Employment Opportunities

• Safe Energy Program Director
• Environment and Health Intern
• Scoville Fellowship

Safe Energy Program Director

Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) seeks a program director for PSR’s Safe Energy Program to educate Congress, the news media, current and potential allies, and the public about the economic, health and proliferation risks associated with nuclear reactors and to promote safe, clean renewable energy and efficiency as the lasting solution to climate change.

PSR is a national not-for-profit advocacy and public policy organization that asserts a strong medical voice on security, energy and environmental health issues through education and advocacy.  PSR has a grassroots network of thirty affiliated chapters across the country, forty medical student chapters, and over 50,000 members and e-activists regularly engaged on PSR’s issues.
 
Responsibilities

Policy

• Develop and promote constructive and proactive policies that advance program goals.
• Collaborate with allies and expert consultants to create and implement national and targeted state strategies and tactics for achieving program goals.
• Create educational materials on nuclear energy issues for policymakers and the public, including fact sheets, policy analyses, letters, and articles.
• Stay current with all related nuclear energy policy issues.
• Represent PSR and speak at internal and external educational programs and conferences.

Legislative

• Develop national legislative strategy and tactics with allies and coordinate implementation of an ongoing campaign to prevent development of new nuclear reactors in the U.S.
• Educate decision-makers, including members of Congress and the Executive branch, about nuclear energy issues and advocate for constructive policies.
• Track legislation, develop policy positions, and provide leadership to influence legislation and policies related to new reactors.

News Media

• Coordinate and help execute effective media strategies and messages related to nuclear energy.
• Serve as media spokesperson and responds to press inquiries on nuclear energy issues.
• Facilitate the participation in media pushes of consultants, other experts and allies at the both the national and grassroots levels.
• Prepare media statements, advisories, and op-ed pieces, etc.

Coalition Building

• Engage and coordinate new constituencies in advocacy for Safe Energy policies.
• Initiate and manage the development of educational events and speaking/media tours for energy experts.
• Develop strategies for increasing presence on the web to educate and mobilize concerned citizens and groups.

Grassroots

• Collaborate with grassroots groups and integrate them into national and state strategies.
• Provide policy and technical expertise to grassroots on federal legislation and developments at the state-level related to nuclear energy.
• Mobilize concerned citizens on nuclear energy issues via internet and other outreach strategies.

Management

• Serve on PSR’s Executive Management Team.
• Supervise program staff and consultants.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of the Safe Energy section of PSR’s website.
• Serve as the primary contact with PSR’s Board of Directors on Safe Energy program work.
• Work with PSR’s Executive Director and Director of Finance and Administration to develop and manage the Safe Energy program budget.

The Safe Energy Program Director reports to the PSR Executive Director. 

Qualifications

• B.A. or B.S.; Graduate degree preferred.
• Strong commitment to the mission and goals of PSR.
• Proven skills managing programs; at least 5 years professional experience in energy or climate change issues.  Issue campaign experience especially helpful.
• Demonstrated knowledge of legislative and policymaking process.
• Experience recruiting and working with coalition partners. 
• Self-starter and independent worker.
• Energetic, strong interpersonal skills, ability to work easily with diverse groups.
• Excellent analytical, communication and organizing skills; problem-solver.

Compensation

The salary for this position is competitive and includes a generous benefits package.  PSR evaluates on merit and is an equal opportunity employer

Email a cover letter including salary requirements, resume, one campaign case study experience write-up, and a writing sample by Friday, Sept 24, to:   employment@psr.org

Environment and Health Intern

Area of Focus: Environment, Ecology, Health and Medicine
Skills: Writing, research, outreach.
Start date: End-March, 2010 (flexible)
End date: Early-June 2010 (with possibility of staying through the summer) 

Organization Description: Physicians for Social Responsibility is a non-profit advocacy organization that is the medical and public health voice for policies to slow, stop and reverse global warming and toxic degradation of the environment, and to prevent nuclear war and proliferation. PSR's 50,000 medical and health professionals and concerned citizen members, 31 PSR chapters, and over 60 Student PSR chapters form a unique nationwide network committed to a safe and healthy world. In 1985, PSR shared the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear Warfare for building public awareness and pressure to end the nuclear arms race.

Internship Description: Join PSR’s campaign to engage health professionals in phasing out coal-fired power plants. Coal produces massive toxic emissions and is one of the world’s worst sources of greenhouse gases.  Replacing dirty coal plants with clean, renewable sources of energy will be crucial to reversing climate change – one of the world’s most critical health emergencies.

The Spring 2010 Environment and Health Intern will become an active member of the PSR Environment & Health team, working to inform and mobilize health professionals in target states. The intern will conduct research, help generate fact sheets and outreach materials, and support critical liaison between the PSR National office and local PSR chapters and activists. The intern will work under the direct supervision of the Environment & Health Deputy Director.

Interns will learn hands-on skills for both national health advocacy and local grassroots campaigning, while making an impact on a critical environmental health issue.

Primary responsibilities: The Code Black intern will contribute to such activities as:

• Reach out to PSR members in key target states, providing them with materials and supporting their active engagement in local campaigns.
• Support medical professionals in carrying out grassroots and peer education on the health threats caused by coal.
• Edit, update and distribute science-based educational materials about the health impacts of coal and global warming.  Provide input on the creation of new PSR web pages.
• Write and send action alerts.

Qualifications:  Applicants must be highly motivated, organized and achievement-oriented. Excellent verbal and writing skills required. Activism experience and knowledge of environmental protection and/or public health are preferred.

Terms:  Our small, friendly office is located on Connecticut Avenue north of Dupont Circle. This internship is unpaid.

Application instructions:  Please submit:

• A cover letter explaining why you are interested in this internship, how it fits your goals, and why you are qualified.
• A writing sample (three pages max.).
• Your resume.
• Two references.

Email these to Barb Gottlieb, E&H Program Manager, at bgottlieb@psr.org

Scoville Fellows

The Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship pays a stipend for college graduates to work with NGOs in Washington, DC, including Physicians for Social Responsibility, on arms control, peace, and security issues for six to nine months. PSR provides strong mentoring and professional development opportunities for Scoville Fellows from any discipline. Scoville Fellows at PSR can expect to be meaningfully engaged in substantive work related to prudent and effective steps toward a world free of nuclear weapons, prevention of the use or spread of nuclear weapons, and promoting diplomacy and alternative conflict resolution techniques to avoid war. PSR’s current security programs include analytical work to develop new knowledge about the dangers nuclear weapons and security policies pose to human life and health, organizing work to mobilize doctors and allied health professionals for peace and security, and advocacy work to ensure that the interests of potential victims of nuclear weapons and war are represented in the policy process. For further information, please visit http://www.scoville.org/