameworks — that enable scalable, high quality organizing.
Establishes feedback loops and accountability structures that ensure community voice, particularly for disproportionately impacted communities, informs our campaigns and work.
Owns and evolves the leadership development model, ensuring it centers disproportionately impacted communities and builds a long-lasting, leadership pipeline.
Identifies opportunities for innovation and experimentation in our leadership development program to take our work to the next level.
Leads the organization’s strategy for building power and leadership on environmental issues by growing training programs that develop leaders — primarily from disproportionately impacted communities — and prepare and support them in finding leadership opportunities and roles.
Partners with the VP of Fundraising to revitalize the Colorado Outdoor Business Alliance (COBA) program, integrating business engagement into broader organizing and campaign strategies.
Cultivates and maintains relationships with key partners, ensuring the organization is a trusted, accountable, and effective collaborator.
Partners with the VPs of Communications and Fundraising to develop narratives, data, and stories that strengthen proposals and reports.
Supports the Fundraising department in the cultivation of funders and donors connected to organizing, leadership development and community power building.
Oversees the day-to-day activities of the team including budgeting, planning, staff development.
Mentors and develops high-level and high-performing staff using a supporting & collaborative approach that matches our organizational values.
Works closely with the CEO and is a member of the executive team, which sets organizational strategy and goals to implement the strategic plan.
Sets the data framework for the team and uses data to inform the work.
Coordinates and/or supports cross-departmental initiatives to ensure alignment, effectiveness, and impact.
In addition to your regular responsibilities, all staff are expected to participate at some level in organizational priorities including helping in certain fundraising efforts, taking part in election-related activities, and committing to organizational efforts around equity & inclusivity.