We're Hiring a Coalition Coordinator

Title:

Coalition Coordinator, WV4EF

Description: 

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Campaign Director to provide strategic leadership and oversight for our organization's comprehensive advocacy campaigns. The Campaign Coordinator will be responsible for convening and leading teams to develop and execute strategies that build a movement of people, engage communities, drive policy shifts, and promote a clean, equitable, and sustainable energy economy in West Virginia. This role involves fostering collaboration, guiding the implementation of key initiatives, mobilizing stakeholders, and ensuring the achievement of work plan objectives and outcomes.

This is an eighteen month long contracted position that is grant funded; accountability details for the position are listed below in the “responsibilities” section of this posting. The position may be extended beyond the 18 month timeframe if coalition funding allows and coalition leadership approves a new contract.

Responsibilities:

1. Convene and lead campaign teams to develop comprehensive strategies that build a movement of people and drive political and regulatory shifts for a clean, equitable, and sustainable economy in West Virginia.

2. Provide strategic guidance and oversight for organizing and coordinating informational meetings in 18 communities across WV (approximately 1 per month), empowering public advocacy and community engagement.

3. Facilitate the implementation of follow-up 1:1 meetings, small group trainings, and webinars to further train and support meeting attendees and civic organizations committed to taking action.

4. Guide the process of moving action takers up the ladder of engagement, translating their involvement into higher levels of advocacy, such as sharing petitions, becoming speakers at public hearings, or hosting community meetings.

5. Lead  recruitment efforts to expand the WV4EF Coalition, cultivating relationships and collaboration among coalition members.

6. Collaborate with existing community organizations, including offering support  for WV4EF work that they agree to implement.

7. Drive regulatory advocacy efforts by providing strategic guidance for intervening in relevant filings, engaging with regulatory bodies, and influencing policy decisions.

8. Oversee the development and execution of strategic communications initiatives, ensuring the delivery of a compelling narrative that showcases the negative impact of continued reliance on fossil fuel based energy sources.

9. Collaborate with communications agencies to develop messaging materials that support community meetings, training, and advocacy during regulatory proceedings.

10. Ensure the integration of WV4EF's perspective and narrative in press coverage related to the coalition's intervention in PSC cases.

11. Lead efforts to educate lawmakers on the impact of continued reliance on fossil fuel based energy sources, fostering relationships and engaging elected officials at local, state, and municipal levels.

12. Identify and nurture elected champions who will actively promote the coalition's message and objectives.

13. Monitor campaign progress, analyze data, and provide strategic guidance to teams, making adjustments to maximize impact and achieve desired outcomes.

14. This person will report directly to the WVCAEF Director for personnel matters, and will follow the work plan established by the entire WV4EF coalition.

Qualifications:

1. Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., political science, public policy, communications) or equivalent practical experience. 

2. Proven experience in campaign management, advocacy/organizing, or related roles, with a track record of successful outcomes.

3. Strong leadership skills and the ability to inspire and guide teams to achieve common goals.

4. Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to convey complex ideas clearly and persuasively.

5. In-depth knowledge of campaign planning, community organizing, grassroots advocacy, and regulatory proceedings (preferred).

6. Familiarity with effective communication strategies, including digital and printed materials, media engagement, and storytelling.

7. Experience in building and maintaining relationships with diverse stakeholders, including community leaders, policymakers, and influencers.

8. Proficiency in project management, including budgeting, resource allocation, and timeline management.

9. Analytical mindset, with the ability to leverage data and analytics to inform decision-making and optimize campaign strategies.

10. Flexibility to adapt to changing priorities and work effectively in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.

11. Passion for social and environmental justice, with a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities in West Virginia.

Compensation Range:

$4,444- $5,833/month for 18 months

Contract compensation will be negotiated with hiree based on commensurate experience. This is an eighteen month contract. This is an independent contractor position.

To apply:

West Virginians for Energy Freedom offers this job posting to all who are interested in applying. We are a coalition led by WV Solar United Neighbors, WV Citizen Action Education Fund, Energy Efficient WV, and WV based Sierra Club representatives. We will accept resumes and cover letters on a rolling basis. Please send resume and cover letter to robin@eewv.org.

