Project Director

About Resilience Force

Resilience Force is building the skilled, at-scale “resilience workforce” that can prepare homes and communities for climate disasters. We work with a multi-racial workforce that includes migrant and US-born workers, especially Black, brown, Native American, rural, and young people.

Resilience Force has its roots in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, helping to protect workers in the Gulf Coast, and has grown into a national leader in the disaster preparation and recovery space. We work with all of the stakeholders in resilience, including government, employers, homeowners, and community members, to train and deploy workers effectively and safely for this essential work. Learn more about us in the New York Times (article), the New Yorker (article with audio available), and NowThis (video with audio & subtitles).

About the Role

Following the Eaton and Palisades fires in Los Angeles, Resilience Force is working closely with the City of Los Angeles and partners to build a workforce to carry out essential fire prevention work along the wildland-urban interface. This project is called the Los Angeles Resilience Corps (LARC). We are convening partners who work closely with our target populations: the unhoused, youth, justice-involved, immigrants, and others, to develop and implement a scaled city-wide fire adaptation workforce strategy. Project goals are twofold: 1) Create sustainable adaptation and fire prevention practices through vegetation management; 2) Opportunities for paid Resilience Work at living wages for target populations: unhoused individuals, young people, immigrants, justice-involved individuals, women, and people of color.

Reporting to the Managing Director, the Senior Project Director will develop and sustain relationships with local organizations to broaden and scale fire prevention land management activities across the greater Los Angeles area. The Senior Project Director works to develop and implement strategies that lead to the long-term involvement of community institutions, organizations, and individuals forming a coalition. Responsibilities also include planning, coordinating, implementing, and overseeing fire prevention and land management projects in partnership with the Office of the Mayor of Los Angeles, as well as program development and execution, assessment, and evaluation activities.

You should apply if you are excited to build a coalition of action-oriented organizations and have a passion for supporting workers’ rights and remedying inequitable preparation for and recovery from disasters caused by climate change

Responsibilities

Coalition Coordination and Support

• Establish and maintain positive, productive, and collaborative relationships with local partner organizations to maintain a diverse coalition membership
• Represent Resilience Force as the coalition lead
• Provide general oversight for coalition activities and associated projects, and ensure information sharing across organizations
• Coordinate and communicate effectively with members to promote collaboration, negotiation, and problem-solving across organizations.
• Manage and facilitate meetings, including agenda development and follow-up
• Develop and maintain program-related materials, files, documents, and shared communications systems
• Provide support regarding activities related to funding project proposals, including submission coordination, drafting materials, tracking progress and deadlines for proposals, Letters of Intent, and other documents for funders and key external partners
• Continuously identify and implement best practices for coalition-building and evaluate coalition effectiveness,s and strategic plan
• Fulfill other duties to support the Managing Director, as needed

Project Management

• In partnership with the coalition, identify and execute individual fire prevention projects across the greater Los Angeles area
• Acts as primary point of contact for community partners, matching project goals to local partners’ areas of specialization
• Collaborate with agency staff/administrators to meet project goals, develop and track project timelines, and track progress
• Plan, coordinate, and conduct educational, training, and fire prevention activities in collaboration with local partners
• Identify and coordinate across jurisdictional boundaries for smooth project execution
• Conduct site visits to ensure high-quality deliverables for the land, partners, and program participants
• Developing and presenting high-level program briefs and materials for internal and external stakeholders
• Develop and implement data collection methods, tools, and evaluation measures for coalition activities and associated projects in conjunction with coalition members.
• Manage and oversee expenditures of budgets and contracts

Required Qualifications

• At least 7 years of experience in a community-organizing environment, non-profit, government, and/or progressive movement work
• At least 5 years of experience in government and/or an institutional coordination and program implementation role
• Familiarity with government and/or nonprofit sectors
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Knowledge of vegetation management and land practices is a plus
• Proven self-starter with demonstrated organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously while meeting deadlines
• Demonstrated experience working with a range of stakeholders in nonprofit organizations, government, foundations, private sector
• Demonstrated experience working effectively independently as well as part of a team and with colleagues of diverse backgrounds and perspectives
• Ability to travel periodically for work as needed
• Approach work with passion, idealism, integrity, and a positive attitude
• Valid driver’s license

Benefits and Salary

The salary range for this position is $100-$115k. Our benefits include a 401 (k) with 4% matching contributions, five weeks of paid vacation, 100% employer-paid health insurance (includes vision and dental) for employees, paid short-term disability insurance, and life insurance.

How to Apply

Please email your resume and responses to the pre-screening questions below to hiring@resilienceforce.org:

1. Can you describe how your commitment to climate and/or social justice informs your understanding of Resilience Force’s core values and how you envision representing them to different organizations? (250 maximum)
2. This role requires partner coordination and management. Please provide an example of a time you coordinated external stakeholders to deliver an impactful program. (250 words maximum)
3. How do you approach the work of garnering buy-in feedback from members of a team? (250 words maximum)

Resilience Force is proud to be a racial and social justice-oriented organization, and we reflect this commitment in our staff, including at leadership levels. We want to continue to cultivate a positive, inclusive workplace culture where all can thrive. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from a broad spectrum of qualified people who represent diverse backgrounds.

We embrace principles of nondiscrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, or transgender or veteran status. We strongly encourage people of color, women, and LGBTQIA+ candidates to apply. Resilience Force is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All who believe their voice should be represented in the progressive community should apply.