Legal Program Manager

San Diego Coastkeeper, Legal Program Manager

San Diego’s leading clean water advocacy organization seeks a highly motivated and passionate individual to join our team. Work with us to protect and restore San Diego County’s coastal and inland waters and the communities that depend on them.

The Legal Program Manager is a newly created position that will provide critical support to Coastkeeper’s legal team and Executive Director to advance our litigation and policy priorities. Coastkeeper uses regulatory and legislative advocacy and litigation to advance our mission of holding polluters accountable and strengthening laws and regulations to reduce pollution and promote sustainable water policies for our region. This position will report to Coastkeeper’s Senior Attorney and will work closely with our Staff Attorney, Executive Director and other staff.

We employ a strategic blend of advocacy, legal action, education, coalition building and community science to tackle persistent and emerging water quality, water supply and climate resilience issues across our region.

Responsibilities:

1. Litigation and Compliance

• Work with our Senior Attorney, Staff Attorney and outside counsel on case development and tracking, which includes managing and tracking case deadlines, internal docket organization and management, case status tracking, creating exhibits, and any related support needed by the legal team.
• Coordinate and support field investigations, including collection of stormwater and other sampling and site inspections.
• Assist in factual research to support case development, including review of publicly available water quality and facility specific data, including discharge and monitoring reports submitted to state regulatory agencies.
• Support the legal team’s compliance oversight by managing the internal compliance docket, and tracking deadlines and deliverables in case settlement agreements to ensure that defendants meet their commitments to address pollution violations.

1. Policy Advocacy

• Work closely with our legal team and Executive Director to develop, implement and manage key policy campaigns, including regulatory and legislative advocacy on the Tijuana sewage crisis, stormwater and wastewater enforcement and permit processes, potable water supply, and public trust and CEQA issues related to waterfront development projects.
• Create and manage systems for tracking public comment deadlines, state legislative hearings, and other public testimony opportunities at the local, regional and state level.
• Assist in developing talking points, fact sheets and other materials to support policy advocacy actions.
• Occasionally represent Coastkeeper at public meetings, either virtually or in-person, to present public testimony.

1. General

• Support other program staff with outreach activities, community science, and other Coastkeeper events when available.

Qualifications & Requirements:

1. Applicants must be college graduates with at least a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy, political science or a related field. Master’s Degree is preferred but not required.
2. 1-3 years of environmental policy, regulatory or legislative advocacy experience, preferably with experience in water, climate or land use issues.
3. Familiarity with state and federal administrative law and regulations is preferred but not required.
4. Demonstrated experience with project management, including ability to oversee timelines, task lists and multiple deadlines. Paralegal experience is desirable but not required.
5. Superb research, analysis, writing, and organizational skills and attention to detail
6. Proficiency with MS Office, particularly Excel, as well as Adobe, and an interest and willingness to use AI tools.
7. Demonstrated passion for and commitment to clean water, healthy ecosystems, resilient communities, and environmental health and justice, and a strong interest in San Diego regional water issues.
8. Experience working collaboratively on a small team

Physical Requirements

• Mobility to work in a standard office environment using office equipment
• Must be able to sit for long periods of time and engage in basic movements such as bending, standing, and lifting weight up to 30 pounds
• Must have reliable transportation for travel to meetings and events throughout the county

Salary, Benefits and Terms

Schedule - Full-time, permanent, salaried; 40 hours per week, including occasional evenings and weekends. This position is based at Coastkeeper’s office in the city of San Diego but will require periodic travel within San Diego County for meetings, some field work and related SDCK activities. Applicants must live in or be willing to relocate to the San Diego region. Hybrid work schedule requires staff to be in the office at least 1-2 days per week.

Benefits - Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance; generous paid vacation, holiday and sick leave.

Compensation - $68,000 - 73,000 per year, commensurate with experience

To Apply

Qualified candidates are encouraged to submit a cover letter, resume and writing sample, no longer than 6 pages, as a single PDF document to employment@sdcoastkeeper.org with “YOUR LAST NAME, Legal Program Manager” in the subject line. If your application is a potential match for our requirements, we will contact you. Please no phone calls or email inquiries.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

San Diego Coastkeeper is committed to diversity in the workplace and is an equal opportunity employer. We maintain a policy of non-discrimination with regard to age, ancestry, color, creed, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and any other class protected by applicable state or federal law.

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance; generous paid vacation, holiday and sick leave.