MetroNews: Groups object to PSC order directing continued exploration of Pleasants Power Station purchase

By Brad McElhinny

Several groups are objecting to a Public Service Commission order that power companies should continue to explore the takeover of Pleasants Power Station.

West Virginia Citizen Action Group, Solar United Neighbors and Energy Efficient West Virginia filed a motion for the PSC to reconsider its order earlier this month. The West Virginia Energy Users Group, comprised of some of the state’s biggest industrial customers, separately filed a statement in support of those groups’ position.

…

“The Commission does not have authority to charge customers of a public utility simply to funnel money to a non-jurisdictional facility with the goal of controlling its operational and employment decisions,” the groups wrote.

Read the full article >>

WV Public Broadcasting: Sierra Club’s Karan May: Coal Plant Rescue Misses Out On ‘Bigger Picture’

By Curtis Tate

Late last month, the West Virginia Public Service Commission signed off on a proposal to keep the Pleasants Power Station from shutting down at the end of May. Consumer and environmental groups, large industrial users and even the PSC’s Consumer Advocate testified against it.

Karan May, the senior campaign representative in Central Appalachia for the Sierra Club, was present at the hearing that preceded the PSC’s decision. She spoke with Curtis Tate about it.

Read the full article >>

WV Public Broadcasting: A Discussion About The Pleasants Power Station This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, energy and environment reporter Curtis Tate speaks with Sierra Club Senior Campaign Representative Karan May about the West Virginia Public Service Commission’s recent agreement to allow a plan to keep the Pleasants Power Station from shutting down at the end of May. Consumer and environmental groups, large industrial users and even the PSC’s Consumer Advocate testified against it.

Read the full article >>

The Dominion Post: If Mon Power buys Pleasants, only the shareholders win (Opinion)

"So when the company makes money the profit all goes to the stockholders and management, but when they lose money (by not investing in new tech) they want bailout cash from 'the little people ?' I don't think so."

The anonymous comment above, submitted to the Public Service Commission in regard to Mon Power purchasing the Pleasants Power Station, sums it up nicely.

Read the full article >>

PSC Issues Order on Pleasants

On Monday evening, the PSC issued an order regarding the proposal for $3M+/month to be charged to ratepayers to keep paying employees at Pleasants to not generate power. The order did not immediately increase rates, but it ordered Mon Power to keep investigating and will allow it to come back later to ask to be compensated for maintaining the plant.

While there is no immediate rate impact to ratepayers, we are concerned that these proposed charges could potentially be forced onto ratepayers in the very near future.

Many of our concerns about this proposal still remain:

• WV ratepayers still don't need Pleasants' power—West Virginia already produces more power than it consumes.

• We don't know how much this will cost. It is going to be much more than the $36 million that's been discussed. 

• Our reliability issues in West Virginia, which are significant, are unrelated to generation.

FirstEnergy’s own witnesses have identified many more costs and liabilities of this proposal.

Part of the order seemed to suggest that it might somehow be appropriate for West Virginia ratepayers to be forced to pay higher bills to ensure generation reliability in other states in the PJM grid. It is not fair to West Virginia families with high energy burdens, many of whom are on fixed incomes, to pay for that. It's also not fair to small businesses who are not politically connected enough to lobby for a special tax break for their businesses, like the Pleasants plant did recently. West Virginians’ reliability challenges will not be fixed by another power plant and PJM has already specifically said that Pleasants can retire without impacting grid reliability.

The next step is a proposed letter of intent (LOI) between the owner of the plant and FirstEnergy, describing an agreement between them that addresses what would be paid by each party. It is imperative that the public have an opportunity to fully vet this agreement between these two out-of-state companies, since it will be West Virginians who will bear the costs of it. The three-week process that the public had to evaluate the current proposal will not be enough. There should be multiple public hearings held near where the affected people actually live and the ability to develop a full record showing whether or not this is a good deal for the people who will have to pay it—West Virginia families and businesses.

The public is clearly opposed to bailing out this plant. Most of the comments in the case were from people opposed to paying higher bills for the bailout.

We hope people continue to stay engaged and make their voices heard throughout this process. We will have the latest updates at energyfreedomwv.org about how to stay engaged.