Environmental Health Manager (NYC)

ABOUT US

West Harlem Environmental Action a/k/a WE ACT for Environmental Justice is a non-profit, community-based advocacy organization that works to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low-income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices. WE ACT is a nationally recognized leader in the environmental justice (EJ) movement and is known for its work in the areas of environmental health; government accountability; and climate, energy and environmental justice policy.

WE ACT prioritizes the voices of longstanding community members, communities of color, lower-income communities and, most importantly, those who have been historically marginalized and subjected to environmental and other forms of racism and exclusion. In accordance with the Jemez Principles, we believe that communities must speak for themselves. We work at the intersection of community engagement and activation, policy, research and education. WE ACT leverages its place at the table to push system actors, including elected officials, Big Greens, coalitions and allies to center racial justice and equity.

ABOUT THE POSITION

WE ACT is seeking an Environmental Health Manager to help implement our Environmental Health research program and advocacy based in of our New York City office. We are seeking an applicant with a strong research background and either a Ph.D. in a STEM field, a Masters of Public Health (MPH), or a research-based Masters of Science (MS) in an environment or health related field. WE ACT’s Environmental Health Department is responsible for all research activities, research related advocacy, and educational programming at WE ACT. The Environmental Health Department serves as a bridge between EJ communities and the scientific research community. One of our main goals is to facilitate the development of community-embedded and ethical environmental health research. The Environmental Health program at WE ACT is driven by the belief that science can be used to build power in communities of color and science can be used as a tool to address structural racism and advance justice. The Environmental Health Department utilizes an innovative combination of technical and scientific tools, community-embedded research, education, and advocacy at the city, state, federal and international level. The Environmental Health Department requires a manager who can demonstrate strengths in both the scientific and community realms.

The Environmental Health Manager will be responsible for assisting the Director of Environmental Health in implementing all aspects of WE ACT’s Environmental Health program.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Research Projects/Grants Implementation & Management.
• Help lead WE ACT’s air monitoring research program
• Help with the implementation of WE ACT’s cumulative impacts research program and the study of structural racism in the U.S.
• Help lead WE ACT’s healthy homes working group and research program regarding indoor exposures within the home (i.e., pests, mold, and indoor air pollution)
• Assist as needed with WE ACT’s Beauty Inside Out Campaign, which addresses racialized beauty norms and toxic chemicals in beaty and personal care products marketed to people of color
• Collaborate with WE ACT policy staff to analyze environmental health, justice, and housing policies (citywide, statewide, national, and international) and to contribute to the development of more effective and accountable policy, including the incorporation of health considerations into land use planning and economic development.
• Represent WE ACT at public hearings, press events, national conferences, panels, and webinars
• Develop and deliver workshops and trainings, and create materials on environmental health and science topics for an audience of youth and adult community residents

Research Program Development & Direction:

• Help develop new research projects and grants that advance WE ACT’s mission of advancing environmental justice
• Assist with grant writing
• Help develop and keep track of program and project budgets and deliverables
• Supervise part-time staff/interns/volunteers
• Community-Embedded Research.
• Serve as a liaison to various environmental health research partners
• Coordinate community outreach and engagement
• Design community-embedded participatory research projects that are grounded in ethical research practices
• Translate research findings for community dissemination, including the development of infographics
• Apply community-embedded research findings and environmental monitoring data to support community organizing campaigns

Minimum Qualifications Include:

• Master of Public Health or Master of Science with a background in environmental science, climate change, environmental health, epidemiology, or a related field. Ph.D. is preferrable, but not required.
• Demonstrated commitment to environmental or social justice
• Demonstrated research experience, including data collection and data analysis
• Strong data analysis skills, including statistical programming in R
• Strong verbal communication and interpersonal skills
• Excellent writing skills, for a variety of audiences (i.e., scientific manuscripts, technical reports, reports for community residents and policymakers). Writing skills must be demonstrated by published research or other articles
• Strong project management skills and ability to work independently and supervise others as needed
• Ability to multi-task and manage multiple projects at once
• Highly organized and attention to detail
• Excellent time management and planning and proven ability to meet deadlines
• Innovation, creativity, for program and project planning
• An ability to collaborate with both community residents and academic researchers

Additional Helpful Qualifications Include:

• Grant writing experience
• Experience in authoring peer-reviewed articles
• Experience with IRBs
• Survey design and administration

Salary range, $75,000 - $85,000, is competitive and dependent on experience with full benefits.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply please email a CV, cover letter, two writing samples, and contact information for three references to HR Manager, Shanell Reyes, at Shanell.Reyes@weact.org with “Environmental Health Manager” in the subject line. Submission should be in a combined PDF. This position is open until filled and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. WE ACT is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, women and femme-identifying individuals, persons with disabilities and people within the LGBTQ community. We are committed to transparent and equitable recruitment, hiring and promotion processes that foster inclusion and belonging. If you’ve read this job description, are excited by it and can see yourself in this role, we hope you apply. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please email our HR Manager, Shanell Reyes, at Shanell.Reyes@weact.org.

WE ACT offers competitive nonprofit compensation and is committed to justice in salary transparency and wage equity. The salary range for this position is $75,000-$85,000, based on experience and qualifications. WE ACT offers a generous suite of benefits, including comprehensive health care (medical, dental and vision), flexible spending account, life insurance, retirement programs and paid holidays and vacation, along with onsite HR support for your benefit needs. WE ACT follows a hybrid work policy. All staff are fully vaccinated.