Resilient Infrastructure Policy Manager

Position:

Resilient Infrastructure Policy Manager

RE Sources is seeking a skilled and values-driven Resilient Infrastructure Policy Manager to lead our work shaping how and where development, particularly fossil fuel/clean energy development and related industrial development, happens in Northwest Washington. This position focuses on land use planning, growth management, and infrastructure siting to ensure communities, not extractive or speculative interests, guide decisions that affect land, water, climate, and public health.

More about RE Sources:

RE Sources is a dynamic, high impact non-profit environmental policy and advocacy organization based in beautiful Bellingham, Washington. We work to protect the communities, creatures and wild places of the central Salish Sea region through a combination of bold advocacy, public issue-focused education, youth engagement, and science based action. Our key priorities are to combat climate change, protect the Salish Sea and the waters that feed into it, fight pollution, and watchdog environmental threats in Northwest Washington.

RE Sources stands against racism, white supremacy and the ingrained structures and institutions that enable and perpetuate them. Indigenous, Black and other communities of color are frequently the most harmed by environmental degradation. We envision a future where every person benefits from clean energy, less pollution and thriving outdoor places.

As a grassroots environmental advocacy nonprofit, we believe greater public action and engagement at the local level are essential building blocks of a climate resilient NW WA. RE Sources works to create strategic opportunities to protect our region’s land, water, climate, and communities.

What guides this role:

The Resilient Infrastructure Policy Manager work sits at the intersection of land use regulations, clean energy & fossil fuel infrastructure policy, environmental justice, and community organizing. This work will advance policies and campaigns that prioritize impact avoidance over mitigation, strengthen development regulations, and embed climate limits, ecological protection, and community leadership into comprehensive plans, development codes, and permitting decisions.

This role is guided by a vision of a future where communities lead the way in building regenerative economies, with infrastructure siting that respects climate limits, protects biodiversity, and honors local vision and indigenous sovereignty.

Position focus areas and duties:

Strategic Policy & Systems Leadership:

• Serve as staff lead on integration of land use, growth management, climate, and energy policy ensuring our work feeds into a larger regional-to-global framework.
• Elevate climate risk, hazard avoidance, and enforceable conditions in land use and regulatory decision-making to strengthen environmental, climate, and community protections.

Regulatory Strategy & Technical Oversight:

• Lead the organization’s engagement in high-stakes regulatory processes, including land use code updates, growth management and regional industrial project permitting.
• Maintain a rigorous tracking system for large-scale development proposals and infrastructure projects, particularly those at or adjacent to Cherry Point and March Point industrial areas. Ensure the organization is positioned for timely and effective interventions during critical comment periods and hearings.
• Coordinate with internal science and policy staff to evaluate the long-term risks of proposed infrastructure. This includes analyzing impacts on carbon emissions, climate resilience, and cumulative effects on watershed health and water quality.

Advocacy & Relational Diplomacy:

• Build and maintain relationships with elected officials, planning staff, and agency decision-makers.
• Work with partners and staff to draft policies, compile and submit technical comments, and provide clear written and verbal comments.
• Outline and advocate for RE Sources positions to legislators, administrators, and councilmembers.

Community-Centered & Justice-Based Work:

• Support and amplify leadership from communities most impacted by climate and land use decisions.
• Collaborate with Tribes and respect tribal sovereignty and treaty rights in land and water decision-making processes.
• Integrate environmental and climate justice analysis into policy advocacy and campaign strategy.

Cross-Functional Campaign & Organizational Support:

• Partner with the Community Engagement Specialist (CES), Communications and Development team and fellow staff to turn complex policy into accessible public messaging and power-building campaigns.
• Develop and maintain dynamic work plans that balances short-term regulatory deadlines (hearings/comments) with long-term strategic goals.
• Attend and initiate relevant internal staff and team meetings.

Qualifications & Experience:

This role requires a "systems thinker" who can translate national energy headlines into local impacts, manage regulatory interventions, and ensure that regional infrastructure projects align with long-term climate mitigation and resilience goals.

Required Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s degree in environmental science or policy, planning, public policy, natural resources management or closely related field or related lived experience.
• Demonstrated experience with land use planning, growth management, environmental, and climate policy in Washington State.
• Working knowledge of:
  • Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA)
  • SEPA and environmental review processes
  • City and County comprehensive plans and development regulations
  • Climate change science and policy, including emissions reduction, climate risk, and climate resilience
• Ability to analyze how land use and infrastructure decisions affect greenhouse gas emissions, climate vulnerability, and long-term adaptation outcomes.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including public testimony and policy writing.
• Initiative, flexibility, and a knack for creative problem solving.
• Ability to prioritize and complete a variety of tasks, meet deadlines, and work collaboratively.
• Ability to communicate information to the public in an inclusive and clear manner.
• Ability to work cooperatively with a wide range of people internally and externally.
• Commitment to building just and equitable communities through intersectional approaches to environmental policy.
• Valid Washington state driver’s license.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Familiarity with local land use and planning processes in Whatcom and/or Skagit Counties.
• Experience working alongside or in partnership with Tribal governments.
• Campaign, organizing, or coalition-building experience.
• Experience supervising volunteers, interns and/or paid staff
• Proficiency in languages in addition to English is not required, but highly valued. We encourage applicants to include mention of language skills in their applications.

Compensation and benefits:

The RIPM is a full-time position based in Bellingham, Washington. This position starts at $60,000 a year and includes RE Sources’ benefits package of medical, dental and eye insurance, paid sick leave, and a 401K employer matching option. Full-time, new staff at RE Sources accrue PTO at a rate of 25 days per year (counting regular holidays), and sick leave equal to 12 days per year. At RE Sources a full-time position constitutes a 36 hour week. Staff are expected to spend time working in the Bellingham office on Tuesday and Wednesday. This position involves some evening and weekend work, beyond that we offer a flexible work schedule.

To apply please submit a cover letter and resume to hr@re-sources.org. Application materials accepted until 5pm on March 20, 2026.

The RIPM is a full-time position based in Bellingham, Washington. This position starts at $60,000 a year and includes RE Sources’ benefits package of medical, dental and eye insurance, paid sick leave, and a 401K employer matching option. Full-time, new staff at RE Sources accrue PTO at a rate of 25 days per year (counting regular holidays), and sick leave equal to 12 days per year. At RE Sources a full-time position constitutes a 36 hour week. Staff are expected to spend time working in the Bellingham office on Tuesday and Wednesday. This position involves some evening and weekend work, beyond that we offer a flexible work schedule.